Event Details

InP high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are an essential component of low-noise microwave receivers. At cryogenic temperatures, InP HEMTs exhibit noise performance only 5X above the quantum limit, the best among all semiconductor technologies. However, devices with even better noise performance are of significant interest for the most demanding applications such as radio astronomy and quantum computing. Gain stability is also of high importance for microwave radiometers used for weather and climate studies. In this talk, I will describe our studies of the physical mechanisms underlying noise in InP HEMTs and how materials and nano fabrication advances could lead to enhanced performance.

September 26, 2025

Join Zoom Meeting

 

Host: Steve Crago
POC: Amy Kasmir

Speaker Bio

Austin Minnich is Deputy Chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology. He received his Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in 2006 and his PhD from MIT in 2011, after which he started his position at Caltech. He is the recipient of a 2013 NSF CAREER Award, a 2015 ONR Young Investigator Award, a 2017 Director of Research Award from the Navy, the 2017 Junior Prize from the International Photothermal and Photoacoustics Association, the 2017 Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award, and a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).