UIC alumnus receives honor for groundbreaking nanomaterials research
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Since earning his PhD in Chemical Engineering from UIC in December 2023, alumnus Sungjoon Kim has continued his research at Argonne National Laboratory, where he was recently awarded a Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Seed Award. The LDRD Seed Award supports researchers in pursuing high-risk, high-reward ideas while providing valuable experience as leading principal investigators.
Kim’s research focuses on developing novel synthesis processes for two-dimensional semiconductors, particularly through atomic layer deposition (ALD). ALD is a thin-film growth technique in which materials are deposited one atomic layer at a time through sequential chemical reactions inside a reactor. This approach enables the growth of high-quality materials at relatively low temperatures, making it compatible with advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Compared to conventional techniques such as sputtering or chemical vapor deposition (CVD), ALD offers superior precision and uniformity over large, complex surfaces.
“I’m developing this technology to address the critical issue of rapidly increasing energy demand in computing, which has been increasing at ever-faster rates due to the advent of computationally intense techniques like machine learning and artificial intelligence,” Kim said. “The kinds of devices we can design ultimately depend on the materials we can build, and 2D semiconductors give us new building blocks for the future.”
During his PhD at UIC, Kim studied various 2D materials in the lab of Vikas Berry, the Satish C. and Asha Saxena Professor and Department Head of Chemical Engineering. While he used CVD to synthesize materials then, he found that the process was difficult to control at an engineering level. Now, drawing on his earlier training with ALD in South Korea, Kim is applying the technique to molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), a 2D semiconductor similar to graphene but with distinct advantages for electronic devices.
“With ALD, we can exert far greater control over the synthesis process,” Kim said. “MoS₂ is useful on its own, but when we can expand beyond a single type of 2D semiconductor, entirely new device architectures become possible.”
Kim’s long-term vision is to integrate these materials into next-generation transistors and neuromorphic computing systems. Neuromorphic computing mimics how the human brain processes information but requires up to a million times less energy than current silicon-based computing. By enabling such architectures, his research could contribute to both faster and dramatically more energy-efficient technologies.
“The amount of electricity society can spare may ultimately determine how fast computers can run,” Kim said. “That’s not a limitation we want to face. To meet future demand, we need materials and processes that are scalable, industry-compatible, and energy efficient. That’s what ALD can deliver.”
Although he only began this project in April, Kim has already demonstrated promising initial results.
“I expected to have more trouble,” he admitted. “We’re not at the finish line, but the early tests show that the synthesis process is working as intended. The next steps are improving the technique and rigorously characterizing the materials to confirm they’re fit for advanced device applications.”