Zlatko Sitar, North Carolina State University
How do we make AlGaN into a useful semiconductor?
Zlatko Sitar is a Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU). His research is focused on bulk- and thin-film growth, characterization, and device development in wide bandgap semiconductors. He has developed, patented and commercialized a process for growth of AlN crystals, which is currently the only commercial high-quality AlN crystal growth process in the world (commercialized by HexaTech, Inc.); developed, patented and commercialized polishing and device layer growth processes on AlN wafers, which are the basis for high-efficiency deep-UV lasers and light-emitting diodes; invented and patented a process for growth of III-nitride lateral polar structures via MOCVD; and proposed and demonstrated novel devices based on this invention, which include lateral pn diodes, low-contact resistance field effect transistors, and quasi phase matched structures for optical frequency doubling. Sitar has also developed silicon-on-diamond wafer technology, and increased power-handling capability of devices fabricated on these hybrid wafers by a factor of fifty. His research has been instrumental in understanding and explaining electron field emission from diamond, carbon nanotubes and other carbon materials. Based on his research, Sitar founded HexaTech, Inc., an NCSU spin-out focused on AlN-based technology, and Adroit Materials, Inc., focused on devices on native GaN substrates and UV lasers.