Heterogeneous integration with wide-bandgap GaN devices

We integrated boron arsenide cooling substrates with operating gallium nitride devices, connecting ultrahigh thermal conductivity materials with device-level heat dissipation. Published in [Nature Electronics 4, 416 (2021) · Download PDF], this work demonstrates the importance of both substrate properties and interface engineering for cooling power electronics.

Our research on heterogeneous integration with wide-bandgap semiconductors combines materials and interface engineering to improve device heat dissipation. Our review [Accounts of Materials Research 6, 563 (2025)] places the [Nature Electronics 4, 416 (2021) · Download PDF] device-integration study in this broader context.

Key findings

• Heterogeneous integration of BAs and boron phosphide cooling substrates with GaN high-electron-mobility transistor devices.
• Reported GaN-on-BAs thermal boundary conductance of approximately 250 MW/(m²·K).
• Operating AlGaN/GaN devices on BAs showed lower hotspot temperatures than comparison devices using diamond and silicon carbide at the same power density.

Relevance to power electronics and advanced packaging

This study demonstrates BAs as a cooling substrate for GaN electronics. It motivates thermal management strategies for high-power and radio-frequency devices and advanced electronic packaging. This work also motivates future approaches to thermal management for AI hardware.

Publication

Integration of boron arsenide cooling substrates into gallium nitride devices. [Nature Electronics 4, 416 (2021) · Download PDF].

J. S. Kang, M. Li, H. Wu, H. Nguyen, T. Aoki, and Y. Hu.

Read the Nature Electronics article

Related research

• BAs synthesis and ultrahigh thermal conductivity
• Flexible thermal interface materials
• Metallic θ-TaN thermal conductors