Summary:
News — Texas Tech University’s Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering has secured a $6 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to develop advanced semiconductor materials and devices, particularly for high-power electronics and optoelectronics. The project aims to enhance the performance of wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, leading to more reliable, high-performance electronics for military applications.
Why This Matters:
- Technology Advancement: The research will improve the development of high-performance, high-power electronic devices critical for modern technologies.
- Military/Defense Applications: The project targets key military systems, including electronic warfare, surveillance and high-efficiency power amplifiers.
- Electronics Innovation: The initiative promises breakthroughs in semiconductor packaging, heat management and failure analysis for devices operating in extreme environments.
’s earned a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Army Research Laboratory for a project titled “Instrumentation Acquisition for Advanced Semiconductor Power Devices Research.”
The goal is to develop a facility that will advance the research and development of wide/ ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor materials and devices at Texas Tech, especially for radio frequency, high-power electronics and optoelectronics (which find, detect and control light). The team will investigate both wide and UWBG semiconductors, including devices and systems formed from the materials III-nitride and gallium(III) oxide.
This three-year initiative is led by , vice chancellor for Innovation & Collaboration and the executive director of the , with , an associate professor of (ECE). The research team comprises a diverse group of faculty whose expertise will drive the project’s objectives forward: ECE Professors , and ; ECE Associate Professor ; Senior Director , and Assistant Professor .
“The addition of the proposed equipment/system/tools to our current facilities at Texas Tech is critical and important to enhance our capabilities for these research areas,” Nguyen said. “We aim to develop highly reliable, high-performance electronic devices using wide/UWBG semiconductors for high-power electronics.”
Devices that will be designed and fabricated with the wide/UWBG semiconductors include light-emitters, high-electron-mobility transistors, metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors, and a broadband high-efficiency power amplifier.
Then, systematic studies of the devices’ performance will be conducted to determine wide/UWBG semiconductors’ capabilities for high-power/high-voltage applications, electronic warfare, surveillance, radio detection and ranging, and multifunctional radio frequency communications and sensing applications.
The researchers will also examine device packaging, failure analysis, heat dissipation, and thermal management to determine if the power-electronics can withstand harsh environments.
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