Research

• Ferroelectric-based Neuromorphic Devices

• Strain Engineering of Exciton & Quantum Emission

• Topological Semimetals

The continuous scaling and integration of silicon transistors are raising issues such as the exponential increase in process complexity and cost, reduction in semiconductor chip yield, performance degradation, and thermal problems. Beyond these engineering and industrial aspects, further miniaturization of semiconductor device dimensions is expected to confront physical limits. To sustain the development trend of semiconductor technology predicted by Gordon Moore (so called the “Moore's Law”), the discovery and commercialization of new materials that can replace or complement silicon have emerged as important tasks. 

Furthermore, there are efforts to maximize efficiency and performance by configuring computing elements with devices that operate differently from traditional silicon CMOS. Examples include neuromorphic devices that can simultaneously transmit and store information similar to synapses in human neural networks, and quantum computing devices that can maximize efficiency by utilizing superposition of information. Through the use of these disruptive devices, improvements in computing capabilities beyond Moore's Law ("Beyond Moore") can be expected. In particular, the importance of research on non-silicon materials to implement them is increasingly emerging. 

Particularly, two-dimensional materials represented by graphene and MoS₂ are gaining attention as suitable materials for these "More Moore" and "Beyond Moore" schemes. This attention is attributed to their limited scattering and exceptional transport properties at sub-nanometer thicknesses, the discovery of ferroelectric semiconductor groups, and excellent exciton emission properties. Moreover, due to their extreme flexibility and transparency, 2D materials are expected to broaden the form factor of electronics.