Kazuharu Sasaki from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Nakano, Tanemura, and Maeda Laboratory), a fourth-year undergraduate student, has received the Presentation Encouragement Award at the 16th Nano-Structure Epitaxial Growth Conference.

Name of award and short explanation about the award

The Presentation Encouragement Award is given to young members who present outstanding papers contributing to the advancement of crystal growth and related research at the Nano-Epi Subcommittee conference. The award aims to recognize their achievements.

About awarded research(activity)

Kazuharu Sasaki, a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Nakano, Tanemura, and Maeda Laboratory), presented his research titled "Size Dependence of Current-Voltage Characteristics of Si-Doped AlN Schottky Barrier Diodes" at the 16th Nano-Structure Epitaxial Growth Conference held at the Kochi Prefectural Cultural Hall from May 30 to June 1, 2024, and received the Presentation Encouragement Award.

About awarded research(activity)

Aluminum nitride (AlN) is attracting attention as a next-generation power device material capable of operating under high temperatures and high voltages due to its very large band gap and high dielectric breakdown field. This study investigated the current transport mechanisms in AlN Schottky barrier diodes in detail, successfully elucidating the barrier height and its variation. Additionally, the study revealed that the defect density causing this variation is much smaller than the dislocation density, suggesting that, unlike Si and GaN, where dislocations are the main cause of leakage current, other factors may be involved in AlN. The findings of this study are expected to significantly contribute to the understanding of the fundamental properties of AlN.

Your impression & future plan

I am deeply honored to receive such a prestigious award. This recognition is thanks to the generous guidance of Professor Maeda, the members of the NTT Basic Research Laboratories who assisted in our joint research, and the support of my laboratory members. I will continue to devote myself to my research with renewed determination.

Nanoepi Society HP: https://sites.google.com/view/nanoepi/event?authuser=0
Maeda Laboratory HP: https://sites.google.com/g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/maeda-lab/home