Engineering faculty will pursue development of wide/ultrawide bandgap semiconductors
for use in harsh environments, to improve communications and more.
CREATORS
Texas Tech University’s continued commitment to interdisciplinary research and hands-on fabrication has
paved the way for another opportunity to perform critical work regarding wide/ultrawide
(UWBG) semiconductors.
A team of faculty from the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering received roughly $4.5 million from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF)
for a project titled “Research and Development of Wide/Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductor
Materials, Devices and Applications.”
TSIF grants are administered by the Texas CHIPS Office, within the Office of the Governor’s
Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office. Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law the
Texas CHIPS Act in 2023, establishing both the TSIF and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation
Consortium, the latter of which the CHIPS office also supports.
Stephen Bayne
Stephen Bayne, vice president of National Security for Texas Tech and executive director of the
Critical Infrastructure Security Institute, is the project’s lead principal investigator. Joining him are Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) Professors Ayrton Bernussi, Rui He, Ravi Joshi, Donald Lie and Hieu P. Nguyen; ECE Assistant Professor Taewoo Kim; and Global Laboratory for Energy Asset Management & Manufacturing Senior Director Argenis Bilbao.
Over three years, the researchers will seek to increase Texas Tech’s capabilities
to develop UWBG semiconductors for high-power/high-frequency electronics and optoelectronics
(instruments that detect and control light).
Nguyen said the group is excited and humbled to be a part of Texas Tech’s eminence
in this growing field.
“At the same time, we feel a strong sense of responsibility: to translate discoveries
into reliable, manufacturable technologies; to build workforce pipelines by training
students and technicians, and to partner with industry and government to ensure our
work delivers real-world impact for Texas and the nation,” he added. “This award validates
our momentum and accelerates our ability to turn research into jobs, commercial opportunities
and long‑term competitiveness in the semiconductor ecosystem.”
This work will also support critical industries such as aerospace and defense by improving
the performance and reliability of UWBG materials and high-electron-mobility transistors
for harsh environments.
Other priorities for the award include strengthening communications through work on
broadband high-efficiency power amplification and radio frequency and millimeter-wave
components; enabling the creation of high-performance nanostructured light emitters
and detectors and high-voltage devices; promoting the translation of research into
commercial products; and building regional economic impact.