Publications

High temperature electronics, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and sensors that are able to operate between 300°C to 600°C have broad applications in harsh environments such as oil/gas exploration, geothermal development, industrial manufacturing processes, and space exploration. 4H-silicon carbide (SiC) is a good material for harsh environment applications because of its wide bandgap, high carrier mobilities, excellent thermal and chemical stabilities, and high breakdown electric field strength. Several 4H-SiC devices and integrated circuits have been studied in this work,...

Silicon carbide (SiC) based electronics and sensors hold promise for pushing past the limits of current technology to achieve small, durable devices that can function in high-temperature, high- voltage, corrosive, and biological environments. SiC is an ideal material for such conditions due to its high mechanical strength, excellent chemical stability, and its biocompatibility. Consequently, SiC thin films and nanowires have attracted interest in applications such as micro- and nano-electromechanical systems, biological sensors, field emission cathodes, and energy storage devices....

Gas sensors can provide information about the presence of dangerous gases in industrial and residential sites, allowing for improved environmental protection and human health and safety. In order to enable ubiquitous wireless monitoring of combustible and toxic gases, sensor elements with low power consumption are required. Two common types of gas sensors, namely calorimetric and conductometric sensors, rely on heated sensor elements to activate the appropriate reactions with the gas of interest, resulting in high power requirements to maintain the necessary operating temperatures....

Metal oxides have unique characteristics for a variety of modern applications such as thin films and nano-structured materials in optoelectronic devices and renewable energy productions. In this dissertation, three different metal oxides are developed: solution processed antimony doped tin oxide (ATO) thin films for transparent electrodes; high aspect-ratio ZnO nanowires with ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) TiO2 for stabilizations as photo-anodes; and spin-coated SnO2 films for TFTs (Thin Film Transistors) in the applications of...