Every phone charger, electric car and power grid relies on semiconductor switches that control electricity. For decades those switches have been made of silicon, and silicon is nearing its physical limits. Engineers at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) now report a module built on a newer material, gallium oxide, that switched 1,000 volts and 1,000 amperes, a peak of one megawatt. According to HKU's announcement, it is the first time a module made from this class of material has reached tha...