The Action “ReSensE” (Reversed-polarity III-nitride Sensors for Enhanced UV-detection) aims at developing a new type of semiconductor material, and at its use for enabling more efficient sensors of ultraviolet light.
III-nitride materials (GaN, InN, AlN and their alloys) constitute a very well-known semiconductor system, with tremendous industrial applications from energy-saving LED bulbs and lasers, to the next generation of high-frequency transistors for wireless telecommunication.
To make these devices available to the benefit of the general public, though, scientists need first to be able to synthesize the materials from their atomic constituents. This is done through a process called epitaxy, in which the atoms that form the materials are stacked, layer by layer, in a controlled way, using specially designed reactors at very high temperatures. In theory, the atom stacking sequence of these materials can be done in two possible ways (or polarities), but one of them is much easier to control and almost always used.
However, III-nitride materials grown with the standard polarity have internal electric fields oriented in a direction that is very detrimental to the operation of most devices. For this reason, ReSensE wants to develop new epitaxial techniques for growing III-nitride materials with reversed polarity (the so-called nitrogen-polarity). In addition to that, ReSensE investigates the use of these new materials in highly-efficient UV sensors, which could be used in flame detection systems for fire prevention, as well as in many other applications such as control of industrial processes, diagnostic equipment, and space explorations.
