National Epitaxy Facility (NEF)

The Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride is the main supplier of nitride epitaxy within the EPSRC National Epitaxy Facility (NEF). The NEF provides custom-designed epitaxial structures and devices to researchers at UK Universities, who can apply to access its services as part of their EPSRC grant proposals.  The NEF website is a goldmine of information about the activities of the facility (https://www.nationalepitaxyfacility.co.uk/). 

Researchers who are developing new ideas for semiconductor materials or devices might be particularly interested in the pump-priming scheme, which allow applicants to access a small number of growth runs (for free and without needing a current EPSRC grant) to try out new ideas and support the development of new proposals.

Recent epitaxy supplied by the Cambridge Centre to NEF users has included high electron mobility transistor structures (HEMTs) and doped layers for studies by deep level transient spectroscopy studies of defects, illustrating the relevance of NEF epitaxy to both applied and fundamental science. 

If you're a researcher at a UK university and would like to discuss accessing nitride epitaxy from the NEF, please contact Prof. Rachel Oliver by email.