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Materials Science
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Materials Science

D-Index
144
Citations
82798
World Ranking
202
National Ranking
84

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Materials Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Materials Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Materials Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2016 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • 2009 - Fellow of American Physical Society (APS) Citation For seminal studies of strain relaxation in epitaxial films, for the development of molecular beam epitaxial growth of GaN and nonpolar orientations of nitride semiconductors, and for leadership in applications of widebandgap semiconductors to solidstate lighting
  • 2008 - Fellow of the Materials Research Society

Overview

James S. Speck is affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara in the United States. Their research spans multiple disciplines with significant contributions to physics, materials science, and engineering. The main fields of study covered by their work include Physics and Astronomy, Materials Science, and Engineering. Within these, they have a particular focus on subfields such as Condensed Matter Physics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, Materials Chemistry, and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics.

Speck's research topics concentrate notably on semiconductor materials and devices. Key areas of work include GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials, Ga2O3 and related materials, ZnO doping and properties, semiconductor quantum structures and devices, semiconductor materials and devices, advanced photocatalysis techniques, and metal and thin film mechanics.

The scientist has published extensively, with frequent appearances in several journals. Among the primary publication venues are:

  • Applied Physics Letters
  • Optics Express
  • Journal of Applied Physics
  • Physical Review Applied
  • Applied Physics Express

Recent notable papers include:

  • β-Gallium oxide power electronics, 2022, APL Materials
  • Comparison of size-dependent characteristics of blue and green InGaN microLEDs down to 1 μm in diameter, 2020, Applied Physics Letters
  • Improved performance of AlGaInP red micro-light-emitting diodes with sidewall treatments, 2020, Optics Express
  • AlGaN Deep-Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes Grown on SiC Substrates, 2020, ACS Photonics
  • Low 114 cm−3 free carrier concentration in epitaxial β-Ga2O3 grown by MOCVD, 2020, APL Materials

They have collaborated frequently with several researchers, including:

  • Shuji Nakamura
  • Steven P. DenBaars
  • Feng Wu
  • Matthew S. Wong
  • Claude Weisbuch

Throughout their career, James S. Speck has received several recognitions, including being named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2016. They were also honored as a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2009, with a citation highlighting their work on strain relaxation in epitaxial films, molecular beam epitaxial growth of GaN, nonpolar orientations of nitride semiconductors, and leadership in applying wide-bandgap semiconductors to solid-state lighting. Additionally, they were recognized as a Fellow of the Materials Research Society in 2008.

Best Publications

  • Prospects for LED lighting

    Siddha Pimputkar;James S. Speck;Steven P. DenBaars;Shuji Nakamura

  • Polarization effects, surface states, and the source of electrons in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors

    J. P. Ibbetson;P. T. Fini;K. D. Ness;S. P. DenBaars

  • Role of threading dislocation structure on the x‐ray diffraction peak widths in epitaxial GaN films

    B. Heying;X. H. Wu;S. Keller;Y. Li

  • Strain-induced polarization in wurtzite III-nitride semipolar layers

    A. E. Romanov;T. J. Baker;S. Nakamura;J. S. Speck

  • Origin of defect-insensitive emission probability in In-containing (Al,In,Ga)N alloy semiconductors.

    Shigefusa F. Chichibu;Akira Uedono;Akira Uedono;Takeyoshi Onuma;Benjamin A. Haskell

  • Direct measurement of Auger electrons emitted from a semiconductor light-emitting diode under electrical injection: identification of the dominant mechanism for efficiency droop.

    Justin Iveland;Lucio Martinelli;Jacques Peretti;James S. Speck

  • DOMAIN CONFIGURATIONS DUE TO MULTIPLE MISFIT RELAXATION MECHANISMS IN EPITAXIAL FERROELECTRIC THIN FILMS. I: THEORY

    J. S. Speck;W. Pompe

  • High-power AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-band applications

    T. Palacios;A. Chakraborty;S. Rajan;C. Poblenz

  • Structural origin of V-defects and correlation with localized excitonic centers in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

    X. H. Wu;C. R. Elsass;A. Abare;M. Mack

  • Control of GaN surface morphologies using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    B. Heying;R. Averbeck;L. F. Chen;E. Haus

  • POLARIZATION-INDUCED CHARGE AND ELECTRON MOBILITY IN ALGAN/GAN HETEROSTRUCTURES GROWN BY PLASMA-ASSISTED MOLECULAR-BEAM EPITAXY

    I. P. Smorchkova;C. R. Elsass;J. P. Ibbetson;R. Vetury

  • Defect structure of metal‐organic chemical vapor deposition‐grown epitaxial (0001) GaN/Al2O3

    X. H. Wu;L. M. Brown;D. Kapolnek;S. Keller

  • Structural characterization of nonpolar (112̄0) a-plane GaN thin films grown on (11̄02) r-plane sapphire

    M. D. Craven;S. H. Lim;F. Wu;J. S. Speck

  • MOSAIC STRUCTURE IN EPITAXIAL THIN FILMS HAVING LARGE LATTICE MISMATCH

    V. Srikant;J. S. Speck;D. R. Clarke

  • Homoepitaxial growth of GaN under Ga-stable and N-stable conditions by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    E. J. Tarsa;B. Heying;X. H. Wu;P. Fini

  • Dislocation mediated surface morphology of GaN

    B. Heying;E. J. Tarsa;C. R. Elsass;P. Fini

  • Development of gallium-nitride-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes for energy-efficient lighting and displays

    Steven P. Denbaars;Daniel Feezell;Katheryn Kelchner;Siddha Pimputkar

  • High-isolation BST-MEMS switches

    Yu Liu;T.R. Taylor;J.S. Speck;R.A. York

  • Structural evolution in epitaxial metalorganic chemical vapor deposition grown GaN films on sapphire

    D. Kapolnek;X. H. Wu;B. Heying;S. Keller

  • METHOD FOR FABRICATION OF SEMIPOLAR (Al, In, Ga, B)N BASED LIGHT EMITTING DIODES

    Hitoshi Sato;Hirohiko Hirasawa;Roy B. Chung;Steven P. DenBaars

Frequent Co-Authors

Steven P. DenBaars
Steven P. DenBaars University of California, Santa Barbara
Shuji Nakamura
Shuji Nakamura University of California, Santa Barbara
Umesh K. Mishra
Umesh K. Mishra University of California, Santa Barbara
Feng Wu
Feng Wu Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Stacia Keller
Stacia Keller University of California, Santa Barbara
Kenji Fujito
Kenji Fujito Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Gregor Koblmüller
Gregor Koblmüller Technical University of Munich
Paul T. Fini
Paul T. Fini Raytheon (United States)
Steven A. Ringel
Steven A. Ringel The Ohio State University
Daniel F. Feezell
Daniel F. Feezell University of New Mexico

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