A research group from the National University of Singapore (NUS), led by Associate Professor Gong Xiao from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has won the Best Student Paper Award at the renowned 2024 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits, held in Honolulu, Hawaii. This recognition highlights the team’s continued leadership and innovation in the semiconductor research field.
The Symposium, an annual flagship event for global semiconductor and microelectronics industry leaders and academic institutions, serves as a platform for sharing the latest advancements in technology and circuit design. It emphasizes the importance of technological innovations amid ongoing global challenges, such as semiconductor supply shortages.
At the conference, Professor Gong’s team presented multiple papers, showcasing their advancements in semiconductor device technology, materials innovation, and integration solutions for emerging applications. Among these, NUS PhD student Liu Gan received the Best Student Paper Award for his paper titled “Unveiling the Impact of AC PBTI on Hydrogen Formation in Oxide Semiconductor Transistors.” Liu Gan’s research tackles the reliability challenges posed by Positive Bias Temperature Instability (PBTI) under alternating current (AC) conditions, shedding new light on hydrogen formation in oxide semiconductor transistors, which are pivotal to the future of nanoscale electronics. The award consists of a certificate, $2,000 cash award to be used for travel/accommodations to the Symposium in Kyoto in 2025, plus a complimentary registration for the technical sessions. The certificate will be presented at the opening session of the 2025 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits.
Professor Gong Xiao commented, “Liu Gan’s achievement is a testament to the cutting-edge research being conducted at NUS. The Best Student Paper Award is an exceptional honor that reflects our commitment to advancing semiconductor technology and addressing key industry challenges. This recognition also reinforces NUS’s prominence on the global stage in the realm of microelectronics research.”
The Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits is regarded as one of the most prestigious platforms for researchers in the semiconductor industry. Each year, only one Best Student Paper Award is conferred in the category of Technology, recognizing both the quality of the research and the excellence of the presentation.
This achievement underscores NUS’s dedication to pioneering semiconductor research, fostering innovation, and contributing to the future of critical infrastructure through advanced technology solutions.
