Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) is a technique that permits one - unlike any other method - to rapidly generate a wide variety of 3D-shaped nanoparticles from an extensive library of materials and, at the same time, directly control their material composition across the whole substrate. We develop/advance this method to fabricate novel hybrid nanoparticles and metasurfaces whose function and shape can be programmed to perform multiple tasks in various applications, including photonic devices (displays and photodetectors), sensors, actuators, and their combinations.
Reference
Advanced Functional Materials 34, 2314434 (2024): Cover
Advanced Optical Materials 12, 2301730 (2024): Cover
Advanced Materials 35, 210797 (2023): Cover
ACS Nano 13, 11453 (2019)
Advanced Science 4, 1700234 (2017): Cover
Advanced Science 2, 1500016 (2015): Cover
Project
NRF: 2024-2027 (3 yrs) Young scientist (global) program (PI)
INNOPOLIS: 2023-2025 (3 yrs) Megaproject (host: YM SOng @ GIST)
Hyundai: 24 (1 yr) Future research project (PI)
NRF: 2021-2023 (3 yrs) Nanoinfra (host: JBNU)
NRF: 2021-2023 (3 yrs) Young Scientist Program (PI)
GIST: 2020-2021 (2 yrs) Global University Project (PI)
KIAT: 2020-2021 (1 yr) Semiconductor Infra (PI)
Underwater adhesion processes in nature promise controllable assembly of small-scale objects, presenting a valuable model for industrial mass production. Drawing inspiration from nature, we develop a scalable nanoparticle transfer technique. This innovation facilitates the swift and efficient transport of nanoparticles from water in microscopic volumes to large-scale surfaces within a remarkably short timeframe of seconds, all while maintaining precise control over surface coverage. Through this method, we develop novel functional plasmonic metasurfaces, demonstrating their immense potential for applications in full-color painting, optical devices, and sensors.
Reference
Nature Communications 16, 6269 (2025)
Advanced Materials 36, 2313299 (2024): Cover
Advanced Science 8, 2002419 (2021)
Project
Corning: 2024 (0.5 yrs) industrial project (PI)
COIST: 2020-2024 (5 yrs) COIST Collaboration Research (host: DGIST)
We develop scalable electrically driven color-changing metasurfaces that control the crucial plasmonic resonance with an active medium. Electrochromic nanoparticles are fabricated at the wafer scale, providing the smallest-area active plasmonic pixels to date. These nanopixels show strong scattering colors and are electrically tunable visible colors. We aim to develop such plasmonic pixels to be fully functional for future display and adaptive optics by advancing their color performance, scalability, and integration with other electronic devices.
Reference
Materials Horizons (2025)
Microsystems & Nanoengineering 10, 22 (2024): Samsung Humantech Bronze Award
Advanced Materials 36, 2310556 (2024)
Science Advances 5, eaaw2205 (2019)
Project
NRF: 2021-2025 (5 yrs) Active hologram metasurfaces (host: ETRI)
GIST: 2021-2025 (5 yrs) GIST-MIT ACE-AI project (host: YM Song @ GIST)
NRF: 2020-2021 (1 yr) Basic Research (PI)
Key advantages of multifunctional nanosensors are high densities and infinite scalability of their applicable platform in diverse applications. In particular, plasmonics supported by metallic nanostructures are promising for biosensing & imaging applications. We thus plan to unlock the full potential of hybrid plasmonic nanostructures and devices for their applications, especially towards commercially available nano-biosensing platforms.
Reference
Advanced Materials (2025)
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 16, 16622 (2024)
ACS Nano 16, 21120 (2022)
Advanced Materials 34, 2110003 (2022): Cover
Laser & Photonics Reviews 15, 2100235 (2021): Cover
Physical Review X 9, 011024 (2019)
Small 14, 1702990 (2018): Cover
Nature Communications 7, 11331 (2016)
Project
M SIT: 2025-2027 (3+2 yrs) InnoCORE (host: E Lee @ GIST)
NRF: 2021-2023 (3 yrs) Quantum Info Research (host: SY Lee @ GIST)
GIST: 2022 (0.5yrs) AI project (PI)
GIST: 2020-2021 (1.5 yrs) Creative Research Project (host: YM Song @ GIST)
We conduct multidisciplinary researches in an entirely novel and intriguing field of ‘Nanorobotic systems with hybrid nanoparticles’, aiming to develop cost-effective large-scale 3D nanofabrication techniques and use them to discover superior multifunctional nanostructures and devices for various applications in nanorobotics including nanodisplays, sensors, actuators, and their combinations. In the long run, we would like to establish novel nanorobotic platforms to realize ‘early-self’ diagnosis and ‘non-invasive’ therapy, which would benefit to reduce medical error and thus transform the major industry and change the way we live, work, and play.
Reference
Science Advances 4, eaat4388 (2018)
Advanced Materials 29, 1701024 (2017): Cover
Nano Letters 16, 4887 (2016)
Science Advances 1, e1500501 (2015): Cover
Project
NRF: 2023-2024 (1 yr) KOR-GER R&D network program
(MSIT project 25-27) InnoCORE postdoc fellowship project (in collaboration with GIST, KAIST, UNIST, DGIST, KIST)
(NRF project 24-27) Janus plasmonic metasurface (in collaboration with UCL)
(Mega project 23-25) AI photonics (in collaboration with G-NICS @ GIST, KENTECH, KOPTI, ETRI)
(NRF project 21-25) Active hologram metasurfaces (in collaboration with ETRI, EECS @ GIST, KAIST, POSTECH)
(GIST-MIT project 21-25) Active color filters for novel optical lens applications (in collaboration with EECS & AI @ GIST, MIT)
(NRF project 24-27) Semiconductor Advanced Packaging Specialist Training (in collaboration with Chosun Uni, SE @ GIST, Inha Uni, JNU)
(Corning project 25) TGV application for advanced packaging (in collaboration with EECS @ GIST)
Fellowship and travel grants
(NRF project 25-27) National PhD fellowship (our MS/PhD student Hyun Min)
(NRF project 25-26) National PhD fellowship (our MS/PhD student Gyurin)
(NRF project 25-26) National MS fellowship (our MS student Eunji)
(NRF project 24-25) National MS fellowship (our MS student Jiyeong)
(GIST-IREF 25) Hyun Min to visit UCL for a month
International
Prof. Peer Fischer, Max Planck Institute for Medical Researches, Germany
Prof. Jeremy J. Baumberg in Physics, Cavendish Lab., Univ. Cambridge, UK
Dr. Tung-Chun (John) Lee in Chemistry, UCL, UK
Prof. Ambarish Ghosh in Physics, IISc, India
Prof. Ventsislav K. Valev in Physics, Univ. Bath, UK
Prof. Ji Tae Kim in Mechanical Eng., Univ. Hong Kong, HK
Prof. Dhruv P. Singh in Physics, IIT, India
Prof. Zhiguang Wu in Chemistry, HIT, China
Dr. Tian Qiu in Biomedical Eng., Univ. Stuttgart, Germany
Prof. John G. Gibbs in Physics, Northern Arizona Univ., USA
Dr. Laura Torrente in Chem. Eng., Univ. Cambridge, UK
Dr. Michael De Volder in Manufacturing, Univ. Cambridge, UK
Dr. Silvia Vignolini in Chemistry, Univ. Cambridge, UK
Dr. Sohini Kar-Narayan in Materials, Univ. Cambridge, UK
Prof. Christophe Galland in Physics, EPFL, Switzerland
Prof. Kannan Balasubramanian in Chemistry, HU Berlin, Germany
Prof. Laura Na Liu in Physics, Univ. Stuttgart, Germany
Prof. Femi Ojambati in Physics, Univ. Twente, the Netherlands
Prof. Ivana Qianqi Lin in Materials, Univ. Twente, the Netherlands
National
Prof. Seung-Ki Lee in EE, DKU
Prof. Jae-Hyoung Park in EE, DKU
Prof. Dae Hong Jeong in Chemistry, SNU
Prof. Ho-Young Lee in Nuclear Medicine, SNU
Prof. Junsuk Rho in ME, POSTECH
Prof. Kyoung Duck Seo in ME, WKU
Prof. Junghyup Lee in ICE, DGIST
Prof. Hongki Kang in ICE, SNU
Prof. Young Min Song in EE, KAIST
Prof. Dong-Seon Lee in EECS, GIST
Prof. Sang-Yun Lee in Physics, GIST
Prof. Yong-Joo Doh in Physics, GIST
Prof. Hae-Gon Jeon in AI, GIST
Prof. Seungwoo Lee in KU-KIST, KU
Prof. Kwanghyo Son in Physics, Kongju Univ
EECS Intro (incl. our lab)
Our Lab Intro