The National Science Foundation has awarded a two-year Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) grant to Steven May, PhD, professor and department head of materials science and engineering, Megan Creighton, PhD, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, and Yong-Jie Hu, PhD, assistant professor of materials science and engineering.
The work done at Drexel is just one piece of NSF’s plan. May, Creighton and Hu will be working on developing research capabilities and collaborations of germanium oxide-based semiconductors. These semiconductors are currently being considered for use with power
electronics and infrared detection. As they work on this project, faculty from partner institutions will be working on engineering challenges dealing with the material design, manufacturing, property control and device integration of these semiconductors.
Ultimately the work done within each of these projects will allow germanium oxide semiconductors to move from the lab into commercial use with electric vehicles and autonomous systems.
The team will also begin to bolster the semiconductor workforce in the US by providing students from traditionally under-represented groups with summer research experiences focused on oxide semiconductors and creating educational training opportunities for students at technical colleges close to the institutions above.