Ultra-wide Band Gap Semiconductors

Reddington777

Reddington777

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Starting this thread specifically to follow new technology and updates for ultra-wide band gap semiconductors including but not limited to Ga_2_O3 (gallium oxide), AIN (aluminum nitride), and Diamond.

China has been making strides in this area with reports indicating a demo 8mm wafer size of GaO being developed. I'm not terribly familiar with Chinese advancements in this area so I'll leave it to people who know.

On the US side, AFR has been making strides as well with a number of startups and small companies. A number of contracts for GaO semis have went out through SBIR contracts. AFRL has also been investigating AIN and Diamond based semiconductors. To start off, here is an article from AFRL from 2020 regarding GaO semis:

https://compoundsemiconductor.net/article/111289/AFRL_Breaking_Records_With_Gallium_Oxide/feature
 
What are the specific advantages of ultra-wide band gap semiconductors?
 
I'm not really well versed in this and I'm barely barely just reading about it a few months ago but because they have a high band gap, they waste less energy, operate at higher temperatures (less demanding on cooling) and produce greater power while having less leakage.

Wide band gap semis each have their own benefits.
  • GaO is good for power switches.
  • AIN has the largest bandgap - higher breakdown and temp tolerance and slightly better electron mobility than GaO
  • Diamond really is the best of the three in breakdown and thermal conductivity and only slightly behind AIN in bandgap but is exceptionally difficult and expensive to manufacture
Generally, all three are being explored / worked on with GaO being the next most likely to mature. I'd really like to give you a three page long write up about it but semis isn't anywhere close to anything I've studied before so ... unfortunately, it's mainly what I can skim from dumbed down articles - and barely even that.

Certainly hope someone more educated in this area than I would speak more about it.
 
"Diamond really is the best of the three..."
Should they mention mono-isotopic diamond, they're getting seriously serious...

Apparently its thermal conductivity is just that little bit better than the 'natural' mix...
 
https://thedefensepost.com/2026/08/24/bae-darpa-rf-heat-reduction/amp/

DARPA laying the ground work to build cooling into semi conductor devices architecture. They are trying to reach "16x the output power density of production GaN amplifiers".

Though tangentially related, this could possibly be laying the groundwork for future UWB semi devices.

If anyone wants to dive in to the official docs and try to make more sense of them they are here:

https://sam.gov/opp/efe061b616704f59a798c9d72163e678/view?
 
Last edited:
Reddington777 said:
https://thedefensepost.com/2026/08/24/bae-darpa-rf-heat-reduction/amp/

DARPA laying the ground work to build cooling into semi conductor devices architecture. They are trying to reach "16x the output power density of production GaN amplifiers". Im not able to find the original DARPA
Click to expand...
The good trick would be thermal management that isnt electrically conductive or even semiconductive. That would let you lay down thermal management layers directly onto the chips electrical connections.

For that matter, if someone could finally figure out thermal superconductors, that would be nice. (I'm fairly reliably informed that they aren't prohibited by the laws of physics)
 

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