FuSe-TG: Electro-Thermal Co-Design Center for Ultra-Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Devices

非技术描述：基于β相氧化镓的超宽带隙半导体器件提供了实现比当今宽带隙电子器件更高的功率开关性能/效率和更低的制造成本的潜力。然而，这种超宽带隙器件技术商业化的最关键挑战之一是克服影响器件性能和可靠性的不利热效应。该项目发展了一个大学-工业-国家实验室的合作伙伴关系，最终导致形成一个超宽带隙器件电热协同设计中心。这项工作的成果促进了一类新的千伏范围的氧化镓功率开关器件，将支持现有的和新的应用，需要高峰功率，恶劣的环境操作，和低系统尺寸/重量的发展，特别是考虑到半导体芯片的国家短缺。该项目的教育目标是为大学生和行业研究人员创建一个多学科的教育模式，结合设备和热工程概念，跟上这些领域的当前趋势。这种新的跨学科教育模式支持培养全球参与的劳动力，实现半导体器件行业的突破。技术描述：本项目的研究目标是创建一个氧化镓器件架构，通过有效区域上的焊盘方法和金刚石结合倒装芯片集成实现最小热阻。主要研究人员演示了使用电热协同设计技术来实现热感知器件架构，该架构允许充分利用超宽带隙半导体提供的优势。一个协同设计建模框架的开发，链接超宽带隙电子内的能量转换和电子/热传输。该建模框架有助于识别材料、器件和系统级别的电气和热设计权衡。新颖的基于激光的泵浦-探测方法和光学/电学热成像技术用于提供反馈以验证建模结果并改进材料合成和器件集成过程。由于所提出的器件集成方法是材料不可知的，因此它可以应用于现有的宽带隙和其他新兴的超宽带隙（例如，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical Description: Ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor devices based on beta-phase gallium oxide offer the potential to achieve higher power switching performance/efficiency and lower manufacturing cost than today's wide bandgap electronic devices. However, one of the most critical challenges to the commercialization of this ultra-wide bandgap device technology is to overcome adverse thermal effects that impact the device performance and reliability. This project develops a university-industry-national laboratory partnership that ultimately leads to the formation of an ultra-wide bandgap device electro-thermal co-design center. The outcomes of this work facilitate the development a new class of kV-range gallium oxide power switching devices that will support existing and new applications that require high peak power, harsh environment operation, and low system size/weight; especially given the national shortage of semiconductor chips. The educational goal of this project is to create a multi-disciplinary educational model for university students and industry researchers that combines device and thermal engineering concepts, keeping abreast of current trends in these fields. This new interdisciplinary education model supports training a globally engaged workforce that realizes breakthroughs in the semiconductor device industry.Technical Description: The research goal of this project is to create a gallium oxide device architecture with minimized thermal resistance realized by a bonding pad over active area approach and diamond-incorporated flip-chip integration. The principal investigators demonstrate the use of an electro-thermal co-design technique to realize a thermally aware device architecture that allows the full exploitation of the benefits offered by the ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor. A co-design modeling framework is developed that links energy conversion and electronic/thermal transport within ultra-wide bandgap electronics. This modeling framework helps identify the electrical and thermal design trade-offs at the material, device, and system levels. Novel laser-based pump-probe methods and optical/electrical thermography techniques are used to provide feedback to validate modeling results and improve the material synthesis and device integration processes. Since the proposed device integration method is material agnostic, it can be applied to existing wide bandgap and other emerging ultra-wide bandgap (e.g., aluminum gallium nitride) device technologies that are known to suffer from overheating and thermal instability.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.