Transistor Physics from 4 K to 1000 K

NSF Awards $450,000 to Advance Radiation-Hardened GaN Electronics

The National Science Foundation has awarded $450,000 to Dr. Taewoo Kim (PI) and Dr. Ravindra Joshi, ECE Chair (co-PI), to study how proton radiation affects GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors. Working with Los Alamos National Laboratory's Ion Beam Materials Laboratory through the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, the team will link radiation-induced defects to changes in charge transport and build a physics-based framework for radiation-hardness-by-design. The goal is to cut device qualification from months of testing to as little as one confirmatory test, for satellite communications, defense radar, deep-space missions and high-power electronics.

“Our goal is to move beyond empirical radiation testing and establish a predictive understanding …”— Dr. Taewoo Kim