서강대학교 전자공학과

Professor Sung-Wan Hong Appointed as Korea Representative of the IEEE ISSCC Technical Program Committee    Prof. Sung-Wan Hong from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Sogang University has been appointed as the Korea Representative of the Technical Program Committee (TPC) for the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).Held annually in February in San Francisco, USA, ISSCC is widely recognized as the world’s most prestigious conference in the semiconductor field and is often referred to as the "Olympics of Semiconductors." Since its inception in 1954, the conference has served as a global platform where more than 4,000 semiconductor engineers gather to share cutting-edge research and discuss the future of the semiconductor industry.The selection of papers to be presented, as well as the planning of lectures and discussion sessions, is overseen by 13 Technical Program Committees (TPCs), each composed of distinguished researchers from academia and industry with proven achievements.Currently, there are a total of 24 active TPC members from Korea, including 8 from Samsung Electronics, 1 from SK hynix, 5 from KAIST, 3 from Seoul National University, and 1 each from Sogang University, DGIST, GIST, UNIST, Korea University, Hanyang University, and Kwangwoon University.Professor Hong began his role as a TPC member in 2024 and has now been appointed as the Korea Representative. In this capacity, he will preside over the Korean TPC meetings and press briefings, foster interactions with representatives from other countries, and contribute to the advancement of semiconductor technologies.  

2025.04.07

 Prof. Sua Bae Awarded 2025 Young Researcher Grant by the National Research Foundation of Korea   Dr. Sua Bae from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Sogang University has been selected for the 2025 Young Researcher Grant, awarded by the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Her project, titled "Development of an At-Home Transcranial Focused Ultrasound System for Repetitive Brain Disease Treatment," will span three years, from March 2025 to February 2028, with total funding of 680 million KRW.   As the population continues to age, the number of patients with chronic neurological disorders—such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease—and those with malignant brain tumors is steadily increasing. These conditions require long-term, repetitive treatments, which can place a significant time and financial burden on patients, particularly those with limited mobility. Elderly individuals or residents of remote areas often face difficulties accessing regular medical care, making consistent treatment challenging.   This research aims to introduce a new paradigm for brain disease treatment using focused ultrasound technology. By addressing the limitations of conventional MRI-guided focused ultrasound systems—which are often costly, time-intensive, and restricted to hospital settings—the project seeks to develop a patient-centered, at-home treatment device that significantly improves accessibility and efficiency. The team is targeting procedures that require frequent intervention, such as blood-brain barrier opening and enhancement of cerebrospinal fluid circulation, and is working on real-time monitoring technologies that account for individual skull acoustics and patient-specific physiological responses.   Key objectives include the development of sensing and monitoring systems capable of detecting brain responses in real time, as well as adaptive control algorithms that automatically configure safe and consistent treatment conditions. The project also aims to build a compact treatment platform suitable for use outside of clinical environments, along with an intuitive user interface that patients and caregivers can easily operate.   This multidisciplinary research combines expertise in medical devices, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. The at-home treatment approach is expected to enhance patients‘ quality of life, improve treatment adherence, and reduce overall healthcare costs. 

2025.03.27

 Young Investigator Interview at Focused Ultrasound Foundation   The Focused Ultrasound Foundation, a leading organization in the field of medical focused ultrasound, actively supports research and technological advancements worldwide. Recently, the foundation featured Dr. Sua Bae from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Sogang University as a "Young Investigator," highlighting her research accomplishments and contributions to the field.   Dr. Bae's research centers on focused ultrasound (FUS) technology for blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening, exploring its potential in treating neurological diseases. She played a key role in an Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial, developing a real-time ultrasound-based monitoring technique to enhance treatment precision. Additionally, she contributed to multi-session focused ultrasound treatment studies for pediatric brain tumors, refining treatment monitoring methods.   In 2024, Dr. Bae joined the Department of Electronic Engineering, becoming the first female faculty member in Sogang University's School of Engineering. Beyond her research, she is deeply committed to education and mentorship, striving to inspire and support female students pursuing careers in engineering.   Newsletter Link: https://www.fusfoundation.org/posts/young-investigator-profile-sua-bae-phd/ 

2025.03.19

 Professor Kang Suk-ju’s Research Team Publishes Paper in Prestigious International Journal IEEETransactions on Instrumentation and Measurement  ▲ (From left) Professor Kang Suk-Ju, master’s students Hwang Ye-eun and Song Min-seo from the Department of Electronic Engineering Professor Kang Suk-ju’s research team from the Department of Electronic Engineering (including master’s students Hwang Ye-eun and Song Min-seo) has published a paper in the prestigious international journal IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement (TIM) after conducting joint research with the CSE team at the Semiconductor Research Institute of Samsung Electronics. In the paper, titled “SO-Diffusion: Diffusion-based Depth Estimation from SEM Images and OCD Spectra,” the research team introduces a new model for predicting semiconductor structures using semiconductor images captured by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical critical dimension (OCD) spectra. Notably, the team developed a CNN-based spectrum encoder (SEFO) to effectively preprocess the OCD spectra and applied it to a diffusion-based network with SEM images, improving the accuracy of semiconductor structure prediction. As a result, the proposed model using SEM images and OCD spectra significantly outperformed existing models in predicting semiconductor depth. Hwang Ye-eun, a master’s student who participated in the research, said, “It is a great honor to have my paper published in IEEE TIM during my master’s course.” She added, “Thanks to the support from Samsung Electronics’ CSE team and the guidance of my professor, we were able to achieve excellent results. As semiconductor research is advancing rapidly, I hope this study serves as a foundation for various follow-up studies.” The proposed algorithm was developed in response to the industry’s recent trend of increasing miniaturization and complexity of semiconductor structures. By providing more precise measurement data when analyzing SEM semiconductor images, this research is expected to contribute to the effective reconstruction of 3D semiconductor structures. ▲ Overall structure of the SO-Diffusion network proposed in the paper   ▶ Paper Title: SO-Diffusion: Diffusion-based Depth Estimation from SEM Images and OCD Spectra▶ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement▶ Authors: Hwang Ye-eun (First author, Sogang University), Song Min-seo (Sogang University), Ma Ah-mi (Samsung Electronics CSE), Kim Gyu-hwan (Samsung Electronics CSE), Jang Gyu-baek (Samsung Electronics CSE), Jung Jae-hoon (Samsung Electronics CSE), and Kang Suk-ju (Corresponding author, Sogang University)  

2025.03.19

 A paper from AIRLAB accepted to IEEE ICRA’25  From left, Gi Don Han, Jeongwoo Park, and Advisor Prof. Changjoo Nam  A research paper from AI Robotics Lab (directed by Prof. Changjoo Nam) from the Department of Electronic Engineering has been accepted to the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2025), one of the top conferences in robotics and automation. Organized by IEEE, ICRA is the most prestigious international conference in the robotics field and is scheduled to take place from May 19 to 23 at the Georgia World Congress Center in the United States.   The research was led by Ki Don Han, a master's graduate (currently at Samsung Electronics), with contributions from Jeongwoo Park, a Ph.D. candidate. The paper, titled "Stop-N-Go: Search-based Conflict Resolution for Motion Planning of Multiple Robotic Manipulators," presents a novel approach to motion planning in environments with multiple robotic manipulators.   In industrial settings such as factories and warehouses, multiple robotic manipulators often work together on processes such as assembly, welding, painting, and packaging. However, as these robots move simultaneously, they risk colliding with each other. One common approach to solving this problem is to plan all robots' movements in a unified configuration space. While this method considers all robots' movements together, it becomes computationally intractable as the number of robots increases, often failing to find feasible solutions. On the other hand, decoupled planning, where each robot's path is planned independently, is computationally efficient but frequently leads to trajectory conflicts. The search algorithm for conflict resolution and the environments for experiments  To address this issue, Professor Nam's team proposed a new method that inserts pauses into individually planned trajectories to resolve conflicts. Using the A* algorithm, their approach minimizes the number of stops while reducing the total task completion time. By allowing some robots to stop temporarily, others can move without collisions, ensuring smooth and efficient motion planning. This technique is expected to significantly enhance the efficiency of multi-robot systems operating in shared spaces. Moreover, its applications extend beyond industrial settings to logistics, healthcare, and service robotics, where collaborative robots are increasingly in demand.  

2025.02.03

 전영준 석박통합과정(지도교수 홍성완), 반도체 설계 올림픽 ‘ISSCC 2025’ 논문 채택  ▲(왼쪽부터) 전영준 석박통합과정, 홍성완 전자공학과 교수  전자공학과 전영준 석박사통합과정(지도교수 홍성완)이 세계 최고 권위의 반도체 학회 ‘국제고체회로학회(International Solid-State Circuits Conference, 이하 ISSCC) 2025’에서 논문이 채택되었다. ISSCC는 1954년 처음 개최된 회로 분야 최고 국제학술대회로, 반도체 회로 분야 학회 중 가장 높은 권위와 큰 규모를 자랑하며 이른바 ‘반도체 설계 올림픽’으로 불린다. 해당 논문의 제목은 “A Sub-1V, 50mV Dropout LDO using Pseudo-Impedance Buffer with Phase-Margin Improvement Design”이다. 전영준 석박사통합과정생은 반도체 공정 기술의 발전에 맞춰 낮은 입력 전압 조건에서 동작하는 Analog Low Dropout Regulator(ALDO)를 설계하였다. 본 논문은 Rail-to-Rail Pseudo Impedance(RRPB) 구조를 제시하여, 1V 이하의 입력 전압에서 최대 300mA 로드 전류를 제공하면서도 50mV의 낮은 dropout voltage를 갖는 높은 효율을 갖는 LDO를 설계하였다. 이번 연구 성과는 기존 낮은 입력 전압에서 동작하는 Digital Low Dropout Regulator(DLDO)의 스위칭 노이즈 문제를 해결한 구조로, 고정밀 저잡음 전원이 필요한 시스템에서 효과적으로 적용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다. 

2024.10.16

 김정헌 석박통합과정(지도교수 홍성완), 반도체 설계 올림픽 ‘ISSCC 2025’ 논문 채택 ▲(왼쪽부터) 김정헌 석박통합과정, 홍성완 전자공학과 교수 전자공학과 김정헌 석박통합과정(지도교수 홍성완)이 세계 최고 권위의 반도체 학회 ‘국제고체회로학회(International Solid-State Circuits Conference, 이하 ISSCC) 2025’에서 논문이 채택되었다. ISSCC는 1954년 처음 개최된 회로 분야 최고 국제학술대회로, 반도체 회로 분야 학회 중 가장 높은 권위와 큰 규모를 자랑하며 이른바 ‘반도체 설계 올림픽’으로 불린다. 해당 논문의 제목은 “A 2A Fully Analog Distribution LDO with Noise Immunity for a SoC”이다. 김정헌 석박통합과정생은 고집적 시스템에서 LDO(Low Dropout Regulator)를 이용하여 전류를 공급할 때 시스템의 특정 부분에서 과도한 열이 발생하는 문제를 해결하기 위해, 시스템 내부에 LDO를 분산 배치하여 전류를 공급하는 Distributed LDO를 연구하였다.본 연구가 기존 연구와 차별화된 점은 기존 연구는 Distributed LDO를 구성할 때 제어 문제와 SoC의 Noise 문제로 인해 Digital LDO에 초점을 맞추어 연구를 진행하였는데, SoC에서 발생하는 노이즈에 둔감하고 제어가 용이한 Analog Distributed LDO를 개발하였다. 이번 연구 성과는 고집적 시스템의 전력 효율성과 안정성을 향상시키는 데 크게 기여할 것으로 기대된다. 

2024.10.16

 [언론보도] 전자공학과 강석주 교수, ‘Nature’지 ‘한국의 주목할 만한 과학자’ 인터뷰    국제학술지 ‘Nature’가 발간한 ‘네이처 인덱스’ 한국 특집호는 한국의 과학 분야에서 두드러지는 신진 과학자들을 인터뷰하였다. 이들은 경쟁이 치열한 한국 과학계에서 어떻게 성공했는지, 연구 초기에 직면한 도전 과제를 어떻게 극복했는지 논의한다. 이를 통해 한국 과학계의 현재 상황과 미래 가능성을 조명한다. 서강대학교 전자공학과 강석주 교수는 ‘한국의 주목할 만한 과학자’ 중 한 명으로 선정되어 인터뷰를 진행하였다. Q. 한국에서는 학계와 산업계 간의 협력이 다른 여러 나라, 특히 미국과 어떻게 다른가요? 그리고 이러한 차이가 연구자들에게 어떤 긍정적인 영향을 미치나요? 한국에서는 기업과 학계가 서로 긴밀하게 협력하는 문화가 가장 큰 강점입니다. 다른 나라에서는 보통 학계와 산업계간 일방적인 이동 및 연구가 많지만, 한국에서는 많은 연구자들이 산업계에서 필요로 하는 다양한 문제에 대해서 자유롭게 논의하며, 함께 연구하고 있습니다. 이 덕분에 연구개발 분야의 연구자들은 더 안정된 환경에서 창의적으로 일할 수 있게 됩니다. Q. 현재 진행하고 계신 연구는 어떤 것들이신가요? 앞으로 새롭게 연구하고 싶거나 관심을 가지고 계신 분야, 앞으로의 개인적인 목표가 있을지 궁금합니다. 저는 서강대학교에서 영상처리 기술(video and image-processing technologies)를 개발하고 있으며, 이 기술은 차세대 디스플레이를 위한 성능과 전력 효율을 최적화하기 위해 인공지능 (AI)를 더욱 많이 활용하고 있습니다. 저희 연구실은 super-resolution을 이용하여 image reconstruction 기법을 연구하고 있으며, 이 기법은 인공지능을 사용해서 저해상도 이미지를 고해상도 품질의 영상으로 변환하면서도 전력 소비를 낮추는 데 중점을 두고 있습니다. 또한 VR 및 AR 장치의 디스플레이 성능을 개선하기 위해 연구하고 있는데, 이 장치들은 사용자의 눈에 매우 가까이 위치하기 때문에 이미지가 왜곡되거나 초고해상도로 표시될 필요가 있습니다. 이를 해결하기 위해 인공지능 기술을 적용해 이미지 품질과 효율성을 동시에 높이는 방법을 구현하고 있습니다. 이러한 접근 방식은 사용자 경험에 직접적인 긍정적 영향을 미칠 수 있습니다. 예를 들어, 더 선명하고 왜곡 없는 이미지를 통해 사용자에게 더욱 몰입감 있는 경험을 제공할 수 있으며, 장시간 사용 시에도 눈의 피로를 줄여줄 수 있습니다. Q. VR 및 AR 디스플레이 분야 외에 관심을 갖고 계신 디스플레이 관련 연구 분야가 있으신가요? 또한, 관심을 가지고 계신 기술이 상용화되면 어떤 이점을 기대할 수 있을지 궁금합니다. 스트레쳐블(stretchable), 폴더블(foldable), 롤러블(rollable) 디스플레이에서 발생하는 이미지 품질 문제를 해결하는 영상처리 기술을 연구하고 있습니다. 해당 장치를 개발할 때 주요한 과제는 디스플레이가 늘어날 때 픽셀 사이의 간격이 증가하여 해당 영역의 밝기가 감소한다는 것입니다. 단위 면적당 밝기의 변화를 자동으로 감지하고, 해당 영역의 픽셀 밝기를 적응적으로 조정하여 일관된 이미지 품질을 유지하는 기술을 개발하고 있습니다. Q. 한국에서 과학자로서 경력을 쌓는 데 있어 젊은 연구자들이 직면하는 주요 도전과 이를 해결하기 위한 방안은 무엇이라고 생각하시나요? 한국은 과학자들에게 점점 더 경쟁적인 환경으로 변화되고 있습니다. 특히 초기 경력의 많은 연구자들이 좋은 연구 환경에서 자리를 잡기 위해, 학계에서는 더 많은 정규직 기회를 늘려야 한다고 생각합니다. 또한 젊은 연구자들이 다양한 국내외 학술대회 등에서 자신의 연구를 알릴 수 있도록 지원해주어야 하며, 한국의 여성 연구자들을 더 많이 조명될 수 있는 다양한 프로그램이 필요하다고 생각됩니다. 출처 – https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02687-w 

2024.09.23