SBIR Phase I: Fabrication of Vertical Junction GaN FET Devices via Pulsed Laser Annealing Process

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be the creation of a more efficient power grid by enabling smaller increased efficiency power converter circuits and units. Additionally, more efficient power converters will enable greater efficiency in the manufacturing and electric vehicle industries, as well as a more efficient power grid. The proposed project will investigate the use of a pulsed excimer laser annealing (PLA) technique to activate implanted dopants and repair implant induced damage in GaN films grown on GaN substrates for the fabrication of vertically conducting, high voltage field effect transistors. The ultimate goals of this Phase I project are to develop viable prototypes for an enhancement mode vertically conducting field effect transistor using the PLA technique. The key application of these devices will be in switched mode power supplies, which can be made smaller than current state of practice since vertical GaN devices will be associated with smaller parasitics. The development of a scalable prototype vertical gallium nitride (GaN) vertical Field Effect Transistors (FETs) will open a path toward scaled production and commercialization of higher breakdown devices will lead to smaller, more efficient power supplies and converter end products in the power electronics market. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.