Dr. Can Bayram is an Intel Alumni Endowed Faculty Scholar & an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a resident faculty at the Nick Holonyak, Jr Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.

In all aspects of modern life, we utilize semiconductor technologies. From lighting to communication and computing to transportation, we rely on semiconductors for comfort, safety, and sustainability. Prof. Bayram understands, controls, and exploits semiconductor technologies and creates an innovative research and education platform considering the needs of not only the current but also of the next generation.

Professor Can Bayram leads the Innovative Compound semiconductoR LABoratory (ICORLAB), making significant strides in cubic GaN technology. His group has demonstrated high internal quantum efficiency in green-emitting cubic GaN/InGaN quantum wells and explored the structural and optical properties of cubic GaN on silicon, offering a path to more efficient green light emitters by mitigating issues like efficiency droop inherent in traditional hexagonal GaN. Furthermore, his research into submicron InGaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) has revealed crucial scaling challenges like the “efficiency cliff,” informing the development of ultra-high-resolution displays. This research is critical for advancing display and lighting technologies.

In parallel, Professor Bayram’s work on diamond semiconductor devices is pushing the boundaries of high-power electronics and photonics. His team has achieved record-breaking performance in diamond-based p-type lateral Schottky barrier diodes, showcasing exceptionally high breakdown voltage and low leakage current, vital for next-generation energy grids. They have also developed high-performance intrinsic diamond photoconductive semiconductor switches. These award-winning contributions are pivotal for creating more robust and efficient electronic and photonic systems.

Dr. Bayram is the recipient of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Young Scientist Medal, the IEEE Nanotechnology Council Early Career Award, the IEEE Electron Devices Society Early Career Award, NSF CAREER & AFOSR Young Investigator Awards amongst many other (inter)national awards. He is an SPIE Fellow.

Select Scientific Contributions

Revealing the “Efficiency Cliff” in submicron scaling of light emitting diodes, i.e. lateral carrier diffusion identified as the dominant cause for surface recombination/leakage in submicron LEDs. Appl. Phys. Lett.  126, 242101 (2025).

Record >545V/ns slew rate in photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS), i.e. record-breaking voltage/current handling and slew rates, efficiency, and reliability simultaneously achieved in diamond PCSS. Appl. Phys. Lett.  126, 152105 (2025).

Inventing “buried channel” concept in photoconductive semiconductor switches, i.e. solving traditional power handling – speed tradeoff in photoconductive semiconductor switches for electricity grid protection and resilience. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 45 (6) 1044 (2024).

First field-plate technology in diamond electronics, i.e. innovative lateral architecture with highly conductive contact regrowth approach and field-plate edge termination technique. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 44 (10) 1692 (2023).

Discovering Aspect Ratio phase Trapping (ARpT) material synthesis technique, i.e. invention and scaling of U-groove aspect ratio silicon patterning for phase-transition III-nitride material synthesis. Adv. Funct. Mater. 24 (28) 4492 (2014). Appl. Phys. Lett. 109, 042103 (2016). ACS Photonics 5 (3), 955–963 (2018). Appl. Phys. Lett. 121, 032101 (2022). Appl. Phys. Lett. 124, 011101 (2024).

Solving the efficiency droop in III-nitride LEDs, i.e. demystifying the efficiency droop contributors in III-nitride LEDs. J. Appl. Phys. 131, 193102 (2022). IEEE J. of Quantum Electron. 58 (1), 1-9 (2022). IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 69(6), 3240-3245 (2022). J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 40(5), 1017-1023 (2023). Appl. Phys. Lett. 126, 211103 (2025).

Revealing cubic III-nitride semiconductor properties. Sci. Rep.  9:6583 (2019). ACS Omega 5, 3917 (2020). Comp. Mater. Sci. 190, 110283 (2021).

GaN on 200 mm Si, i.e. direct integration of photonic and electronic devices on Si. Sci. Rep. 6: 37588 (2016). IEEE Electron Device Lett. 38 (8) 1094 (2017). AIP Advances 9, 025306 (2019).

Discovering quasi-van der Waals (a.k.a. remote) epitaxy and enablement of 3D/2D heterostructures, i.e. first 3D compound semiconductor direct epitaxy integration on a 2D one (i.e., GaN on graphene). Invented the missing link in epitaxy technology at the intersection of 3D-on-3D conventional and 2D-on-2D van der Waals epitaxy. Nat. Comm. 5: 4836 (2014).

First reliable resonant tunneling in GaN heterostructures, i.e. first reliable and reproducible negative differential resistance via defect reduction, elimination of polarization-fields, and reduction of Al-content. Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 042103 (2010). Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 092104 (2010). Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 181109 (2010).

First ZnO atop InGaN-based high spectral quality visible LEDs, i.e. first use of ZnO in visible LEDs & first inverted LED. Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 081111 (2008).

Select Honors

	SPIE Society Recognition SPIE Society Fellow status
	NATION-WIDE RECOGNITION Silver Medal, National Inventors Hall of Fame Collegiate Inventors Competition (Team Diamond Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches, ranked 2nd place nationally)
	COLLEGE-WIDE RECOGNITION Dean’s Award for Early Innovation (awarded to 3 associate professors amongst the eligible pool of 130+ (tenure-track) College of Engineering associate professors, for accomplishments in translational research by submitting invention disclosures and/or patent applications)
	COLLEGE-WIDE RECOGNITION Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research for Associate Professor (awarded to 6 associate professors amongst the eligible pool of 130+ (tenure-track) College of Engineering associate professors, judged by the best research during the last five years)
	NATION-WIDE RECOGNITION Finalist, National Inventors Hall of Fame Collegiate Inventors Competition (Team Cubic LEDs, one of five graduate-advisor teams nationally)
	National Academy of Engineering Recognition Invitation to the China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium (CAFOE), hosted by Qualcomm and organized by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). (held biennially, sixty participants – including the organizing committee and speakers – from Chinese and US universities, industry, and government are to cover four topics – Smart Cities, New Materials, Neuroengineering, and 5G Wireless Communication Technology during the two and a half days of the symposium)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION Young Scientist Medal (awarded annually to one in the world by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP))
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION IEEE Nanotechnology Council Early Career Award (awarded annually to one in the world by the IEEE Nanotechnology Council)
	COLLEGE-WIDE RECOGNITION Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research for Assistant Professor (awarded to 6 assistant professors amongst the eligible pool of 135+ (tenure-track) College of Engineering assistant professors, judged by the best research during the last academic year)
	Turkish American Scientists & Scholars Association Recognition Turkish American Scientists & Scholars Association (TASSA) Young Scholar Award in recognition of his accomplishments as a young Turkish American scholar (two junior Turkish-American faculty is recognized every other year)
	NATION-WIDE RECOGNITION NSF CAREER Award (awarded to 156 scientists amongst > 3,050 applicants (success rate of ~5%) in the U.S. by the National Science Foundation)
	International Conference on Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology Recognition CS MANTECH Best Student Paper Award (Mr. Richard (Dicky) Liu) at the 2017 International Conference on Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (CS MANTECH) (awarded to only 1 amongst 22 student presenters (success rate of < 5%))
	NATION-WIDE RECOGNITION AFOSR Young Investigator Award (awarded to 56 scientists amongst > 265 applicants (success rate of ~20%) in the U.S. by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION IEEE Electron Devices Society Early Career Award (awarded annually to one in the world by the IEEE Electron Devices Society)
	OSA Society Recognition OSA Society Senior Membership in recognition of his experience and professional accomplishments in the field of optics and photonics.
	IEEE Society Recognition IEEE Society Senior Membership elevation (awarded to only 9% of IEEE’s approximately 428,000 members) for significant technical accomplishments in GaN devices and for significant contributions as an educator in the field of electronics, optics, and photonics.
	11th International Conference on Infrared Optoelectronics: Materials and Devices Recognition Best Paper Award at the Infrared Optoelectronics Materials and Devices Conference, MIOMD-XI, that was co-chaired by Franklin Medal Laureate Prof. Manijeh Razeghi, Nobel Laureate Prof. Leo Esaki and Nobel Laureate Prof. Klaus von Klitzing)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION IBM Ph.D. Fellowship (awarded annually to select researchers in the world by the International Business Machines Corporation)
	USA & CANADA RECOGNITION Link Foundation Energy Fellowship (awarded annually to three in USA and Canada by the Link Foundation)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION Boeing Engineering Student of the Year (awarded annually to one in the world by the Boeing Company)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION Dow Sustainability Innovation Award (awarded to one in select worldwide universities by the Dow Chemical Company)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION IEEE Electron Devices Society PhD Fellowship (awarded to three in the world – one in USA – by the IEEE Electron Devices Society)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION IEEE Photonics Society Graduate Student Fellowship (awarded to twelve in the world – seven in USA – by the IEEE Photonics Society)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION SPIE Laser Technology, Engineering and Applications Scholarship (awarded to one in the world – third top recognition – by the SPIE Society)
	WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship (awarded to ten in the world by the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD))
	IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium Recognition Travel Award (awarded to select by the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society)