News: Microelectronics
22 May 2026
Texas Tech receives $4.5m TSIF grant for wide/ultrawide-bandgap R&D
A team of faculty at Texas Tech University’s Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering has received about $4.5m from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF) for the project ‘Research and Development of Wide/Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials, Devices and Applications’.
TSIF grants are administered by the Texas CHIPS Office, within the Office of the Governor’s Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office. Governor Greg Abbott signed into law the Texas CHIPS Act in 2023, establishing both the TSIF and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium, the latter of which the CHIPS office also supports.
Stephen Bayne, vice president of National Security for Texas Tech and executive director of the Critical Infrastructure Security Institute, is the project’s lead principal investigator. Joining him are Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) professors Ayrton Bernussi, Rui He, Ravi Joshi, Donald Lie and Hieu P. Nguyen; ECE assistant professor Taewoo Kim; and Global Laboratory for Energy Asset Management & Manufacturing senior director Argenis Bilbao.
Over three years, the researchers aim to increase Texas Tech’s capabilities to develop wide/ultrawide-bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors for high-power/high-frequency electronics and optoelectronics.
“We feel a strong sense of responsibility: to translate discoveries into reliable, manufacturable technologies; to build workforce pipelines by training students and technicians, and to partner with industry and government to ensure our work delivers real-world impact for Texas and the nation,” says Nguyen. “This award validates our momentum and accelerates our ability to turn research into jobs, commercial opportunities and long‑term competitiveness in the semiconductor ecosystem.”
The work will also support critical industries such as aerospace and defense by improving the performance and reliability of UWBG materials and high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) for harsh environments.
Other priorities for the award include strengthening communications through work on broadband high-efficiency power amplification and radio frequency and millimeter-wave components; enabling the creation of high-performance nanostructured light emitters and detectors and high-voltage devices; promoting the translation of research into commercial products; and building regional economic impact.
