STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N182-134

Description

High voltage, high efficiency current conducting switches are needed for future high power naval applications. Current commercial Si devices do not meet this need. High quality thick film GaN is a promising alternative with the theoretical capability of providing the needed performance; however, it is presently very difficult to produce such thick films reasonably in existing GaN film growth tools. In this project, Structured Materials Industries will develop a design for an Enhanced Chemistry MOCVD GaN tool that can controllably deposit low-concentration ( < 2x10^15 cm^-3 ) n-type GaN layers enabling continuous growth rates above 10 µm/hr ( > 2X current state-of-the-art ).SMI will also demonstrate thin, (<50nm) high concentration (>1 10^19 cm^-3) n-type and p-type GaN layer growth of these materials and demonstrate material properties. In Phase II, the tool capable of thick films will be built, refined, and delivered to the Navy. In Phase III, SMI will market the tool commercially similarly to how it presently markets tools for other advanced thin film materials.