Ke Zeng
Assistant Professor,
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department,
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte,
Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Office: Grigg 214
E-mail: kzeng1@charlotte.edu
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Biography
Before joining UNCC, Dr. Zeng was a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University’s Wide-Bandgap Lab (2019-2024), where he focused on novel vertical gallium oxide (Ga2O3) and gallium nitride (GaN) devices. During this time, he pioneered the study of diffusion doping in Ga2O3 and developed the Ga2O3 'Vertical Diffused Barrier Field-Effect-Transistor’ (VDBFET), designed for next-generation ultra-high-power electronics, especially for fast electric-vehicle charging, solid-state-transformers, and extreme environment operations. He also demonstrated state-of-the-art vertical GaN diodes with stable avalanching capability up to 3-kV, utilizing various novel edge termination techniques.
He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University at Buffalo- SUNY (2013-2019), specializing in the design and fabrication of high-voltage lateral Ga2O3 MOSFETs. He has participated in some of the earliest work on Ga2O3 device research in the Singisetti Research Group at UB. Most notably, the first demonstration of a kilo-volt class lateral MOSFET at 1.85-kV, and later, the world record 8-kV Ga2O3 MOSFET. He also holds a B.Eng. from the Communication University of Zhejiang, with a passion for general science and engineering topics as well as sharing and communicating them.
News
Research positions are available at all levels, feel free to send an email if you are interested in joining the group.
(May, 2024) Dr. Ke Zeng is visiting Stanford University's WBG-Lab in EE Department as a visiting Professor during Summer of 2024.
(May, 2024) Dr. Ke Zeng gave an invited talk at the 245th ECS (The Electrochemical Society) meeting held at San Francisco, titled “(Invited) Breakdown Improvement of Mg-Diffused Current Blocking Layer in Ga2O3”. He also served as the chair for session “H01 - Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Materials and Devices - Gallium Oxide 1”. More details can be found at: https://ecs.confex.com/ecs/245/meetingapp.cgi/Symposium/4786
(May, 2024) Dr. Ke Zeng published an invited paper on Applied Physics Letters, which was also selected as an editor's pick - “Simultaneous drive-in of Mg and disassociation of Mg-H complex in Ga2O3 by oxygen annealing achieving remarkable current blocking”.
“Leveraging defect to enhance doping in Ga2O3: While most efforts in semiconductor research focus on minimizing and controlling defects, we find, surprisingly, that gallium vacancy, a common defect in Ga2O3, created by high-temperature oxygen annealing, may be responsible for a dramatic increase of Mg doping density in Ga2O3 through diffusion process. This resulted in a remarkably higher breakdown voltage in the Mg-doped current blocking layer in Ga2O3, opening up new avenues for the realization of various high-power vertical Ga2O3 electron devices. Most importantly, we're seeing the promising trend where a higher Mg diffused doping unambiguously resulted in a higher vertical blocking voltage.”