SEMI
The “Semiconductors for Electronics, MEMS, and Integration” (SEMI) team is dedicated to developing semiconductor-based structures for electronic applications. To this end, the team synthesizes a wide variety of materials using both molecular beam epitaxy and vapor phase epitaxy. The main “traditional” wide-bandgap materials, such as Group III nitrides (GaN, AlN, etc.), silicon carbide (SiC), and zinc oxide (ZnO, ZnMgO), are studied and optimized to manufacture increasingly high-performance components and to offer new functionalities. Recently, the compounds AlScN and NbN have been added to the range of materials studied by the team, opening the door to new generations of components as well as new fields of application. SEMI’s scientific research thus covers four major areas: power electronics, high-frequency electronics, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), and the integration of functionalities.
The SEMI team’s primary objective is to develop materials for future generations of devices that meet societal needs as well as the ecological and digital transitions we are facing. This translates into the need to develop highly efficient components for energy conversion, low-power components for embedded electronics, 5G/6G connectivity components and systems, as well as sensors for strategic sectors such as nuclear energy, defense, and healthcare.
Despite the maturity and imminent industrialization of GaN-on-silicon components for power applications—and potentially for RF—the significant number of ongoing projects in which the SEMI team is involved (ANR, Labex GaNexT, IPCEI, PEPR Electronique, etc.) demonstrates the excitement surrounding these topics but also the need to continue more fundamental research to meet the requirements of next-generation devices. At the same time, the SEMI team’s work on integrating new functionalities is booming, thanks in particular to the properties of the new ScAlN and NbN materials developed within the team, while the SiC-based MEMS research area will be strengthened through the targeted RESISTE project under the PEPR Electronique initiative.
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