Prof. Zetian Mi selected as IEEE NTC Distinguished Lecturer

Prof. Zetian Mi is one of six individuals selected worldwide as a 2023 Distinguished Lecturer by the IEEE Nanotechnology Council (NTC). The title of his talk is “Nanoscale and Quantum Engineering of III-nitrides for High Efficiency UV Optoelectronics and Micro LEDs.”

Mi and his group have been making tremendous contributions to the advancement of semiconductor nanostructures and their application in electronic, photonic, clean energy, and quantum devices and systems. His research has led to two startup companies: NS Nanotech, Inc. and NX Fuels, Inc.

Mi provided the following information about his talk:

Microscale light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs), as well as LEDs and laser diodes operating in the mid and deep ultraviolet (UV), have emerged as the frontier of semiconductor optoelectronics and are poised to revolutionize mobile displays, virtual/augmented reality, water purification, sterilization, and many other critical applications. The achievement of high efficiency micro-LEDs and UV optoelectronics, however, has remained extremely challenging, due to materials imperfection of conventional III-nitride quantum wells. Here, I will present recent advances of nanoscale and quantum engineering of III-nitride heterostructures that can fundamentally break the efficiency bottleneck of micro-LEDs and deep UV optoelectronics.

Due to the efficient surface strain relaxation, III-nitride nanostructures exhibit significantly reduced dislocation densities compared to their conventional quantum well counterparts. Our studies have further shown that p-type Mg-dopant incorporation is much more efficient in nanostructures. These attributes have been exploited to realize high efficiency micro-LEDs operating in the deep visible (green and red) and to achieve relatively efficient LEDs operating in the UV-C. Moreover, the three-dimensional quantum confinement of charge carriers can drastically reduce the transparency carrier density of ultrawide bandgap semiconductors, leading to electrically pumped mid and deep UV laser diodes with ultralow threshold operation.

Mi has previously served as a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Photonics Society. He is a Fellow of IEEE, the American Physical Society, Optica (formerly OSA), and SPIE.

As an NTC Distinguished Lecturer, he is open to requests for his lecture by IEEE student branches, and NTC or member Society Chapters and Conferences. His term will last one year, beginning January 1, 2023.