{
  "id": 16036845,
  "title": "Sapphire-grown semiconductor film sets bandgap record",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/sapphire-grown-semiconductor-film-sets-bandgap-record",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-22T11:00:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sapphire-grown-semiconductor-bandgap.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A groundbreaking development in semiconductor technology has been achieved by a team led by Darrell Schlom at Cornell University. The researchers have created aluminum gallium oxide semiconductor films that exhibit a bandgap exceeding 7 electronvolts (eV), surpassing the previous record set by cubic boron nitride. This remarkable feat was accomplished by incorporating silicon into the thin films of aluminum gallium oxide, which enabled the control of electrical conductivity even at such high bandgaps.\n\nSemiconductors with wider bandgaps are highly sought after due to their ability to handle stronger electric fields, making them suitable for a wide range of electronic applications, including fast phone chargers, electric vehicles, and more. Aluminum gallium oxide is particularly promising in this regard, as its bandgap can be fine-tuned from 5.4 to 8.6 eV, the widest range of any known semiconductor material. However, previous attempts to utilize aluminum-rich films for electronics faced significant challenges, as they conducted electricity several orders of magnitude less effectively compared to their gallium-rich counterparts.\n\nTo overcome this hurdle, Schlom's team employed a meticulous fabrication process using sapphire as the substrate. They utilized molecular-beam epitaxy, a technique that constructs materials atom by atom, and introduced small amounts of silicon into the growing films. By doing so, they managed to maintain exceptional control over the material's conductivity, even surpassing 100 million times the performance of previous records above 6 eV. This \"colossal bandgap\" range allows for efficient room-temperature conductivity, opening up new possibilities for power electronics.\n\nThe successful operation of diodes and transistors using these colossal-bandgap semiconductor films further validates the potential of this innovative approach. Notably, the use of sapphire as the substrate offers several advantages, including its abundance, low cost, and existing high-quality manufacturing infrastructure, making these ultra-wide-bandgap materials more practical and cost-effective to produce. Schlom's team hopes that their findings will pave the way for a new generation of power electronics that waste less energy as heat, significantly improving overall efficiency.\n\nThis remarkable achievement was published in the prestigious journal Nature and has been thoroughly reviewed to ensure its credibility. The research has the potential to revolutionize the electronics industry, making power electronics more efficient and sustainable.",
  "summary": "Semiconductors with wider bandgaps could pave the way for smaller, more efficient electronics that can handle far higher voltages, but the wider this gap becomes, the harder it is to control how well a material conducts electricity. Now, a team led by Darrell Schlom at Cornell University has shown that adding silicon to thin films of aluminum gallium oxide can keep this control intact at bandgaps…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}