November 19
@
1:00 PM
–
2:00 PM
Nanoscale and Polarization Engineering: Unlocking New Frontiers with III-Nitrides
Abstract:
Wide and ultrawide bandgap semiconductors offer unprecedented opportunities to address some of the most critical challenges we face in the next decades: energy efficiency, clean energy, environmental sustainability, and quantum information. In this talk, I will present some recent advances of nanoscale and polarization engineering of (ultra)wide bandgap III-nitride semiconductors and their emerging applications in next-generation microelectronics and photonics. By exploiting the strong excitonic effect in extreme quantum-confined nanostructures, conventional low-efficiency AlGaN can be turned into high-brightness deep-ultraviolet emitters, which offer the only alternative technology to replace mercury lamps for water purification/disinfection. The strong excitonic effect can be further exploited to achieve ultrahigh efficiency nano-LEDs to power future virtual/augmented reality. I will also discuss the recent discovery of ferroelectricity in III-nitride semiconductors, which leads to dramatically enhanced linear and nonlinear optical properties, piezoelectric response, and reconfigurability, that are urgently needed for integrated quantum photonics for information processing, acousto-electronics for 5G/6G technologies, memory-in-computing in harsh environments, and light-driven artificial photosynthesis for clean energy.
Professor Zetian Mi
Bio:
Zetian Mi is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Pallab K. Bhattacharya Collegiate Professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of semiconductor nanotechnology, optoelectronics, and photonics. He is a recipient of Optica’s Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award (2025), AVS NSTD Nanotechnology Recognition Award (2025), ISCS Quantum Devices Award (2024), Science and Engineering Award from W. M. Keck Foundation (2020), IEEE Photonics Society Distinguished Lecturer Award (2021), and IEEE Nanotechnology Council Distinguished Lecturer Award (2020). At the University of Michigan, he received the David E. Liddle Research Excellence Award (2021), Rexford E. Hall Innovation Excellence Award (2024), and Wise-Najafi Prize for Engineering Excellence in the Miniature World (2025). He is a fellow of IEEE, APS, Optica, and SPIE. He is a co-founder of NS Nanotech Inc. and NX Fuels Inc.