Luke Andrew McClure Lyle is an Assistant Research Professor in the Applied Research Lab – Electronic Materials and Devices Department and has an academic faculty appointment in the Materials Science and Engineering Department. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2020 and obtained a B.S. in Physics and B.A. in Mathematics in 2016 from the University at Buffalo.
This faculty member is associated with the Penn State Intercollege Graduate Degree Program (IGDP) in Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) where a multitude of perspectives and cross-disciplinary collaboration within research is highly valued. Graduate students in the IGDP in MatSE may work with faculty members from across Penn State.
My group focuses broadly on synthesis, processing, characterization, and device fabrication of electronic materials with a focus on bulk and epitaxial wide bandgap (SiC)/ultrawide bandgap semiconductors (Ga2O3, Diamond, BN). We analyze the structure – processing – property relationships of electronic materials and the electrical influence of resulting defects from the synthesis/processing.
A specific focus of my research is on metal-semiconductor interfaces of ultrawide bandgap semiconductors. These simple structures serve as building blocks for higher scale devices. For ultrawide bandgap semiconductors it’s important to optimize these contacts for high-temperature and high-voltage device operation for use in extreme environments. Both Schottky and ohmic electrical contacts are studied.
Another focus of my research is bulk and epitaxial synthesis of ultrawide bandgap semiconductors (Ga2O3, BN, Diamond). Many of the limiting bottlenecks to ultrawide bandgap semiconductors gaining commercial traction come back to fundamental, growth- related materials issues. A specific focus is metalorganic vapor phase homoepitaxy of gallium oxide onto specifically oriented gallium oxide substrates to analyze the growth dynamics on different surfaces.
In addition to ultrawide bandgap semiconductors, we also have a focus on additive manufacturing of electronics. We print test structures for transfer line measurements and four-point probe analysis to understand printing parameters/material processing on electrical properties. This is geared towards high-frequency antenna applications.
My group is very interdisciplinary involving collaborations with Electrical Engineering, Physics, Engineering Sciences, Aerospace Engineering, and Engineering Design. In addition to academic departments, we also collaborate with departments across The Applied Research Lab like the Electro-Optics Center, the Electronics Manufacturing Center, CIMP-3D, and the Communications, Information, and Navigations Office.
- Materials Research Institute – Seed Grant – 2022
- TMS – Functional Materials Division Paper of the Year, 2021
- Innovation Commercialization Fellowship – Carnegie Mellon University - 2020