Wide Band Gap Semiconductors for Flexible Power Applications

这项发现拨款提案描述了一项广泛的宽带隙半导体研究和教育计划，用于在不同介质中的电力应用。两种备受关注的半导体是氮化镓(GaN)和氧化锌(ZnO)，这两种半导体在各自的应用空间上都比硅(Si)具有非常明显的优势。这些材料系统的开发和商业化是这项工作的根本动机。与传统的单晶衬底相比，GaN器件具有性能优势，这是目前用硅或碳化硅(SIC)无法实现的。设想的目标是看到分立的MOSFET元件完成其最终在大规模电力系统中的实施。GaN的直接优势是潜在的更高的运行速度。以更高频率运行的电源管理系统允许以更高的效率使用更小的无源组件，从而产生积极的环境影响。

This discovery grant proposal describes a comprehensive research and education program of wide-band gap semiconductors for power applications in diversified mediums. Two semiconductors of focus are gallium nitride (GaN) and zinc oxide (ZnO), both which offer very distinct advantages over silicon (Si) over their respective application space. The development and commercialization of these material systems are the underlying motivation for this work. The GaN device offers performance advantages on traditional single crystal substrates that currently cannot be realized with Si or silicon carbide (SiC). The envisioned goal is seeing the discrete MOSFET component to its completion for eventual implementation in large-scale power systems. The immediate advantages of GaN is the potential higher speed operation. Power management systems operating at higher frequency allow the use of smaller passive components with higher efficiency thus leading to a positive environmental impact.