High-Temp, High-Electron Mobility MOSFETs Based On N-Type Diamond


A new technical paper titled "High-Temperature and High-Electron Mobility Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors Based on N-Type Diamond" was published by researchers at National Institute for Materials Science (Japan). Abstract: "Diamond holds the highest figure-of-merits among all the known semiconductors for next-generation electronic devices far beyond the performance of c... » read more

Properties Of The State-Of-The-Art Commercially Available SiC and GaN Power Transistors


A technical paper titled “Review and Outlook on GaN and SiC Power Devices: Industrial State-of-the-Art, Applications, and Perspectives” was published by researchers at University of Padova. Abstract: "We present a comprehensive review and outlook of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) transistors available on the market for current and next-generation power electronics. Materi... » read more

Lateral 3 kV AlN SBDs on Bulk AlN Substrates By MOCVD


A new technical paper titled "3 kV AlN Schottky Barrier Diodes on Bulk AlN Substrates by MOCVD" was published by researchers at Arizona State University. Abstract "This letter reports the first demonstration of AlN Schottky diodes on bulk AlN substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor phase deposition (MOCVD) with breakdown voltages exceeding 3 kV. The devices exhibited good rectifying char... » read more

Gate Drive Circuit Without A Speed-Up Capacitor for a GaN Gate Injection Transistor


A technical paper titled "Gate Drive Circuit Suitable for a GaN Gate Injection Transistor" was published by researchers at Nagoya University. Abstract "A GaN gate injection transistor (GIT) has great potential as a power semiconductor device. However, a GaN GIT has a diode characteristic at the gate-source, and a corresponding gate drive circuit is thus required. Several studies in the lite... » read more

GaN Power Devices: Stability, Reliability and Robustness Issues


A technical paper titled "Stability, Reliability, and Robustness of GaN Power Devices: A Review" was published by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and Kyushu University. "Gallium nitride (GaN) devices are revolutionarily advancing the efficiency, frequency, and form factor of power electronics. However, t... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


GlobalFoundries filed suit in U.S. District Court in New York against IBM, accusing it of unlawfully disclosing IP and trade secrets to IBM partners, including Intel and Rapidus, potentially receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing income and other benefits. The European Union released a €43 billion ($47 billion) plan for jumpstarting its semiconductor manufacturing industry,... » read more

Mixed Outlook For Silicon Wafers


Silicon wafers are a fundamental part of the semiconductor business. Every chipmaker needs to buy them in one size or another, such as 200mm, 300mm and others. Silicon wafer vendors produce and sell bare or raw silicon wafers to chipmakers, who in turn process them into chips. So what’s in store for the silicon wafer market? Sungho Yoon, senior research manager at SEMI, sat down with Se... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 25


Higher voltage GaN Imec and Aixtron have demonstrated the ability to extend gallium-nitride (GaN) to new voltage levels in the power semiconductor market, enabling the technology to compete in much broader segments. Imec and Aixtron have demonstrated epitaxial growth of GaN buffer layers qualified for 1,200-volt applications on specialized 200mm substrates with a hard breakdown exceeding 1,... » read more

5 Technologies To Watch


The industry is developing a dizzying array of new technologies. In fact, there are more new and innovative technologies than ever before. And the list is countless. At least from my vantage point, I have come up with my own list of the top five technologies to watch in 2015 and beyond. They are listed in alphabetical order. (See below). Obviously, there are more than just five technologi... » read more