IMS PhD Candidate Sajal Islam Wins Anchor Award for Research Excellence
Sajal Islam is a 2024 recipient of Vanderbilt University’s Graduate Anchor Award for Research Excellence. The Anchor Awards recognize graduate student leaders across the university.
Sajal is dedicated to investigating the impact of radiation on wideband gap semiconductors, focusing particularly on SiC, GaN, and GaO. His research delves into the intricate interplay between device physics and material defects. By scrutinizing why these devices are susceptible to radiation and deciphering the mechanisms behind their failure, he aims to pinpoint their most vulnerable sensitive volumes. His investigations encompass understanding how radiation effects correlate with various factors such as radiation source, dosage, LET, range, device epitaxial thickness, termination, and structure. By bridging radiation-induced device failures with defects, he ventures into a truly interdisciplinary and captivating realm of research, with a specific focus on high-voltage power devices for space and defense applications.
Currently, in his third year of PhD studies in the Interdisciplinary Materials Science program, Sajal has already contributed significantly to the academic community with six publications to his name, two of which list him as the first author (list below). He has also been active in presenting his research at major conferences over the last year, including the 2023 Device Research Conference, ROCS-CSMANTECH Conference, IEEE Nuclear & Space Radiation Effects Conference, G-RADNEXT 2023, and VINSE NanoDay 2023, among others.
Publications:
- Single-Event Burnout in Vertical β-Ga2O3 Diodes with Pt/PtOx Schottky Contacts and High-k Field-Plate Dielectrics. (1st author)
- Single-Event Burnout by Cf-252 Irradiation in Vertical -Ga2O3Diodes with Pt and PtOx Schottky Contacts and High Permittivity Dielectric Field Plate (1st author)
- Single-event burnout in homojunction GaN vertical PiN diodes with hybrid edge termination design. (2nd author)
- Single-Event Effects in Heavy-Ion Irradiated 3kV SiC Charge-Balanced Power Devices. (3rd author)
- LET and Voltage Dependence of Single-Event Burnout and Single-Event Leakage Current in High-Voltage SiC Power Devices. (Co-author)
- Low-energy ion-induced single-event burnout in gallium oxide Schottky diodes (Co-author)
In addition to his research accomplishments, Sajal has received several awards that reflect his multifaceted skills. These awards include winning an AI-generated image contest at CSMANTECH 2023, being a co-winner of the IMS Sales Pitch in 2023, and receiving the Fan Favorite Poster Award at VINSE Nano Day 2023. His achievements underscore his role as a leading figure among his academic peers.
Outside of research, Sajal is dedicated to serving the community through working with several organizations with specific goals. He started as a Graduate Student Representative at the Muslim Student Association at Vanderbilt. He is a founding member of the ECE Student Association (Secretary) and BSA. He served as the Department Representative for his home program of IMS and worked as the Public Relations Chair at the Graduate Student Council (GSC) to serve the broader Vanderbilt graduate community. To serve the scientific community he is working as a reviewer for the IEEE Electron Device Letters and IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.
As Sajal’s advisor, Professor Ron Schrimpf commented, “Sajal’s work is particularly exciting because it bridges the gap between device performance and material properties, making it truly interdisciplinary. Sajal leads several experimental efforts, and he is always willing to help other graduate students with their projects. He has an amazing attitude and jumps in wherever his help is needed.” VINSE congratulates Sajal Islam on this well-earned recognition by the wider Vanderbilt University community.
Connect with Sajal: LinkedIn, Google Scholar, Orchid ID