Universities Expand R&D Efforts In GaN, SiC, GaO

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Universities Expand R&D Efforts In GaN, SiC, GaO<br>Penn State, Purdue, Texas Tech, UT Dallas and Warwick are expanding their R&D efforts in the power semiconductor field

Semiecosystem<br>Jun 04, 2026

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By Mark LaPedus<br>Several universities have separately announced new and major research projects in the power semiconductor field.<br>Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Purdue University, Texas Tech, University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of Warwick are the latest universities to expand their respective R&D efforts in the power semiconductor field. Basically, power semiconductors are specialized devices, which can withstand higher voltages and currents with lower losses in a system.<br>At these universities, students can get firsthand experience in this field. At the same time, universities work with companies and industry partners to develop new breakthroughs in the arena. See below for a description of what each university is doing here.

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What are power semis?<br>But first, let’s briefly talk about power semiconductors. These devices are used in nearly every system, including appliances, cars, chargers, computers, smartphones, solar panels, trains, wind turbines and others.<br>Power semiconductor devices are used to control the flow of electricity in systems. Power semis can withstand higher voltages and currents with lower losses in systems. Until recently, power semiconductors built around traditional silicon materials dominated the market.<br>More recently, several companies have been selling two new and different types of power semiconductor devices in the market—gallium nitride field-effect transistors (GaN FET) and silicon carbide MOSFETs (SiC MOSFET). Both GaN- and SiC-based devices fall under a general category called wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors. WBG devices can operate at higher voltages, temperatures and frequencies, as compared to traditional silicon-based products.<br>In R&D, the industry is working on ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) devices. Aluminum nitride (AIN), gallium oxide and diamond fit into the UWBG category. Potentially, UWBG devices can outperform GaN, SiC and silicon. But there are several challenges to produce UWBG devices (See figure 1).

Figure 1. Properties of silicon (Si), SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3. Source: U.S. Department of Energy

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To be sure, the power semiconductor industry is a complicated but interesting field. Here are the latest efforts at various universities:<br>UTD<br>The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has partnered with Attolight to open a new demonstration laboratory supporting the WBG semiconductor industry.<br>Located at UTD, the lab will offer advanced material characterization services and collaborative research opportunities. The lab is equipped to provide R&D contract work for industry partners and academic institutions seeking to accelerate their development cycles and improve device yields.<br>The lab will also help connect advanced university research with the needs of the regional semiconductor industry. It will prepare students for careers in the U.S. semiconductor workforce.<br>The UTD demo lab will host Attolight’s Allalin CL-SEM platform. The platform integrates a high-resolution scanning electron microscope with a proprietary, high-efficiency light collection and analysis system. This allows researchers to detect structural defects and analyze spectral properties at the nanoscale without damaging the samples.<br>“Attolight’s technology is based on cathodoluminescence spectroscopy,” according to the Swiss-based company. “Cathodoluminescence (CL) is a well-known phenomenon that refers to the light emitted by any material under electron irradiation. CL becomes a very powerful defect inspection method when implemented in a modern electron microscope (EM) that is capable of fast, non-destructive defect inspection on a full wafer scale.”<br>The system can be used for GaN, SiC and other materials. Besides the CL-SEM platform, UTD’s lab has other equipment, as well. “The lab currently has a substantial portion of the characterization and device fabrication capabilities needed for GaN and SiC research, including lithography, etching, metallization, and device/material characterization,” said Matthew Wong, an assistant professor at UTD.<br>“While GaN remains our primary focus, we are also actively working on several other wide-bandgap and ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductor materials,” Wong said in an e-mail exchange.<br>This includes:<br>*Gallium oxide for power electronics, radiation-tolerant devices and photodetectors<br>*AlN and AlScN for RF electronics, ferroelectric devices and next-generation power electronics<br>*Diamond-related technologies, particularly concepts involving integrated photonics and quantum sensing applications<br>“In addition, we have ongoing interests in emerging materials and heterostructures for photonics, microLEDs, power electronics, radiation-hardened devices, and...