As the base of semiconductor circuit design research in China expands, the need for practical human resource development based on joint research between the Korean semiconductor industry and academia is emerging.

ISSCC claimed, “Although our country has achieved the highest number of papers accepted to date despite the rise of China’s semiconductor design technology, R&D support for nurturing talents suitable for more specialized fields is urgently needed to continuously secure global semiconductor competitiveness.”

The International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), a world-class conference known as the Olympics of semiconductor design, held a conference at the Gyeonggi Startup Campus in Pangyo on the 23rd and discussed the status of ISSCC 2024 paper adoption and technology trends by technology branch.

The total number of papers submitted to this competition increased by about 40% from 629 to 873 compared to last year, and the number of accepted papers also increased by about 18% from 198 to 234. Of these, China’s number of accepted papers on semiconductor circuit design increased by 69, making it the country with the most accepted papers for the second consecutive year. In recent years, schools and research institutes have expanded in China, and it is said that not only the number of papers but also their quality has improved.

Korea has shown strength in IMMD (Image, MEMS, Medical, Display), MEM (Memory), PM (Power Management), etc., but has not had a single paper in TD (Technology Directions) and WLN (Wired) fields that deal with quantum, etc. Professor Kwon Kyung-ha of KAIST said, “Papers accepted in the TD division prefer results that are integrated with other fields. Korea has focused on research by each department, and the results have been poor.”

The number of papers accepted in our country increased from 32 last year to 49, the highest number ever, and it is encouraging that Samsung Electronics maintained the highest number of accepted papers with 14. KAIST achieved a tie for first place with the University of Macau with 14 papers accepted. It is also positive that the number of presenting institutions has steadily increased, with 14 research institutions currently participating. Professor Choi Jae-hyeok (Seoul National University, Vice Chairman of ISSCC Asia) said, “There are 25 times more research institutions in China, but our researchers are struggling just as much,” and added, “There may be areas where we are lacking, but I hope you will encourage and support what we are doing well.”

Samsung Electronics Managing Director Lee Jong-woo said, “We need to examine whether the numerous papers submitted by China are practically useful, and Korea is actively conducting research based on mutual needs between industry and academia.” He also said, “Rather than the number of papers, research on technologies that can be practically applied to the industry is important,” and added, “Our country should subdivide its semiconductor circuit design department and focus on investing in advanced human resources who can apply their knowledge in the field through doctoral programs.”

■ ISSCC, a place to share semiconductor design trends

ISSCC has over 60% of its members from the industrial sector, including Google, Tesla, Nvidia, Intel, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix, and discusses the latest semiconductor industry technologies. The 71st will be held in San Francisco, USA, from February 18 to 22, 2024.

ISSCC has 12 divisions: ANA (analog), PM (power management), DAS (digital architecture and systems), DCT (digital circuits), IMMD (image, MEMS, medical, and displays), MEM (memory), DC (data converter), RF (radio frequency), TD (technology directions), WLN (wired), WLS (wireless), and SEC (security).

An important trend for next year is the abolition of the ML (Machine Learning) division. This is a change due to the universal application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to various applications. Meanwhile, the SEC division, which is becoming increasingly important, has been newly established. This division will present various security processors, attack-resistant design technologies, and key security circuits.

Recently, the Digital Architecture and Systems Division has focused on communications-related research. High-performance general-purpose processors, mobile processors, and accelerators for B5G/6G are announced. AMD introduces the area-optimized 'Zen 4c' using the 5nm process, and Intel announces the 5th generation Xeon Scalable processor, 'Emerald Rapids'. In Korea, Rebellion and POSTECH each present papers. Machine learning accelerators for mobile, robots, and high-performance computing are also announced. MediaTek introduces a digital CIM (Compute-in-Memory)-based engine using the 3nm process.

The main issues in the memory sector are the industry’s first GDDR7 announcements by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Samsung Electronics will introduce a 37Gbps Single-Ended PAM3 GDDR7 product. Samsung Electronics is also developing a trend of continuously meeting high demands by announcing 280-layer 1TB NAND flash, etc. SK Hynix will announce a 48GB 16-layer HBM3E and 10.5Gbps LPDDR5X product. In August, SK Hynix announced that it had started supplying samples to customers to proceed with the HBM3E performance verification process. The products are scheduled to start mass production in the first half of next year.

The latest technology in wireless communication semiconductor systems is being studied in two directions: low-power systems and high-performance ICs for 5G/6G high-speed communications. The latest research in satellite communication technology is developing technologies for combining millimeter wave (mmWave) bands and commercial networks with satellite networks. In addition, research on semiconductors that are safe from satellite and space radiation exposure is being officially discussed.