At “Falling Walls Labs”, researchers present their scientific breakthroughs and the resulting potential fields of application. The aim is to present concrete ideas to a broad audience for improving the world and the society, and to help support these ideas. Referring to the fall of the wall and the following reunification of Germany and Berlin the ideas are always introduced with “Breaking the wall of...”. This year 69 competitions (“Labs”) took place worldwide, two of them in Germany.
Dr. Chou entered the Lab Adlershof with a three-minute presentation on the topic “Breaking the wall of compound semiconductors”. The idea is to produce efficient semiconductor components from gallium oxide that can be used to minimize the still alarming power losses within today’s conversion and distribution of electrical energy. IKZ has been working on this topic already for years, and industry is also becoming increasingly interested. Dr. Chou (doctorate at TU Berlin 2023) played a key role in developing the manufacturing process for thin gallium oxide films at the IKZ within the group “Epitaxy of Semi-conducting Gallium Oxide” under the lead of Dr. Andreas Popp. A spin-off is planned to bring this expertise to industrial implementation. For this idea, the jury awarded him second place in the competition, chosen from 15 participants in the final round. This means that he – and the idea of an energy-efficient world with the help of gallium oxide – is nominated for the Falling Walls Science Summit in November. The award was presented by the President of BAM, Prof. Ulrich Panne.
Contact:
Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ)
Dr. Andreas Popp
Phone +49 30 6392-2844
Email andreas.poppikz-berlin.de
Dr. Ta-Shun Chou
Phone +49 30 6392-2846
Email ta-shun.chouikz-berlin.de
