Master's Thesis

I did my Master's at Rochester Institute of Technology between August 2019 and May 2021. For my thesis, I worked on ideating, designing, fabricating and testing a novel semiconductor device that integrates memory functionality with GaN micro-LEDs. 

Charge-trap flash memory utilizing a high-k dielectric stack of Al2O3/HfO2/Al2O3 was developed and incorporated within a transistor in series with a vertical micro-LED. 

The full thesis can be found at RIT's Digital Institutional Repository. Click here! 

Thesis Title: Development of a Monolithically Integrated GaN Nanowire Memory Device

Thesis Abstract:

Gallium nitride (GaN) devices are of particular interest for a variety of fields and application spaces. The materials properties of GaN make it an ideal semiconductor for electronics and optoelectronics. Within electronics, GaN is of great interest for high-power and high-frequency electronics. Within optoelectronics, GaN has enabled efficient lighting and continues to be scaled for augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) application spaces through the realization of micro-LEDs. In scaling such devices for incorporation into larger systems that span multiple fields, monolithically integrating other devices and components would provide greater flexibility and improve system-level performance. One such avenue for explored here is the development and integration of a GaN-based memory device with a light-emitting diode (LED). Specifically, a nanowire memory device integrated vertically with an LED.

Initial work involved developing and verifying a high-κ dielectric memory stack on Si for memory characteristics. This was followed by fabrication of the integrated memory device and LED on a green LED GaN-on-sapphire substrate through a top-down approach. Initial electrical testing showed a functional, blue-shifted LED and the existence of a 2.5 V memory window for a +/-10 V program/erase window. Finally, a new self-limiting etch technique was examined to address possibilities for further scaling nanowires.