Abstract:

In this talk, José Luis Plaza will briefly discuss the development of Crystal Semiconductor Technologies company, born at the Crystal Growth Laboratory of the Autonomous University of Madrid (LCC-UAM). He will introduce how the knowledge gained from more than 40 years of experience led to the development of crystals that can be very useful to both the scientific and technology markets. Many applications, such as lasers, acoustic wave sensors, radiation detectors, solar cells, etc., are all based on crystal growth technologies, as a crystal is needed for such devices. Crystals such as silicon, gallium antimonide, lithium niobate, etc., have all been extensively studied at LCC-UAM from the materials science view and crystal growth technology perspectives. This knowledge reached such a mature degree that it was ready to be incorporated into the market. More than ever, Europe is trying to reach its Technological sovereignty. Although some crystal growth companies exist in Europe, the number of these companies is very low to achieve such a goal.

Biography

Since 2010, Associate Professor at the Materials Science Department, Faculty of Science at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). After defending his PhD in Physics, in semiconductor crystals growth in 2000, he spent 3 years as a Postdoc at the Nanoscale Physics Research Lab (University of Birmingham, UK). In 2004, he returned to UAM as a Ramón y Cajal Fellow and obtained a permanent position there in 2010. In 2024, he co-founded Crystal Semiconductor Technologies and has been involved in the company since then. José Luis is an author of more than 90 international papers, has delivered more than 40 international conferences and has been involved in more than 10 international and national research projects. He is the Spanish Representative at the International Organisation for Crystal Growth and the European Organization for Crystal Growth. He is also a member of the Spanish Materials Society (SOCIEMAT) and the Royal Spanish Physics Society (RSEF).