Astralux Inc. in Boulder, Colo., and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have teamed up to process gallium nitride films on silicon carbide and sapphire substrates for use in industrial devices.
Gallium nitride can be made into light-emitting diodes and diode lasers in the green-to-ultraviolet range. It also has shown potential for applications in display technology, optical memory and special detectors and transistors. The cooperative research and development agreement calls for developing transistors for high-temperature operation and solar-blind UV detectors.