Eric Carlson

Semiconductor materials specialist with 20+ years of industrial, research, and consulting experience in crystal growth, epitaxy, characterization, and device processing of wide-bandgap materials for power electronics and optoelectronics. Strong analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills with solid experience as both a team player and self-motivated individual contributor.

Booz Allen Hamiltion (Jan 2015 - Present)

• Senior Lead Scientist Energy Professional, Washington, DC                                                              
• On-site Scientific Engineering & Technical Assistance (SETA) contractor to the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) providing technical and programmatic support for high-risk energy R&D programs/projects in power electronics and optoelectronics.
• Conducted technology gap analysis and new program development which resulted in the creation of several science & engineering programs involving both fundamental and applied research for advancement in semiconductor materials, devices, modules, and circuits.
• Reviewed and evaluated submitted project proposals and provided recommendations on potential project funding.
• Negotiated project milestone-based metrics for >75 projects with a total project portfolio exceeding $200M and performed in-depth quarterly technical review analysis of project performance to ensure the accomplishment of major milestones.
• Developed internal and external scientific presentations and publications for both technical and non-technical audiences detailing the successes and challenges faced by the various programs and projects. 

Dow Corning Corporation (Jan 2003 - Jan 2015)

GaN Research Specialist, Midland, Michigan (Sep 2013 - Jan 2015)

IMEC Assignee for GaN-on-Si Program, Leuven, Belgium (Dec 2010 - Oct 2013)

• Partnered with a diverse research team consisting of members from several large international semiconductor companies to develop world-class GaN-on-Si technology on a 200mm CMOS-compatible Si platform.  Produced normally-on and normally-off power HEMT structures along with wafer bonded backside emitting LED devices.
• Planned, organized, and coordinated the transfer of the GaN-on-Si epitaxy technology from the IMEC research facility in Leuven, Belgium to a production facility in Midland, MI.
• Evaluated the selective area growth of Mg doped GaN for use as a p-type gate material to fabricate enhancement mode HEMT structures.

SiC Research Specialist, Midland, Michigan (Nov 2003 - Nov 2010)

• Co-Principal Investigator responsible for the materials track of “Known Goods Substrates”, a 4 year, >$10 million Office of Naval Research (ONR) program to develop a robust SiC wafer and epitaxy supply chain.
• Implemented new chlorosilane chemistry in a commercial multi-wafer CVD tool for homoepitaxy of SiC which improved thickness and doping uniformity by an order of magnitude. Won a Dow Corning technical achievement award for the improvement.
• Developed Chemical Vapor Transport for bulk SiC crystal growth by HT-CVD using novel chemistries. Demonstrated consistent growth rate throughout the crystal growth of 250 µm/hr.  
• Improved bulk growth of SiC by PVT and reduced micropipe density by two orders of magnitude. Won a Dow Corning technical achievement award for the improvement.
• Developed production laser light scattering and XRD characterization for bulk SiC wafers and SiC epitaxy to ensure quality before delivery to the customer.

GaN Research Specialist, Sunnyvale, California (Jan 2003 - Oct 2003) 

• Led the development of bulk GaN growth on foreign substrates including sapphire, SiC, and silicon using custom designed hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) tools at newly acquired company (GaN Semiconductor).

Kyma Technologies (Jul 2000 – Dec 2002)

Director of GaN Research & Development, Raleigh, North Carolina                                                                                                                                                         

• Thrived in fast paced startup environment and gained considerable experience in proposal writing, project management, & personnel decisions.
• Collaborated in the design, installation, and operation of a hydride vapor phase epitaxy reactor for the epitaxial growth of GaN and developed thick, freestanding, single crystal GaN.
• Successfully transferred a high-rate magnetron sputter epitaxy technique from a university research group to the development facility and demonstrated the highest quality single crystal GaN reported to date using the technique.
• Developed a unique maskless epitaxial overgrowth technique using magnetron sputter epitaxy and co-authored two patents on the proprietary technique.
• Introduced an inductively coupled plasma etching technique to remove mechanical polishing damage in freestanding GaN wafers.

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina (May 2001)

•      Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering
•      Dissertation: Ion Implantation in Gallium Nitride

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina (May 1993)

•      B.S., Materials Science and Engineering