Nagoya University Unveils Full Process Stack Breakthroughs to Commercialize Gallium Oxide Power Semiconductors on Silicon

Nagoya University presents six advances in gallium oxide growth, including world-first silicon integration, to accelerate next-gen power semiconductor production.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 14, 2026, 5:59 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Nagoya University

Revolutionizing the Efficiency of Power Conversion Systems

As the global demand for high-performance electronics in electric vehicles and aerospace applications intensifies, the search for semiconductors that can handle higher voltages with lower energy loss has led researchers to gallium oxide. Known for its wide bandgap, Ga₂O₃ has the theoretical capacity to outperform existing silicon carbide and gallium nitride technologies. However, until recently, the high cost of raw materials and the difficulty of large-scale manufacturing have stalled its progress. Researchers at Nagoya University, in collaboration with spinout NU-Rei Co., Ltd., are now addressing these bottlenecks with a suite of six process advances that cover everything from raw material sourcing to full-device integration.

The High-Density Oxygen Radical Source Breakthrough

At the center of these advancements is the development of a High-Density Oxygen Radical Source (HD-ORS). This technology utilizes an ozone-oxygen mixture to double the density of atomic oxygen available during the thin-film growth process compared to industry standards. By increasing the oxygen concentration, the system promotes the vital chemical reaction needed to form Ga₂O₃ while suppressing volatile byproducts that typically escape the surface and slow down production. This source is uniquely compatible with both Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) for precision research and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) for high-speed industrial manufacturing.

Accelerating Production with High-Speed Homoepitaxial Growth

By applying the HD-ORS technology to existing growth methods, the Nagoya team has achieved homoepitaxial growth—growing gallium oxide on native substrates—at a rate of 1 µm per hour. This speed is nearly ten times faster than conventional methods when using PVD. Furthermore, the researchers have managed to lower the growth temperature to 300°C, a significant reduction that minimizes thermal stress on the materials. These high-speed, low-temperature techniques are essential for moving gallium oxide out of the laboratory and onto the assembly lines of semiconductor manufacturers.