Pankul Dhingra

Display EE Architect @ Apple

About

I am a PhD candidate at the Holonyak Laboratory, UIUC working at the intersection of materials science and electrical engineering, leading the project to develop visible-NIR lasers on low-cost Si substrates. I have a solid background in semiconductor optelectronics, compound semiconductor diode lasers and quantum mechanics. I used the understanding in the aforementioned subjects to design, grow and fabricate precisely (~1-5% error) tailored III-V quantum well and quantum dot LEDs and lasers emitting in the visible-NIR regime. I have an expertise in III-V material growth using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and post-growth material characterization using techniques like SEM, TEM, photoluminescence and XRD. I am also experienced in laser fabrication (photolithography, metal deposition), thermal management (CMP, heat-sinking and packaging) and laser characterization (IV, LIV and spectra measurements). I work in a highly collaborative environment leading to an exposure to a variety of projects (material growth, material/device characterization) outside my own. I have strong oral presentation and writing skills and I have delivered over 6 talks on my research at various conferences. I was awarded the best student presentation award at NAMBE 2019. I have also been the recipient of Nick and Katherine Holonyak Graduate student fellowship (2020) and Nick and Katherine Holonyak Graduate student award (2021), awarded to 1 person each year showing outstanding research in the field of optoelectronics. I was also awarded the MITACS Globalink scholarship for conducting research in Canada, 2015 I have been a part of a group that works on the growth, characterization and fabrication semiconductor devices such as solar cells and lasers, with each of these stages being a feedback mechanism for the other. I have always been exposed to a very collaborative environment as a major part of my research. In addition to contributing scientifically, one of my major roles in the lab is to maintain the MBE chamber which includes UHV maintenance, part repair and material resourcing. I have trained 4 graduate students on various characterization techniques and III-V growth, and have supervised a senior thesis. My research focusses on the development of III-V visible lasers and LEDs on low-cost Si substrate which has a challenge of a high density of material defects hindering the device performance but tremendous applications in the field of optogenetics, pumps for atomic clocks and micro-LEDs.

Country

United States

City

Champaign

Industry

Semiconductors

Skill

Molecular Beam Epitaxy, Laser Diodes, Semiconductor Fabrication, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Photoluminescence, X-ray crystallography, RHEED, Electroluminescence, Semiconductor Process, Semiconductor Device, Focused Ion Beam (FIB), TEM, AFM, Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), Photolithography, Diodes, I-V, Mask Design, Heat Sinks

Experience

Display EE Architect

Apple

2022-5 - Present · 4 yrs 5 mos

Cupertino, California, United States

Graduate Research Assistant

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

2016-8 - 2022-5 · 5 yrs 10 mos

Electrical and Computer Engineering

-Led the development of monolithic visible laser on Si emitting at 670-730 nm for integrated silicon photonics used in trapped-ion quantum computing, in collaboration with MIT Lincoln Laboratory and DARPA -Designed phosphide edge emitting lasers with graded-index separate confinement heterostructure through comprehensive literature review and simulation using COMSOL -Designed photomasks, performed photolithography and metal deposition for broad-area edge emitting lasers with a series resistance < 1 ohm for lasers operating at a threshold voltage < 2.5 V -Packaged edge-emitting lasers for operation up to 5000 W/cm2, continuous wave without heating issues -Demonstrated the lowest threshold phosphide quantum well lasers on GaAs and Si with a threshold current density >2x lower than the current state of the art -Experienced with characterizing and growing high optical quality semiconductors for solar cells and lasers despite a high defect density -Responsible for maintenance, operation, calibration and repair of ultra-high vacuum MBE with a base pressure of 7E-11 torr

Research Assistant

Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

2014-8 - 2016-5 · 1 yr 10 mos

India

-Initiated the research idea of exploring novel lead-free organic-inorganic metal halides for solar cell absorbers -Synthesized and characterized structural and optical properties of lead-free Mn-based perovskite compounds -Tested stability and chemical changes in lead-free perovskite using in situ XRD under ambient conditions -Demonstrated the first Pb-free perovskite solar cells stable to air and presented the result in 1 international and 1 national conference

Research Assistant, Engineering Physics

McMaster University

2015-5 - 2015-8 · 4 mos

Canada

-Grew Tb-doped nitride and oxy-nitride films using ECR-PECVD for visible light emission -Correlated elemental composition using RBS with optical emission using PL and UV-vis spectroscopy -Conducted ellipsometry for measuring the n-k data of silicon nitride films and analyzed the data using simulation models -Learned experiment planning and selection skills for quick feedback and efficient results

Intern

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

2014-5 - 2014-7 · 3 mos

Mumbai Area, India

-Developed a technique to measure and analyze large-area electroluminescence of rooftop Si solar cell -Observed and characterized defects leading to efficiency degradation of Si solar cells using EL