Content overview: “Cornell Team Sets Bandgap Record with Sapphire-Grown Semiconductor Film, Paving Way for Hi”. A Cornell University research team led by Darrell Schlom has developed a semiconductor film with the widest bandgap ever recorded, a breakthrough that could enable smaller, more efficient electronics capable of handling far higher voltages. The team achieved this by adding silicon to thin films of aluminum gallium oxide, a material grown on a sapphire substrate, which maintains electrical control even as the bandgap widens. Published in Nature, the research addresses a key challenge in semiconductor design: wider bandgaps allow devices to operate at higher voltages and temperatures, but they typically make it harder to control conductivity.
By incorporating silicon, the Cornell team preserved that control at bandgaps exceeding previous records. This advance could lead to more compact power electronics for applications such as electric vehicles, grid infrastructure, and renewable energy systems. The full version stays on the original page, which this listing opens directly.