Top Ten Research Achievements Award List in the Chinese Semiconductor Industry

time：2023-02-01

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2022 has passed. For the semiconductor industry, while the year has not been entirely smooth, it hasn't seen any major upheavals either. Despite facing various international pressures, China has still managed to achieve numerous breakthroughs in semiconductor research and development.

According to the "Top Ten Research Progress in Chinese Semiconductors in 2022" selection activity, out of the 55 nominated scientific research achievements, 10 were awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award, with another 10 receiving the Nomination Award.

Let's first take a look at the research achievements that received the Outstanding Achievement Award, listed in no particular order:

Topological Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (TCSEL): The team led by Dr. Lu Ling from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, applied original topological optical cavities to semiconductor laser chips, developing TCSEL, which surpassed mainstream commercial products in single-mode power and beam quality. The invention of TCSEL is expected to solve long-standing bottlenecks in topological physics applications and has significant implications for the overall advancement of laser technology, particularly in emerging technologies such as facial recognition, autonomous driving, and three-dimensional perception and LiDAR required for virtual reality.
This achievement was published in the journal "Nature Photonics" (Nature Photonics, 2022, 16: 279-283).
Precise Determination of Carrier Mobility in Ultra-High Thermal Conductivity Semiconductors - Cubic Boron Arsenide (c-BAs): Dr. Liu Xinfeng's team from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, in collaboration with Dr. Bao Jiming's team from the University of Houston and Dr. Ren Zhifeng's team, achieved the world's first precise determination of the carrier mobility of ultra-high thermal conductivity semiconductor - cubic boron arsenide (c-BAs) single crystals. The high carrier mobility and ultra-high thermal conductivity of cubic boron arsenide indicate its wide application prospects in optoelectronic devices, electronic components, and other fields, providing guidance for its large-scale application.
This achievement was published in the journal "Science" (Science, 2022, 377: 433-436).
Electrically Injected AlGaN Ultraviolet Laser (UV Laser): The team led by Dr. Zhao Degang and Dr. Yang Jing from the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, achieved the first AlGaN ultraviolet laser in China with a wavelength less than 360 nm. By addressing key scientific and technological problems such as low luminescence efficiency of ultraviolet lasers, difficulty in p-doping high-Al-composition AlGaN, and large lattice mismatch epitaxy, through structural design, interface control, and stress control, this achievement provides technical support for the development of domestic ultraviolet curing and lithography machines and other new types of ultraviolet light sources.
This achievement was published in the "Journal of Semiconductors" (Journal of Semiconductors, 2022, 43, 010501. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/43/1/010501).
First Production of Transistors with Minimum Gate Length: Human beings are once again challenging the limits of Moore's Law. Professor Ren Tianling's team from Tsinghua University successfully fabricated sub-1-nanometer gate-length transistors, which exhibit excellent electrical performance. By using graphene as the gate with a single atomic layer thickness, the transistor achieved an effective physical gate length of 0.34 nm through lateral electric field modulation of vertical MoS2 channel switching. This work will help drive Moore's Law to further develop beyond sub-1 nanometer.
This achievement was published in the journal "Nature" (Nature 2022, 603: 259–264).
Large-Area Epitaxial Growth of Bilayer Two-Dimensional Semiconductors: Collaborating closely, the teams led by Professor Wang Xinran and Professor Li Taotao from Nanjing University, and Professor Wang Jinlan and Professor Ma Liang from Southeast University, proposed a new idea of precisely controlling the number of layers of two-dimensional semiconductors by accurately controlling the height of the substrate surface steps and a "neck-and-neck" new growth mechanism, breaking through the thermodynamic limitations of layer-by-layer growth. For the first time, they achieved centimeter-scale uniform bilayer MoS2 epitaxial growth, breaking the record for the on-state current of two-dimensional semiconductor devices and meeting the technical requirements of the 2028 International Roadmap for Devices and Systems.
This achievement was published in the journal "Nature" (Nature, 2022, 605, 69-75).
Organic Semiconductor with Ultra-High Conductivity for Solution Processing
A new synthesis strategy for n-type conductive polymers was proposed by Professor Huang Fei's team at South China University of Technology. By utilizing the reversible oxidation-reduction properties of quinone-type oxidants, they combined oxidative polymerization and reduction doping, significantly enhancing the n-type doping efficiency of organic semiconductors, thereby achieving the transition from semiconductor to conductor. The synthesized poly(benzodifurandione) (PBFDO) exhibits a conductivity exceeding 2000 S cm-1 and good air stability, showing extensive application prospects in organic electronic devices.
This achievement was published in Nature (Nature, 2022, 611: 271).
Large-Area Planar and Spherical Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Perovskite Quantum Wire Arrays
Professor Fan Zhiyong's team at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology developed a novel perovskite quantum wire array growth process, which exhibits ultra-high uniformity on large-area rigid, flexible, planar, and 3D substrates. Based on this, the team achieved the wafer-level fabrication of perovskite LED devices and the world's first 3D spherical LED device, perfectly addressing the drawbacks of traditional planar devices in spatial brightness distribution. It is expected to become a strong competitor in the next generation of lighting and display materials and devices.
This achievement was published in Nature Photonics (Nature Photonics, 2022, 16, 284–290).
Wide-Spectrum Sensing-Computing Integrated Device Based on Two-Dimensional van der Waals Heterostructures
Professor Zhai Tianyou and Associate Professor Zhou Xing's team at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, in collaboration with Professor Miao Feng's team at Nanjing University, innovatively proposed a two-dimensional bipolar van der Waals heterojunction. By electric field control, they made its light response positively and negatively continuously adjustable, achieving for the first time the simultaneous wide-spectrum image sensing and convolution calculation at the hardware level. This breakthrough overcomes the bottleneck of power consumption and time delay caused by sensing-computing separation in traditional wide-spectrum machine vision systems, promoting the development of artificial intelligence fields such as machine vision.
This achievement was published in Nature Electronics (Nature Electronics, 2022, 5: 248-254).
Storage-Computing Integrated Technology Based on Three-Dimensional Resistive Switching Memory
Academician Liu Ming's team and Researcher Zhang Feng's team at the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Associate Professor Wang Xinghua's team at Beijing Institute of Technology, made a breakthrough in the field of three-dimensional storage-computing integrated chips. The team designed and implemented for the first time a macroscopic unit chip based on three-dimensional vertical structure resistive switching memory, demonstrating that three-dimensional resistive switching memory can achieve storage-computing integrated technology with advantages such as low power consumption, high computing power, and high density, showing broad development prospects in the field of high-performance edge computing.
This achievement was published in Nature Electronics (Nature Electronics, 2022, 5: 469-477).
High Linearity, Ultra-Wideband 5G Millimeter-Wave Phased Array Transceiver Front-End Chip
Professor Zhao Dianxian and Researcher You Xiaohu's team at Southeast University achieved a 5G millimeter-wave CMOS phased array chip that can cover the 3GPP n257, n258, and n261 frequency bands simultaneously. By proposing broadband linearization technology, they effectively improved the amplitude and phase distortion of the chip at high power, while suppressing the electrical memory effect of the chip under broadband signals, solving the problem of transmitting ultra-wideband high-order modulation signals. The chip has been successfully applied to domestically produced millimeter-wave distributed micro-base stations and the Purple Mountain Laboratory 6G TKμ ultimate connection wireless transmission platform.
This achievement was published in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, 2022, 57: 2702-2718).