Welcome to Wide-Band Gap Optronix Lab

Our program is primarily focused on the development of wide bandgap III-Nitride materials and devices. III-Nitride materials are among the most technologically important material systems with a variety of applications ranging from single photon detection (e.g. APDs and Cs-free photocathodes) to quantum computing and astronomy applications, high brightness LEDs for solid state lighting, lasers for high density optical storage systems, UV and green emitters for water purification and biological agent detection and communication, to high power RF transistors for cell phone and satellite communication, switching and amplification, and for application as harsh environment sensors, to name a few.

The field of III-Nitride semiconductors (Al_xIn_yGa_1-x-yN, 0<x, y<1), is focused on developing a new class of semiconductors that have certain unique properties as compared to conventional semiconductors such as Si and GaAs. The enabling properties are the wide and direct band gap, and the ability for bandgap engineering (adjustable from 0.9 eV for InN to 3.4eV for GaN to 6.2 eV for AlN), high breakdown voltage, and high saturation velocity. Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is used for the development of the AlInGaN-based structures. Variety of characterization techniques are used for the study of optical, structural, morphological and electrical properties of the layers and device structures.