Professor Martin Kuball of the University of Bristol's School of Physics in the UK is one of 19 people to receive the UK Royal Society's Wolfson Research Merit Award
Jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the UK's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Wolfson Research Merit Award scheme aims to provide universities with additional support to enable them to attract science talent from overseas and to retain respected UK scientists of outstanding achievement and potential.
Kuball has received the award for the research project 'Gallium Nitride Diamond Electronics – Novel Thermal Management Concepts', which focuses in particular on microwave and power electronic devices.
For the past 50 years, microwave and power electronic devices have relied on traditional semiconductor materials such as silicon and gallium arsenide (GaAs). Using devices based on materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) would reduce weight, increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption. However, power densities in such devices can now reach levels equal to the surface of the sun. The research therefore focuses on how to keep these device as cool as possible, for example using their integration with the highest thermal conductivity material known (diamond) as well as the reliability and lifetime of these new technologies.
The Royal Society is a self-governing fellowship of many of scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering, and medicine. Founded in 1660, its fundamental purpose is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.
