PNDIODES | DE FOA 0001691

PNDIODES (ARPA-E) Grant Opportunity: FAQs

1) What is the PNDIODES funding opportunity?

PNDIODES (Power Nitride Doping Innovation Offers Devices Enabling SWITCHES) is a Department of Energy ARPA-E funding opportunity focused on overcoming a specific manufacturing and materials bottleneck in next-generation power electronics: creating high-quality, selectively doped regions in III-Nitride wide bandgap semiconductors (especially gallium nitride, GaN) so that reliable p-n junctions can be formed exactly where needed on patterned GaN surfaces.

2) Which DOE office is running PNDIODES?

The opportunity is administered by ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) within the U.S. Department of Energy.

3) What problem is ARPA-E trying to solve with this program?

The program targets the difficulty of forming defect-free, usable, selectively placed p-n junction regions on GaN through selective area doping or selective area epitaxial regrowth. ARPA-E ties this need to limitations observed in its earlier SWITCHES effort, where device concepts were often constrained by the inability to create device-grade junctions rather than by the switch designs themselves.

4) What materials and device platform does PNDIODES emphasize?

PNDIODES emphasizes III-Nitride wide bandgap semiconductors, especially gallium nitride (GaN), and it focuses on enabling junction formation and doped regions on patterned GaN surfaces.

5) What is meant by "selective" doping or regrowth in this context?

Within this opportunity, "selective" refers to forming doped regions (and resulting p-n junctions) only in targeted locations on a patterned GaN surface, rather than uniformly across the wafer. The aim is to place junctions where the device architecture requires them, while maintaining high material quality.

6) What are the program's technical goals?

The program aims to fund both (a) mechanistic understanding and (b) practical process innovations that together enable arbitrarily placed, reliable, contactable p-n junction regions suitable for vertical power device architectures.

7) What does ARPA-E mean by "mechanistic understanding" here?

Mechanistic understanding, as described in the opportunity, includes figuring out what is happening at the microscopic level during selective doping or selective regrowth on GaN. Examples called out include why defects form, which chemistry and surface conditions matter, how dopants incorporate, how damage or contamination occurs, and how interfaces evolve.

8) What kinds of R&D activities does PNDIODES support?

ARPA-E positions PNDIODES as applied R&D with high technical risk and potentially very high payoff, aiming for breakthroughs that could reset cost and performance trends rather than incremental improvements along established industry roadmaps.

9) What device architectures are emphasized?

The opportunity emphasizes vertical power device architectures in GaN, which rely heavily on well-behaved junctions and doped regions formed without introducing defects that degrade performance.

10) Why are vertical GaN devices important to this program?

According to the opportunity description, vertical GaN devices can be better suited than many lateral GaN devices for high-voltage operation and for scaling to higher power. However, they depend on the ability to create reliable junctions and doped regions without performance-killing defects, which is the bottleneck PNDIODES targets.

11) What voltage range is PNDIODES trying to enable?

If successful, PNDIODES is intended to unlock a class of vertical GaN power electronic devices spanning roughly 1200V up to 10kV.

12) What real-world applications are associated with that voltage range?

The opportunity points to systems where efficiency, size, and thermal performance strongly affect cost and reliability, including consumer and industrial power supplies, solar inverters, wind power conversion, electric vehicles and charging, motor drives, heavy transportation (ship propulsion and rail), and grid infrastructure.

13) What outcomes or benefits is ARPA-E aiming for in the energy system?

ARPA-E frames improved high-voltage switches as a pathway to reduce losses, shrink passive components, improve power density, and reduce energy waste across large parts of the economy. These outcomes are tied to ARPA-E's mission related to energy security, emissions reduction, and U.S. technological leadership.

14) What type of federal award instrument is used?

Awards are made as cooperative agreements. The opportunity notes that this typically means ARPA-E remains actively involved during project execution.

15) What is the legal authority cited for this opportunity?

The opportunity is described as a discretionary DOE opportunity administered by ARPA-E under its authorizing statute, 42 U.S.C. 16538.

16) What is the award ceiling mentioned in the listing?

The listing indicates an award ceiling of $2.5 million.

17) About how many awards were expected?

The opportunity listing indicates an expectation of about six awards.

18) Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is open to a wide range of entity types, subject to any clarifications provided in the full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

19) What is the funding activity category?

The opportunity falls under the R&D funding activity category.

20) What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity lists CFDA number 81.135.

21) When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?

It was posted in late October 2016 with an original closing date in early January 2017.

22) How were applications and concept papers submitted?

Applications and concept papers were required to be submitted through ARPA-E's eXCHANGE system.

23) Where were the full requirements and instructions provided?

The full requirements and submission instructions were provided in the FOA hosted on ARPA-E's website and accessed through the ARPA-E eXCHANGE system referenced in the listing.

24) How does PNDIODES relate to ARPA-E's earlier SWITCHES effort?

PNDIODES is tied to challenges encountered in ARPA-E's earlier SWITCHES effort. The opportunity states that many teams were limited not by device concepts but by the inability to form defect-free, usable junctions through selective area doping or selective area epitaxial regrowth, which PNDIODES is designed to address.