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Biography and education
Prof. Piner’s research and technology development interests are in the growth and characterization, semiconductor fabrication, and performance optimization of gallium nitride, aluminum nitride and their alloys for device applications. Less than one-tenth of the lab performance capability of III-Nitride electronic devices has been realized commercially. Thermal impedance is a key hindrance to closing this gap. The nitrogen-face of the polar GaN crystal is a noteworthy research field. Coupled with chemical vapor deposition diamond, N-face GaN FETs will offer the next device performance revolution of Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (WBGs) in a variety of harsh environments, including high temperature applications. The AlGaN/GaN structure has particularly sensitive surface states coupled to the 2DEG channel of the FET. The sensitivity is exploitable for biological, radiological, chemical, and environmental sensors.
Prof. Piner's Texas State team has demonstrated a technique to grow single crystal GaN on patterned diamond. The technique involves epitaxial lateral overgrowth of III-Nitride thin film on exposed diamond windows demonstrating, for the first time, direct contact between III-Nitride semiconductors and diamond, without intervening passivating or protection layers. Combining this new technique with Ultra Wideband Gap (UWBG) semiconductors and heterojunctions will enable better modeling to comprehend phonon and vibrational-modes in UWBG materials and their interfaces with diamond, as well as lead to the interesting p-diamond/n-Al(Ga)N junction to study electrical transport and the potential for such a p-n junction for device applications. UWBG hetero-integration with diamond is expected to revolutionize the thermal transport challenges of high Al-content AlGaN/AlN (and gallium oxide, in the future) as well as enable a novel electrical junction device.
The combinable features of III-Nitride materials; N-face surface, wireless functionality, and harsh environment immunity in a single, environmentally safe, semiconductor material system, could pioneer a new era in solid-state device utilization for extreme applications.
Prof. Piner's Texas State team has demonstrated a technique to grow single crystal GaN on patterned diamond. The technique involves epitaxial lateral overgrowth of III-Nitride thin film on exposed diamond windows demonstrating, for the first time, direct contact between III-Nitride semiconductors and diamond, without intervening passivating or protection layers. Combining this new technique with Ultra Wideband Gap (UWBG) semiconductors and heterojunctions will enable better modeling to comprehend phonon and vibrational-modes in UWBG materials and their interfaces with diamond, as well as lead to the interesting p-diamond/n-Al(Ga)N junction to study electrical transport and the potential for such a p-n junction for device applications. UWBG hetero-integration with diamond is expected to revolutionize the thermal transport challenges of high Al-content AlGaN/AlN (and gallium oxide, in the future) as well as enable a novel electrical junction device.
The combinable features of III-Nitride materials; N-face surface, wireless functionality, and harsh environment immunity in a single, environmentally safe, semiconductor material system, could pioneer a new era in solid-state device utilization for extreme applications.
Research Interests
Featured grants
- Piner, Edwin L (Principal), Haque, Ariful (Co-Principal), Valles Molina, Damian (Co-Principal), Miyahara, Yoichi (Co-Principal), Droopad, Ravindranath (Supporting), Holtz, Mark W (Supporting), Scolfaro, Luisa M (Supporting), Miller, David R von (Supporting), Ahmed, Mohammad Iqbal (Supporting). Center for Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductor Device Materials, National Science Foundation, Federal, $7500000. (Submitted: December 6, 2024, Funded: September 1, 2025 - August 31, 2029). Grant.
- Haque, Ariful, Droopad, Ravindranath, Holtz, Mark W, Piner, Edwin L, Geerts, Wilhelmus J, Chen, Yihong, Hudnall, Todd W, Wistey, Mark A, Miyahara, Yoichi, Smith, Casey Eben, Mahato, Dip Narayan, Rastogi, Shiva Kumar, Kim, Namwon. Acquisition of a state-of-the-art Photoluminescence Spectrometer for Materials Characterization in Research and Education, Department of Defense, Federal, $434519. (Submitted: September 2023, Funded: 2024 - 2025). Grant.
- Miyahara, Yoichi (Principal), Satchell, Nathan David (Co-Principal), Holtz, Mark W (Co-Principal), Kim, Namwon (Co-Principal), Martin, Benjamin (Co-Principal), Chen, Yihong (Supporting), Theodoropoulou, Nikoleta (Supporting), Geerts, Wilhelmus J (Supporting), Piner, Edwin L (Supporting), Haque, Ariful (Supporting), Droopad, Ravindranath (Supporting), Mahato, Dip Narayan (Supporting), Smith, Casey Eben (Supporting). MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of state-of-the-art lithography system for micro/nanometer scale device fabrication in research and education, National Science Foundation, Federal, $569780. (Submitted: November 14, 2023, Funded: September 1, 2024 - August 31, 2027). Grant.
- Holtz, Mark W (Principal), Percent Contribution: %15, Chen, Yihong (Supporting), Percent Contribution: %11, Geerts, Wilhelmus J (Supporting), Percent Contribution: %15, Droopad, Ravindranath (Supporting), Percent Contribution: %8, Li, Jian (Co-Principal), Percent Contribution: %5, Myers, Thomas H (Supporting), Percent Contribution: %8, Piner, Edwin L (Supporting), Percent Contribution: %8, Theodoropoulou, Nikoleta (Supporting), Percent Contribution: %15, Zakhidov, Alexander (Supporting), Percent Contribution: %15. System of Integrated Characterization of Electronic Devices and Materials, U.S. AFOSR, Federal, $332086. (Funded: August 15, 2017 - August 14, 2018). Grant.
- Piner, Edwin L (Principal), Holtz, Mark W (Co-Principal). Integrated GaN HEMT on Diamond: Heterointerface and Thermal Transport Fundamentals, U. S. Army, Federal, $596000. (Funded: 2014 - 2017). Grant.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Siddique, A., Ahmed, R., Anderson, J. W., Holtz, M. W., & Piner, E. L. (2021). Improved Electrical Properties of AlGaN/GaN High-Electron-Mobility Transistors by In Situ Tailoring the SiNx Passivation Layer. ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces, 13, 18264–18273. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c01241
- Ahmed, R., Siddique, A., Anderson, J. W., Gautam, C., Holtz, M. W., & Piner, E. L. (2020). Integration of GaN and Diamond Using Epitaxial Lateral Overgrowth. ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces, 12(35), 39397–39404. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c10065
- Ahmed, R., Siddique, A., Saha, R., Anderson, J. W., Engdahl, C., Holtz, M. W., & Piner, E. L. (2020). Effect of precursor stoichiometry on morphology, phase purity, and texture formation of hot filament CVD diamond films grown on Si (100) substrate. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 31, 8597–8606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-03395-7
- Yates, L., Anderson, J., Gu, X., Lee, C., Bai, T., Mecklenburg, M., … Graham, S. (2018). Low Thermal Boundary Resistance Interfaces for GaN-on-Diamond Devices. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 10(28), 24302–24309. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b07014
- Ahmed, R., Nazari, M., Hancock, B. L., Simpson, J., Engdahl, C., Piner, E. L., & Holtz, M. W. (2018). Ultraviolet micro-Raman stress map of polycrystalline diamond grown selectively on silicon substrates using chemical vapor deposition. Applied Physics Letters, 112(18), 181907. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5027507
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: NAI Fellow, National Academy of Inventors. November 10, 2024 - Present
- Award / Honor Recipient: The Graduate College’s Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award in Math, Physical Sciences and Engineering, Texas State University. 2014
- Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Scholarly / Creative Activities, College of Science and Engineering, Physics. 2014
- Award / Honor Recipient: Best Paper Award, "New Technologies for Improving the High Frequency Performance of AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors", International Conf. on Advances in Electronics and Microelectronics, 2008, ENICS, Valencia, Spain, EU. September 1, 2008 - October 1, 2008
- Award / Honor Recipient: Engineers Council, NCSU Student Government. January 1, 1993
Featured service activities
- Member
STEM Workforce Advisory Council
- Chair
Materials with Intelligence
- Member
CIEDAR Working Group
- Member
COSE Tenure & Promotion Review Group
- Chair
Advanced Functional Materials-RSC Steering Committee
- Member
Physics Personnel Committee