Gallium Nitride Nanoparticles

The Plasmas and Nanomaterials Laboratory (PNL) has successfully created gallium nitride (GaN) nanocrystals that exhibit photo-luminescent properties. GaN has been the subject of research since the mid twentieth century as a semiconductor. It has promising applications for use in light emitting diode (LED) architectures and photovoltaics. The major innovation of the PNL is the method of production of the GaN nanocrystals. The PNL has created an all-gas-phase, non-thermal plasma reactor to facilitate this. To date, we have successfully synthesized GaN nanocrystals and are working on gas-phase post-treatments and alloying to modify their luminescence. This single step non-thermal plasma reactor to synthesize GaN nanocrystals on both rigid and flexible substrates enhances the versatility and cost effectiveness of GaN for use as a semiconductor in both flexible and rigid LED and photovoltaic applications.