MSE Seminar: Hari Nair (Cornell MSE)

Gallium oxide – an ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor platform for future power and RF electronics

Currently, 70% of all electrical power consumed is routed through power electronics, and this fraction is set to grow rapidly with continued addition of renewable sources to the grid and electrification of transportation. A significant reduction in size, weight, and power loss (SWaP) of power electronics will revolutionize the way the electric grid operates. The lion’s share of power electronics is based on silicon, with a bandgap of 1.1 eV. Significant reduction in SWaP is possible by migrating to semiconductors with wider bandgaps than silicon. Similarly for radio-frequency (RF) devices used in telecommunications and radar, semiconductors with wider bandgaps can unlock higher power output and higher operating frequencies. Over the past 12 years, β-Ga2O3 with an ultra-wide bandgap of 4.8 eV has emerged as a promising semiconductor for next generation power and RF electronics. In this talk, I will outline my group’s work on metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) synthesis, processing, and characterization of β-Ga2O3 epitaxial thin films and heterostructures for next generation power and RF devices.

Bio: Hari Nair received his B.S. from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He received his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. His doctoral work involved molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) synthesis of GaSb-based semiconductor alloys for mid-infrared diode lasers. Following that he moved to Cornell University as a postdoctoral researcher to work on MBE synthesis of complex oxides. Hari Nair is currently an assistant research professor in Cornell’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, working on synthesis, processing and characterization of next generation of materials for electronics, optoelectronics, and quantum information systems.