Steven P. DenBaars

Steven P. DenBaars is a Mitsubishi Distinguished Professor of Materials and a Distinguished Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He serves as the Executive Director of the Solid State Lighting & Energy Electronics Center (SSLEEC) and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors. His research focuses on wide-bandgap semiconductors, particularly GaN-based materials for LEDs, lasers, and high-power electronics. DenBaars has pioneered advancements in solid-state lighting, including the first U.S. university demonstration of a blue GaN laser diode.

Education:

• B.S., Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Arizona (1984)
• M.S., Materials Science, University of Southern California (1986)
• Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California (1988)

Research Interests: Wide-bandgap semiconductors (GaN), blue LEDs and lasers, high-power electronics, MOCVD growth techniques, and optoelectronic device fabrication. His work emphasizes improving efficiency and applications in lighting, displays, and energy electronics.

Notable Contributions:

• Co-founder of Soraa, a leading company in semiconductor lighting technology.
• Key figure in the development of GaN-based microLEDs and UV LEDs.

Awards:

• IEEE Fellow (2005)
• NAE and NAI Fellowships
• Aron Kressel Award (IEEE Photonics Society, 2010)
• NSF Young Investigator Award (1994)

Labs & Teams: SSLEEC, IEE Group, and collaborations with industry partners like Cree Lighting Co. His lab focuses on MOCVD technology and device fabrication for next-generation optoelectronics.