DOE Advances $32 Million in Funding for Advanced
Technologies
Sixteen projects are being funded as part of two new ARPA-E
programs.
Sam Davis | Jun 30, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has thrown its support behind two
new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) programs:
- ENergy-efficient Light-wave Integrated Technology Enabling
Networks that Enhance Datacenters (ENLITENED)
- Power Nitride Doping Innovation Offers Devices Enabling SWITCHES
(PNDIODES)
The nine projects of ENLITENED seek to double datacenter efficiency
by using light instead of metal to transmit and receive information
between components in a computer chip. Datacenters currently consume
about 2.5% of U.S. electricity—a figure that is expected to double in
just eight years. As we come to rely increasingly on cloud computing
services and storage, the challenge of handling all this information
without wasting energy will become critically important.
For the seven PNDIODES projects, researchers will focus on a process
called selective area doping to build semiconductors that can handle far
more current and higher temperatures. P-n junctions consist of an
“n-type” region with negatively charged free electrons participating in
current flow and “p-type” regions with positively charged free “holes”
carrying the current, separated by a carrier neutral (no electrons or
holes to carry current) region. This allows electricity to flow in just
one direction and block electric current flow in the opposite direction.
Both the n- and p-type regions are formed by doping a semiconductor
material, which adds a specific impurity to the semiconductor to change
its electrical properties.
Here are more details about the specific PNDIODES projects:
Adroit Materials, Inc., Cary, N.C.
Selective area doping for nitride power devices: $700,000
This project will establish selective area p-type doping of GaN by using
ion implantation of magnesium and an innovative annealing (or heat
treatment) process to remove implantation damage and control
performance-reducing defects. By developing an in-depth understanding of
the ion implantation doping process, the team will be able to
demonstrate usable and reliable p-n junctions that meet or exceed
PNDIODES program targets and enable a new generation of high-performance
electronic semiconductor devices.
Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.
Effective selective area doping for GaN vertical power transistors
enabled by innovative materials engineering: $1,500,000
This project will advance fundamental knowledge in the selective area
growth of GaN materials in order to achieve selective area doping,
leading to the development of high-performance GaN vertical power
transistors. The team will develop a new fabrication process and
determine the opportunities to solve the challenges of selective area
growth for doping in GaN materials. The team will also conduct a
materials study and investigate several issues related to GaN selective
area epitaxial growth. If successful, the project will demonstrate
generally usable p-n junctions for vertical GaN power devices that meet
PNDIODES program targets.
JR2J, LLC, Ithaca, N.Y.
Laser Spike annealing for the activation of implanted dopants in
GaN: $647,750
This project will use a fast, high-temperature technique called laser
spike annealing (LSA) to activate implanted p-type dopants in GaN. This
technique allows for the high temperatures necessary to activate the
dopants, as well as to repair damage done during the implantation
process. By keeping the laser spike duration very short (0.1-100
milliseconds), the technique also hopes to avoid damage to the GaN
lattice itself. The team will experiment with various LSA annealing
conditions, exploring temperatures and time scales of the technique.
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M.
High voltage re-grown GaN P-N diodes enabled by defect and doping
control: $1,894,700
This project will achieve selective area doping using patterned regrowth
of GaN p-n diodes with electronic performance equivalent to as-grown
state-of-the-art GaN p-n diodes. The team will work to obtain a deep
understanding of the growth process, including the relationship among
crystal growth conditions, etching methods and post-etch treatments,
impurity control, and electronic performance. The team also seeks to
address challenges presented by the regrowth technique using
physics-based approaches.
State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, Albany, N.Y.
Demonstration of PN-junctions by ion implantation techniques for GaN
(DOPING-GaN): $720,000
This project will focus on ion implantation. Using new annealing
techniques, the team will develop processes to activate implanted
silicon or magnesium in GaN to build p-n junctions. P-type ion
implantation and annealing will be performed using an innovative
gyrotron beam (a high-power vacuum tube that generates millimeter-wave
electromagnetic waves) technique and an aluminum nitride cap. Central to
the SUNY Poly proposal is understanding the impact of implantation on
the microstructural properties of the GaN material and effects on p-n
diode performance.
University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.
High-quality doping of GaN through transmutation processing:
$250,000
This project will focus on the development of neutron transmutation
doping—exposing GaN wafers to neutron radiation to create a stable
network of dopants within—to fabricate an extremely uniform n-type GaN
wafer. Specific innovations in this proposal concern an in-depth study
of neutron transmission doping and a characterization of the resulting
wafer, including analyzing electrical resistance, dopant concentration,
unwanted impurities, and damage to the GaN lattice.
Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Regrowth and selective area growth of GaN for vertical power
electronics: $1,150,000
This project will conduct a comprehensive investigation into overcoming
the barriers in selective area doping of GaN through the regrowth
process for high-performance, reliable GaN vertical transistors. The
team will demonstrate vertical GaN diodes through regrowth and selective
area growth processes with performance similar to those made using
current in-situ techniques, which are non-selective and therefore less
flexible. Key innovations in this project will address the regrowth
process at the nano scale, control of the crystal growth process to
control impurities, electronic defects in the regrowth and selective
area growth processes, and customizing the electronic characteristics of
the selective area growth active region.
Copyright © 2017 Penton
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