서강대학교 전자공학과

Professor Sihyun Kim 

Awarded 2026 Young Researcher Grant by the National Research Foundation of Korea

Professor Sihyun Kim from the Department of Electronic Engineering / System Semiconductor Engineering / Semiconductor Engineering at Sogang University has been selected for the 2026 Young Researcher Grant (Type B), a basic research project supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). The research project is titled "Mosaic Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) for Multi-Level Compute-in-Memory (CiM)," and will receive a total grant of 600 million KRW over a four-year period from March 2026 to February 2030.

With the rapid advancement of generative AI technologies, the importance of Compute-in-Memory (CiM), a low-power and high-density computing architecture, is increasing. Existing CiM technologies based on SRAM and eDRAM face challenges such as low area efficiency and degraded energy efficiency. To overcome these limitations, Professor Sihyun Kim’s research team proposed a new multi-level CiM cell technology utilizing hafnia-based Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM). The goal is to develop a high-efficiency CiM cell scheme that integrates multi-level weights into analog voltages through 3D stacking-based FeRAM structural innovation specialized for MAC operations, enabling parallel computation without data destruction. Through this research and development project, the team will conduct full-cycle research, ranging from material and unit process development to cell/array fabrication, and performance verification at the macro and system levels.

By developing new device technology, the team aims to provide a breakthrough solution to the energy consumption, performance, and cost issues of memory for large-scale AI operations. Furthermore, by securing core technologies and preempting related fields, this research is expected to enhance national competitiveness in the hardware-based AI and memory semiconductor markets, where steady growth is anticipated in the future.