Announcement for CRP Award – Associate Professor Liu Zheng

We are pleased to announce that Associate Professor Liu Zheng has been awarded the National Research Foundation (NRF) Competitive Research Programme (CRP) grant for his research programme titled “Beyond MOORE – Negative Capacitance Field-effect Transistor for Ultra-low-power Electronics”. Prof Liu is the lead Principal Investigator of this programme. This project involves research collaboration with the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, NTU and School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, NUS.

The research programme aims to build two-dimensional (2D) negative capacitance field-effect transistors (NCFETs) for boosting the full transistor scaling beyond metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Relentless scaling of MOSFETs over the past four decades has delivered ever-increasing transistor density and performance to integrated circuits (ICs). However, voltage scaling almost stopped around 2005 due to the physical limitation of the subthreshold swing (SS) to below 60 mV/decade in MOSFETs. In addition, dimension scaling seems extremely challenging beyond 5 nm gate length owing to fundamental material limitations and short channel effects. This programme proposes a breakthrough device concept by marrying the novel NCFET architecture with the superior scalability of 2D materials with negative capacitance mechanism.

About the NRF-CRP
The National Research Foundation (NRF) Competitive Research Programme (CRP) funding scheme seeks to foster the formation of multi-disciplinary teams to conduct cutting-edge research projects that are of relevance to Singapore and the society. The CRP funds use-inspired basic research projects that are selected through a merit review process based on scientific excellence. The theme of the proposed research project must be motivated by an important need or problem to be solved.

Our heartiest congratulations to the Prof Liu on winning this grant!