From the Back Cover
Like all semiconductors, silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) have an energy gap separating the electron energy levels that are normally filled with electrons from those that are normally empty of electrons. Both SiC and GaN have high bond strengths, making them suitable for high-temperature applications. Their wide band gaps also permit a number of novel applications for the materials, including blue and ultra-violet light-emitting devices as well as high-power and high-speed electronic devices. Porous layers of SiC or GaN can be formed by photo-electro-chemical etching, and these porous layers have unique properties and applications such as electronic/optical devices, fuel cells, catalytic sensors, and semipermeable membranes.
The book presents the state-of-the-art in knowledge and applications of porous semiconductor materials having a wide band gap, and the underlying scientific basis for each application area is described. The book starts with an overview of porous wide-band-gap technology. The coverage includes preparation, characterization, morphology and processing of porous SiC, growth of SiC, preparation and properties of porous GaN, growth of GaN, dislocation mechanism GaN films, electrical properties of porous SiC, magnetism of GaN nanostructures, SiC catalysis technology and nanoporous silicon carbide as a biomembrane for medical use.
This book gives both experts and nonexperts a good overview of porous semiconductors. The book is aimed at researchers intending to pursue work relating to porous wide-band-gap semiconductors in the manufacturing/semiconductor industry. It will also appeal to postgraduate students and researchers in materials science, engineering, chemistry, and nanotechnology.
Randall M. Feenstra is professor in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh (USA). He gained his PhD in applied physics at the California Institute of Technology (USA). His research interests include atomic structure, electronic spectroscopy of semiconductor materials and heterostructures, growth of semiconductor thin films by molecular beam epitaxy, and scanning probe microscopy. He has received awards from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Peter Mark Memorial Award of the American Vacuum Society and the IBM Outstanding Innovation Award. He has also been the co-organizer of the symposium on GaN and Related Alloys at the MRS Fall Meeting, has been part of the organizing committee for the Electronic Materials Conference, has been a member of the Organizing Committee and Conference Chair for the Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Semiconductor Interfaces.
Dr. Colin E. C. Wood has a PhD in physical chemistry from Nottingham University (UK). He has substantial industrial and academic experience including as senior physicist at the Philips Research Laboratory in Salford (UK), Senior Research Associate at Cornell University (USA), Assistant Director at GEC Hirst Research Centre Wembley (UK), COO at Northeast Semiconductor Inc., Ithaca (USA) and Research Professor at University of Maryland (USA). He is a Founder Member of the Cornell Sub-Micron Center (NRRFS now NNF) and a Founder Member of the UK Low-Dimensional Solids Programme. His awards include the Patterson Medal from the Institute of Physics (UK).
