Owing to the superior properties of silicon carbide (SiC), such as higher breakdown voltage, higher thermal conductivity, higher operating frequency, higher operating temperature, and higher saturation drift velocity, SiC has attracted much attention from researchers and the industry for decades. With the advances in material science and processing technology, many power applications such as new smart energy vehicles, power converters, inverters, and power supplies are being realized using SiC power devices. In particular, SiC MOSFETs are generally chosen to be used as a power device due to their ability to achieve lower on-resistance, reduced switching losses, and high switching speeds than the silicon counterpart and have been commercialized extensively in recent years. A general review of the critical processing steps for manufacturing SiC MOSFETs, types of SiC MOSFETs, and power applications based on SiC power devices are covered in this paper. Additionally, the reliability issues of SiC power MOSFET are also briefly summarized.

With the increasing demand of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices that outperform the silicon-based devices, high cost and low yield of SiC manufacturing process are the most urgent issues yet to be solved. It has been shown that the performance of SiC devices is largely influenced by the presence of so-called killer defects, formed during the process of crystal growth. In parallel to the improvement of the growth techniques for reducing defect density, a post-growth inspection technique capable of identifying and locating defects has become a crucial necessity of the manufacturing process. In this review article, we provide an outlook on SiC defect inspection technologies and the impact of defects on SiC devices. This review also discusses the potential solutions to improve the existing inspection technologies and approaches to reduce the defect density, which are beneficial to mass production of high-quality SiC devices.

The monolithic integration of InGaN-based micro-LEDs is being of interest toward developing full-color micro-displays. However, the color stability in InGaN red micro-LED is an issue that needs to be addressed. In this study, the modified distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) were designed to reduce the transmission of undesired spectra. The calculated optical properties of the InGaN red micro-LEDs with conventional and modified DBRs have been analyzed, respectively. The CIE 1931 color space and the encoded 8-bit RGB values are exhibited for the quantitative assessment of color stability. The results suggest the modified DBRs can effectively reduce the color shift, paving the way for developing full-color InGaN-based micro-LED displays.

Nowadays, the flurry of autonomous vehicles is in full swing regarding light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and depth perception. For such visual perception, light plays an important role. We human beings recognize and distinguish surrounding details when the eye focuses light on the retina. For the LiDAR system, pulsed lasers are employed to measure the relevant range. Thus, appropriate light sources with high performance are in urgent demand. Auspiciously, a revolutionary semiconductor laser technology, namely the photonic-crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL), emerges over the past two decades. PCSEL exhibits not only a symmetric beam profile with narrow beam divergence but also a high-power operation with controllability. Therefore, it may be the holy grail for an ultracompact time-of-flight (ToF) LiDAR system. Hereupon, comprehensive analyses of PCSEL-relevant scientific publications and patent documents are conducted. We thereby review the development progress of PCSEL technology. Moreover, a systematic simulation is performed, providing real-time visualization of relevant point clouds with different beam divergence. PCSEL technology with unprecedented merits indeed turns a new leaf and a paradigm shift in LiDAR application is ongoing. It is believed that a lens-free and adjustment-free ultracompact apparatus in simplicity can be expected.

This study conducts comprehensive performance analyses of a commercial photonic-crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) via small-signal measurement and the bit-error-rate test. Meanwhile, the radio frequency characteristics of the PCSEL are unveiled for the first time. Compared to the vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, the PCSEL shows great potential for a broader optical bandwidth that is benefited from the high optical-confinement factor. A maximum bandwidth of around 2.32 GHz is experimentally observed when the PCSEL was biased at 340 mA. Moreover, a theoretical calculation was applied to shed light on the characteristics of the small-signal measurement, providing a deep insight into the corresponding intrinsic response model. The signal transmission capability of the PCSEL was investigated as well. The maximum bit rate and corresponding rise time transmitted at 500 Mbps are 1.2 Gbps and 186.16 ps, respectively. Thus, a high-speed PCSEL can be realised with a shrunk form factor, serving as a promising candidate for the next-generation light sources in high-speed optical communication.

Here we discuss the characteristics and different synthesis approaches of QD-based LEDs for their potential applications in display and lighting technologies along with their recent breakthrough.