ADVANCED EPITAXY PROCESS TECHNOLOGY FOR WIDE BANDGAP DEVICES

THE RESEARCH PROGRAM USES A NEW ADVANCED EPITAXIAL GROWTH TECHNIQUE, VAPOR TRANSPORT EPITAXY, TO RELIABLY AND REPEATEDLY FABRICATE A VARIETY OF COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTORS WITH HIGH THROUGHPUT AND OVER LARGE AREAS. THE COMPOUNDS OF SPECIAL INTEREST IN PHASE I ARE ZNSE (DIRECT BANDGAP 2.7 EV) AND ZNTE (DIRECT BANDGAP 2.3 EV), BECAUSE OF THEIR WIDE BANDGAP IN THE BLUE/BLUE-GREEN PORTION OF THE VISIBLE SPECTRUM. THEIR POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN OPTICAL STORAGE DEVIDES, MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS, FLAT PANEL DISPLAYS, VISIBLE HOLOGRAPHY, POLYMER FIBER COMMUNICATIONS, UNDERWATER COMMUNICATIONS, RADIATION SENSORS, AND BLUE LIGHT EMITTERS MAKE THEM STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT MATERIALS. THEIR WIDE BANDGPAS, LARGE RANGE OF LATTICE PARAMETERS, AND DIELECTRIC CONSTANTS ALSO SUGGEST APPLICATIONS AS EPITAXIAL PASSIVATION LAYERS FOR NUMEROUS III-IV COMPOUNDS (WHICH DO NOT POSSESS HIGH QUALITY NATIVE OXIDES), FOR USE AS INSULATING LAYERS, OR FOR APPROPRIATE BARRIER LAYERS FOR III-IV MULTIPLE QUANTUM WELLS.