2023 Masao Horiba Awards
＜2023 Theme＞
Analysis and measurement technologies that contribute to the realization of cutting-edge semiconductor devices.
The recent wave of digitalization is transforming not only IT companies, but also all industries and socioeconomic systems, including manufacturing, mobility, services, agriculture, and healthcare. Due to the expansion of digitalization, the amount of data processing continues to increase steadily, and it is becoming increasingly urgent that semiconductor devices used in Information and Communication Technologies related equipment be upgraded to higher performance. In response to these requirements, there are high expectations for further miniaturization, upscaling of new advanced materials to large substrates and manufacturing new complex 3D structures, leading to the development of innovative devices that didn't exist before. On the other hand, compound semiconductors possess superior characteristics to that of silicon semiconductors in terms of their much faster electron transfer speed, their capabilities of high-speed signal processing and low-voltage operation, and their abilities to respond to light and generate microwaves. As a result, compound semiconductors have grown to be widely used in our daily lives as key materials in semiconductor devices that support digitization. Power semiconductors are used to control a wide variety of electrical devices in our daily lives, including automobiles, industrial equipment, electric power grids, railroads, and home appliances. To realize carbon neutrality, more technological innovations for saving energy are expected. On the other hand, the establishment of innovative electrical transmission technology is also important to achieve higher device speeds and power savings. From this perspective, the establishment of optoelectronics technology that integrates light and electronics for information and communication processing is urgently needed, and the development of optoelectronic devices and optoelectronic fusion processors for the Beyond 5G/6G all-optical era is paramount. In addition, further understanding of phenomena such as superconductivity, ion trapping, and light is needed to realize quantum computers, which will require new analytical and measurement techniques for characterization of devices and products.
Semiconductor devices are built using a wide variety of technologies, from raw materials to wafer fabrication, manufacturing processes, and integration schemes. Analysis and measurement technologies are indispensable in all processes, from the fundamental research level to prototyping and production optimization. Especially in the practical application of innovative devices such as power devices, optical devices, and quantum devices, it is important to find scientific explanation of previously unencountered phenomena and identify control points in prototyping and manufacturing, for which analytical and measurement technologies are becoming increasingly important.
The 2023 Masao Horiba Award is open to advanced analysis and measurement technologies necessary to solve these problems and consequently provide next-generation devices to the world. We welcome applications from researchers and engineers who are working on the development of such analysis and measurement technologies and whose results will lead to advancement in use cases and applications for next-generation devices, such as system autonomy, innovations in transportation, and wearable devices for health and medicine.
Masayuki Adachi, Dr., Eng.
Chief of the Organizing Committee for 2023 Masao Horiba Awards
President & COO
HORIBA, Ltd.
