KOSEN 한인과학기술자네트워크

This final report of ITRI's panel on high-temperature electronics in Japan consists of an executive summary, an introductory chapter, and five chapters by panel members on various aspects of wide bandgap electronics. The report also contains site reports for the various companies, labs, universities, and government offices that the panel visited in Japan. Comparisons are made between developments in Japan and the United States. Principal findings include : - The size of the GaN effort in Japan is significantly larger than in the U.S. - Scientists and engineers in Japan see optoelectronics and high-power, high-frequency electronics as the major application opportunities for wide bandgap semiconductors; high-temperature electronics is not consedered a major applications field. - Japan is well ahead of the U.S. in materials and device development for light emitters based on Group III nitrides; and scientists there see the short-term applications of GaN technology to lie predominantly in optical devices, mostly light emitters. - The United States currently is ahead in GaN electronic device developments for high-power, high-frequency applications. - In silicon carbide technology, the U.S. is ahead in SiC bulk crystal and epitaxial production. - The major difference between Japan and the United States lies in their visions of the importance of fundamental materials research in wide bandgap semiconductors; the Japanese see basic research on fundamental properties of materials and technology as a key for fast device development in the 21st century.