Semiconductors are a pervasive and indispensable part of daily life and are the building blocks of smart systems and applications. They enable ubiquitous and instant data access, energy generation, “Smart Everything”, e.g. agriculture, wearables, homes, office, cars/EV, factories, health care, education…, and help mitigate societal problems such as public health, elder care, and climate change. They provide the foundation of highly-productive digital economies and sustainable societies for the benefit of mankind.
Looking towards the 2030s, the world needs zetta scale data centers, peta operations per second and per watt of AI capabilities, tera-hertz communication for 6G and satellite communications, and compact and low-loss voltage/power conversion. These applications create an insatiable demand for better and more semiconductor devices and circuits in terms of transistor density, performance, energy efficiency, and affordability. Semiconductor technology thrives on innovation, and has continued to evolve since the invention of the transistor 75 years ago. In the nanometer CMOS era, we can no longer rely on feature size scaling alone, and we must develop new materials and 3D device structures, followed by 3D circuits and package integration to enable new applications.
With nearly half a century of effort and investment, Taiwan has emerged as a semiconductor power house and an essential trusted partner in the global semiconductor ecosystem. Taiwan’s semiconductor technology must continue to advance in order to maintain its leading position in the face of competitions and technical challenges. The goal of the proposed research is to help overcome key technical bottlenecks and to assist industrial advancement by conducting early-stage research of several key semiconductor technologies while developing skilled semiconductor talents with advanced research capability in Taiwan.
In this proposal, we address new materials, structures, and applications through six core research themes :
- Theme I: IC Transistor stacking with versatile channels and gates
- Theme II: Uniform ferroelectric materials and devices
- Theme III: 2D/1D semiconductor devices targeting 2030 technology
- Theme IV: Future Semiconductor packaging technologies
- Theme V: Three-dimensional high-density oxide CMOS devices and applications
- Theme VI: Future GaN power HEMTs for ubiquitous satellite transceivers
We aim to help further strengthen Taiwan’s high value-added semiconductor industry and help generate hundreds of billions of US dollars of local industry output.