Gallium oxide a prospective multifunctional material of the fourth generation (review)

This work is devoted to the analysis and systematization of the main information on the properties of gallium oxide and materials based on it and their practical application, as well as the prospects for further research of the specified actual oxide material. A review of literature data concerns general properties and structure of gallium oxide Ga2O3, various methods to produce Ga2O3 thin films, nanostructures, bulk crystals, powders, the application of gallium oxide in various fields of science and technology, including semiconductor field, electronic engineering, optoelectronics, the creation of composite transparent materials, etc. In the last thirty years or so, thanks to the progress in growing large-volume, high-quality gallium oxide crystals, this material with an ultra-wide band gap and a high critical breakdown field has gained significant application in the manufacture of the latest power electronics and high-voltage electronic devices. Important experimental studies, in particular, in terms of developing methods of metallization, joining similar materials, connecting electrical contacts, for example, by soldering, require the study of the wetting of these oxide materials by metal melts and the contact interaction at the interphase boundaries. Data on surface phenomena, in particular the wetting of gallium oxide by metals, are practically absent in the literature, and this requires further additional research. Keywords: gallium oxide, physical properties, semiconductor, power electronics, optoelectronics, transparent composite materials.