Press Release
SMI Receives SBIR Award for DOE Funded Gallium Oxide (Ga2O3) Research
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Piscataway, NJ - January 25, 2018 - Structured Materials Industries, Inc. (“SMI”) is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a Department of Energy ("DOE") Small Business Innovation Research ("SBIR") award where it will evaluate the energy bandgap tunability of Gallium Oxide (Ga2O3) by alloying the material with Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) and Indium Oxide (In2O3). The ongoing effort is being conducted in collaboration with Prof. Lisa Porterand Prof. Robert Davis of Carnegie Mellon University (“CMU”). An assessment of the Ga2O3 energy bandgap tunability is required in order to increase the selectivity of the sensors for UVA, UVB, and UVC bands, which is a focus of the project. The materials are grown using Metal-organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD), which is the most suitable technique for this purpose.
Structured Materials Industries, Inc. Research Scientist and leader of Ga2O3 efforts, Dr. Serdal Okur, commented, “Tuning the energy gap of Ga2O3 will establish an even broader range of applications for the material, such as graded heterostructures for optoelectronic devices, photo diodes(PDs) with tunable cutoff wavelengths, as well as optical filters with tunable transmission range, to name just a few. Tuning the bandgap of high quality materials, will allow us to better assess optoelectronic properties. We believe that In2O3 and Al2O3 are good candidates to realize the bandgap engineering of Ga2O3. Additionally, we decided to use the MOCVD technique as it offers many advantages for ultimate device fabrication, including high growth rates, conformal deposition over device topography, and the capability for scale-up to high volume production."
Image shows Dr. Okur observing a growth run using an SMI in-house MOCVD reactor.
“In our current DOE project, SMI will demonstrate Gallium Oxide (Go), Aluminum Gallium Oxide (AlGO), and Indium Gallium Oxide (InGO) based UV sensors that cover the whole UV spectrum. In particular, these devices will be very important to detect UV photons from liquid Ar and Xe scintillators, both at 128 and 175 nm, respectively, in particle physics experiments.", commented Dr. Okur, adding further "SMI will further develop the MOCVD growth parameters and hardware to extend control of energy bandgap tuning of Ga2O3 with good quality crystals. The company, in collaboration with CMU, will continue to explore the potential of large-area Ga2O3 based alloys with the intention of making the aforementioned sensors more economical and readily available than competing materials in UV sensing applications."
“It is a pleasure working with Prof. Lisa Porter and Prof. Robert Davis. Their extensive knowledge in the area and CMU’s Nanofabrication Facility plays a critical role in this DOE project and related efforts.”, said Structured Materials Industries, Inc. President and CEO, Dr. Gary S. Tompa, further adding “SMI’s proprietary rotating disc oxide MOCVD reactor technology will be utilized in this project to demonstrate that Ga2O3 films can be deposited uniformly on large-area substrates. We are pleased to showcase our in-house MOCVD reactor system capabilities for this Ga2O3 growth. Based on our past experience and industry standards, we will use a 13-inch diameter susceptor for Ga2O3growing in Phase II. We were also able to configure the platter for single-wafer (150, 200 or 300 mm) or multiple-wafer (100 mm or smaller) loads which will help in evaluating the process.”
Structured Material Industries, Inc. , with over 10 MOCVD and ALD process demonstration tools in-house, has extensive result oriented experience in providing materials, hardware, and device assistance to other businesses as well as research organizations. We are a leading provider of thin film research and development deposition systems for electronic, optical and electro-optic device fabrication. We produce systems for research and production, in sizes ranging from stand-alone systems to high volume production tools. SMI also maintains an in-house applications laboratory, with facilities for materials characterization and device fabrication.
Structured Material Industries, Inc. has an extensive history in working with customer/partners to deliver results in SBIR/STTR awards. We can provide a support infrastructure for writing award winning proposals and provide the physical support infrastructure for carrying out awarded programs through completing customer innovations or calling on collaborators to fullfill innovations. We are always open to confidentially exploring additional partnerships and collaborations. SMI has worked on various projects featuring Gallium Oxide (in addition to other oxides), TMDs, Compound Semiconductors, Metals, and so on as well as has grown materials on a diverse set of substrates using in-house tools.
To take advantage of this developing material or SMI consulting services contact us today to get more information and quoted!
About Structured Materials Industries, Inc.
Structured Materials Industries, Inc (SMI) is a leader in developing and implementing tailored solution custom research and production Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) Tool and Process Technology and process enhanced tools such as Plasma Enhanced CVD (PECVD), Alternating Layer Deposition (ALD), High Pressure CVD (HPCVD), Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) and other related techniques for the widest range of materials in the industry.