School of Engineering hosted the First Episode of Technical Webinar Series 2021

The title of the webinar reads “From Traditional III-V HEMTs to III-Nitride HFETS: A Pathway to UWBG Transistors”

On February 26, 2021, the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) in collaboration with the IEEE BRACU Student Branch Chapter organized an enlivening session. The session was especially dedicated to the discerning young minds who will manifest extreme ascendancy in the upcoming days to put forward Bangladesh in every bit of the modern science and technology sector.

Semiconductor Electronics addresses the basic two phenomena of uncorrelated devices. A considerable demand exists for two types of semiconductor devices. The first one is operating at very high frequencies and low noise at one end. Whereas, the other one is a linear device operated at an elevated temperature that releases high power at one end. With the recent advancement of communication technology from 4G to 5G and even in the 6G to near future, devices need to operate at a very high frequency just when they are supposed to deliver substantial power on the other end. Scientists are working relentlessly to improve the efficiency of semiconductor materials. The transition from III-V HEMTS to III-Nitride devices and recently to the new class of devices based on Ultra-Wide-Band-Gap (UWBG) was addressed by the speaker of this webinar. He discussed the trending device modeling strategies and new contributions to the development of Semiconductor Technology.

The stellar initiative to introduce this series of webinars was taken by Dr. AKM Abdul Malek Azad, honorable professor, founder and counselor of IEEE BRACU SBC. Dr. Azad’s visionary approach aligns with BRAC University’s internationalization activities and global affiliations. Dr. Azad is very optimistic to initiate outstanding opportunities for undergraduate students so that they can learn the newest tech-trends and reach appreciable landmarks with knowledge. As a counselor of the IEEE BRACU SBC, Dr. Azad closely works with the students and keeps motivating them. Professor Arshad M. Chowdhury, the Dean of the School of Engineering was also present throughout the session.

“We are readily emphasizing to bring the most out of our students. For this, we have made a significant change in our undergraduate curriculum module and improved our pedagogical pattern to keep up with the quality education that we always promise to our students in the first place. We are observing how the global market is changing rapidly. The current technological trend is moving up and several semiconductor industries are growing inside Bangladesh. The fast-paced industrialization has demanded students to master new skills. In this regard, I think this is the right time to listen to expert practitioners like Professor Mehdi Anwar. I believe students and faculty members will get benefited from his insightful speech.” adds Professor Arshad Chowdhury at the beginning of the session.

The webinar was moderated by Dr. AKM Abdul Malek Azad. A significant number of audiences showed up including undergraduate students and respected faculty members both inside and outside of Brac University. The main speaker of this session was Dr. Mehdi Anwar, a Jefferson Science Fellow. He is currently serving the Electrical and Computer Engineering department of the University of Connecticut, USA as a Full Professor. Dr. Anwar has more than 240 journal publications, conference proceedings and book chapters. His research work is very impactful and disciplined in the Semiconductor Technology field. Dr. Mehdi Anwar is currently working on ZnO Nanowire-based UV detection and energy harvesting, III-Nitrides and Oxide Semiconductor-based high power and high-temperature quantum cascade lasers, RF Oxide Semiconductor and III-Nitride HFETs and memristors, to name a few. Throughout the session, he addressed the trending growth of Semiconductor Technology, the different frequency bands and devices, the real-life application of semiconductor devices in the defense/military sector, the methods of technology developments, the transconductance of materials, the effective approach to improve the usefulness of Si materials, the Ultra-Wide Bandgap material, the Wide Bandgap III-Nitride HFET and so on.

Scientists believe that the scholarly contribution towards UWBG transistors will bring unforeseen possibilities for the power and electronic technology. The UWBG transistor will transform the traditional concept of power grid. UWBG can stir the operation of power switching more accurately under high frequency level than a traditional silicon. UWBG’s lightweight feature and high-temperature operation mode can alter the transportation models, aerospace and military-defense system. It will be extensively used in power system technology, electric vehicles, mobiles and telecommunications.

The webinar ended with the speaker answering several questions from the audience. Dr. Mehdi Anwar expressed his generous gesture towards the organizers and he agreed upon making more future collaborations with Brac University.