Our department’s Professor Yong-Hoon Kim’s research team has presented an alternative for the physical standard theory based on next generation semiconductor device design. The team has founded a theory and software for precisely calculating the energy characteristics of nano-devices, presenting an alternative for the standard theory of quantum transportation.
The standard theory for quantum transportation founded in the late 20th century describes nano-devices as an open quantum system composed of 2 infinite electrodes connected by a channel. There have been numerous efforts to understand the mechanism of transistors, solar cells, LEDs and other semiconductor devices by this theory but was not able to fully describe the energy of the devices, thus apply it for design.
To overcome this obstacle, the research team presumed the non-equilibrium state of the nano-device as a closed quantum system and interpreted the transportation of the electron from one electrode to the other as an optical excitation. The team also developed a theory and software for minimizing the energy of the device. By using this method, one can understand not only the current-voltage characteristics but also the energy characteristics, which is critical for designing energy transforming devices such as batteries, fuel cells, and catalysts where device design is done on the atom scale.
This research supported by the Ministry of Science Technology and Communication, National Research Foundation, Nano Material Development Project, Basic Research Development Project, and Global Frontier Project was published in Science Advances on July 1st.
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