AstroPower proposes the growth and development of a (GaP)1- x(ZnS)x-based material. It is the purpose of the proposed work to explore for solid solution compositions of (GaP)1-x(ZnS)x that are amphoteric and characterized by direct bandgaps greater than 2.6 eV, and to demonstrate epitaxial growth techniques which have manufacturing scale potential. This type of material with bandgap in excess of 2.6 eV can be employed in blue light-emitting diodes, and in UV detectors capable of superior performance compared to silicon, in high temperature, high radiation environments such as in earth orbit and particle accelerators. For a blue LED, the suc- cessful development of this material system is expected to lead to luminous intensities of 80 to 300 mcd compared to the 20 mcd of currently available SiC LEDs.
