The research addresses the basic understanding and optimization of various types of III-Nitride power switches such as SuperJunction structures with immediate environmental impact. This work has important applications in smart power grids, transportation systems, and electric drives for small and large vehicles. The PI plans to integrate his research in a power electronics curriculum that will address novel power devices with new functionalities. The research will provide a very strong educational platform to train graduate students in a frontier research topic, with active collaborative industrial participation. The outreach activities to high-school and undergraduate students include the Boston University High School Honors Research Internship and UROP programs.
The PI proposes to conduct a systematic approach for designing and optimizing III-Nitride based power switching devices by addressing fundamental theoretical aspects related to material properties and device structures. The characteristics of vertical devices made with such materials and operating at high-voltage and high-current will be addressed, allowing at the same time higher frequency of operation compared with traditionally used devices and thus significant system size reduction. The PI proposes to address the challenges faced by the need for switching voltages in excess of 5KV and hundreds of amperes at one hundred kilohertz or faster by addressing the fundamental theoretical aspects related to the III-Nitride material properties and device structures and developing transformative vertical device structures such as GaN-MOS and vertical enhancement mode HFETs. The results obtained from the studies will be validated using experimental data obtained through collaboration with laboratories specializing in this area. The research is well conceived and would deepen fundamental understanding of the physics of III-Nitride MOS devices and impact of defects and dislocations, as well as channel transport.
