Ignite, reimagined in FY2021 to expand its scope and impact, has been guided by a clear goal: advancing cutting-edge discoveries toward world-changing solutions through targeted, staged de-risking and acceleration. Nowhere is that commitment more visible than in the semiconductor breakthroughs emerging from the laboratories of Professors Debdeep Jena and Huili Grace Xing, whose pioneering research continues to push the limits of next-generation electronics.
Two promising technologies from the Jena-Xing labs — aluminum nitride (AlN) and gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃) devices — demonstrate what becomes possible when new semiconductor architectures are developed to address long-standing challenges in RF power, thermal management, and high-voltage power electronics. Together, Jena and Xing, and their former Ph.D. students Austin Hickman, Reet Chaudhuri and Jon McCandless have advanced these innovations beyond discovery and publication, moving them toward commercialization and venture creation.
Ignite has supported multiple steps in the earliest stages of this journey, from invention maturation to startup formation and growth, through coordinated partnerships across Cornell’s innovation ecosystem. These include the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL), the Praxis Center for Venture Development, the Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA), and college-level innovation programs.
In 2020, an Ignite Innovation Acceleration award — then operating under its precursor, the Cornell Technology Acceleration and Maturation program (CTAM) — helped the Jena–Xing labs advance an early AlN-based RF power amplifier invention. The funding supported proof-of-concept development, including in silico design and initial minimum viable product fabrication, enabling the technology to reach a critical technical inflection point. That progress made it possible to license the technology to Soctera, a company co-founded by Hickman and Chaudhuri with Jena and Xing.
“The support from Ignite was a turning point for Soctera at its earliest stages,” Hickman said. “The funding enabled our first scaling efforts for our AIN-on-SiC technology — essential for future grant wins and engaging industry partners.”
In 2022, Soctera received further support through an Ignite Startup Projects award, which provided early
funding through a SAFE note. That support enabled the company to demonstrate crystalline AlN growth on silicon carbide substrates and begin early engagement with potential suppliers — key milestones that helped position Soctera for national visibility, subsequent funding, and continued progress toward commercial wafer production.
Another example illustrates how a distinct semiconductor technology emerging from the Jena–Xing research group advanced through a different Ignite mechanism. In 2023, McCandless joined the Ignite Fellow for New Ventures program, allowing him to focus full-time on maturing a Ga₂O₃-based technology and shaping the venture that would become Gallox Semiconductors. The fellowship provided both financial support and structure to de-risk technical milestones, refine the commercial roadmap, and prepare for early investment. Since then, Gallox has attracted competitive awards and early-stage funding as it continues to build its team and advance the technology.
“One of the biggest challenges for university spin-outs is bridging the gap between academic discovery and external investment,” McCandless said. “Ignite fills that critical gap by providing early-stage support that allows founders to focus on derisking the technology and building momentum before traditional funding is available.”
For Xing, Ignite plays a critical role in translating academic research into societal impact.
“The Ignite programs are amazing in that they provide faculty with clear pathways to translate research results from the lab into startups that create jobs and technologies for a better society,” she said.
In a field as strategically critical as semiconductors, one in which Cornell has a long history of research leadership, the Ignite programs operate as part of a broader innovation ecosystem at Cornell. Together, these mechanisms help propel technologies and startups like Soctera and Gallox toward commercial readiness, moving high-potential semiconductor discoveries one step closer to real-world impact.
This story was originally published in CTL’s Ignite Impact Report. Learn more here.
