(Gordon E. Moore Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Solid State Science and Technology) Research on Nano and Giga Electronics – Breakthroughs Along the Path

ICs and TFT LCDs are two largest semiconductor industries nowadays. The former is mainly driven by the Moore’s Law in the continuous shrinkage of the nano-size devices for improved speeds and functions. The latter has progressed toward the manufacture of high density devices on the ultra-large glass substrate. However, the most critical devices in both products, i.e., MOSFETs and TFTs, are operated based on the same principle. The success of these technologies is dependent on the thorough understanding and controlling of material properties, fabrication processes, and device physics. In this presentation, I will review some key breakthroughs achieved in my laboratory, such as the generalized material-process-device relationship for the large-area TFT array, the simplest 2-mask TFT process, the plasma radiation damage mechanism, the plasma-based room-temperature copper etch process, the doped metal oxide high-k gate dielectrics, the nanocrystals embedded high-k nonvolatile memories, the solid-state incandescent LEDs, and various new devices. Future developments of the technologies will be discussed.