[Editor's Note] In the midst of constantly changing and developing technology trends and standard environments, domestic EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) and SI/PI (Signal Integrity/Power Integrity) experts are also building technology leadership through continuous research and exchange. In particular, the EMC Technology Research Group of the Korea Electromagnetic Engineering Society, comprised of the country's top experts, is making a great contribution to the development of professional capabilities by exchanging countermeasure designs and technologies to respond to the radio environment such as SI/PI/EMI/EMC.

We had a difficult time meeting with Dr. Jong-Hoon Kim, Chairman of the EMC Technology Research Association, who is busy preparing for the recent EMC KOREA 2024, and talked about his current status and EMC technology trends.

[Reporter] Please introduce yourself briefly.

[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] Hello. This is Dr. Jong-Hoon Kim, who is researching EMI/EMC and SI/PI fields. He is currently the CEO of EMC Doctors Co., Ltd. and has been serving as the chairman of the EMC Technology Research Committee of the Korea Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science (KIEES) since 2023.

[Reporter] How are you doing these days? I'm curious about what you're up to.

[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] We are always continuing our technical consulting activities in the SI/PI/EMC field. Recently, as the chairman of the EMC Technology Research Association, I have been investing a lot of time in the exchange and spread of EMC technology.

[Reporter] Among the recent hot topics or cutting-edge technologies related to EMI/EMC, what are some of the issues that you are interested in?

[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] EMI/EMC issues have existed in the past, exist in the present, and will continue to exist in the future. This is because new electronic devices are being developed continuously, and new EMI/EMC issues are always emerging.

The latest hot topic is the advancement of EMC/SI/PI technology using artificial intelligence (AI). The goal is to use AI to perform analysis, prediction, and alternative suggestions faster and easier, but unfortunately, it is not easy.

The reason is that AI learns from existing data to derive desired results, but it is difficult to input reference data on a big data scale. I am not yet working on EMC/SI/PI technical consulting activities using AI, but I am watching with interest.

[Reporter] The emergence of generative artificial intelligence is bringing a wave of change to many sectors of industry. Do you feel that AI is directly or indirectly impacting the EMI/EMC field?

[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] As I mentioned earlier, the EMI/EMC and SI/PI fields are also directly affected by AI. Various studies are being conducted to effectively utilize AI technology and apply it to SI/PI/EMC technology. Various cases are already being presented at international conferences.

At this point, I don’t think AI is at the level where it can replace SI/PI/EMC engineers. I also predict that AI technology will be used in SI/PI/EMC technology in a very limited scope in the future.

This is because SI/PI/EMC technologies are not technologies that can be solved simply by searching well. Also, it is very difficult to obtain existing big data materials for searching.

Ultimately, AI will not be able to replace SI/PI/EMC engineers, but we expect that there will be significant technological advancements in utilizing AI technology to efficiently perform engineering activities. We also expect that the expected effects will be high in terms of improving work efficiency.

[Reporter] You must be busy preparing for EMC KOREA 2024. Please introduce the main agenda and key points of the upcoming event.


[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] The 2024 EMC KOREA event is scheduled to be held on Thursday, July 11, and there are many differences compared to previous years.

The biggest change is the change in location. EMC Korea has been held only in Seoul from the past to now. However, in 2024, it will be held in Daejeon at the KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) Munji Campus. The event is being prepared without a hitch, led by Samsung Electronics Senior Vice President Jin Joong-ho (EMC KOREA TFT Chairman).

First of all, we will be introducing ESD (electrostatic discharge) phenomenon technology through a keynote presentation by Professor Daryl Beetner, Director of the EMC Center at Missouri State University (Missouri S&T).

As for the technical sessions, three technologies will be presented in each of the Mobile & Consumer Electronics and Automotive & Power Electronics fields. All the presentations are interesting, but if I had to choose one, I would say that the EMC regulation principles and analysis techniques presented by Hee-Hoon Lee, a manager at Hyundai Motor Company, will be of great help to companies developing automotive electrical modules. If you know the principles, application technology development will be much easier.

In 2024, three parts of aerospace EMC technology will be introduced. By listening to the presentation by Dr. Seongbin Lim of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, you will be able to find out what the characteristics of EMC technology are in the aerospace field and how to apply it to product development.

We have also prepared three parts on robot EMC & standardization technology. In particular, through the presentation by Researcher Hyung-Bae Ahn of the National Radio Research Agency, we hope to understand the trends of international standardization in robot systems and proactively respond to robot product development to reduce trial and error.

The tutorial presentations include Filtering by Professor Jin-Guk Kim of UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) and Shielding by Professor Hyun-Ho Park of Suwon University. Since both of them are active in leading groups of top experts in their respective fields, you will be able to hear answers that are beyond your expectations if you ask questions.

The EMC KOREA event will be held on Thursday, July 11th at the lecture hall in the KAIST Munji Campus in Daejeon. Unfortunately, pre-registration closed on July 5th, but on-site registration is available. We hope that you will have a fruitful time by attending the event in person.

[Reporter] You are also active in the High-Speed Interconnect and Packaging Research Group. I am curious about your activities there.

[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] The High-Speed Interconnect and Packaging Research Group is a research group that deals with high-speed signal transmission and power transmission technologies for various types of product groups based on SI/PI technology. It deals with SI/PI technology in semiconductor packages relatively more.

We mainly do a lot of product design technology consulting activities. We also hold technology seminars about 3~4 times a year. There is a lot of interest in semiconductor packaging these days, but the technology field for ultra-high-speed package design still requires a lot of technical training.

[Reporter] How is the packaging trend based on electromagnetic engineering developing?

[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] If we were to talk about trends in packaging technology, it would definitely be 'ultra-high-speed'. Just over 10 years ago, the dominant electrical characteristics of semiconductor packages were 'it works when connected, and it doesn't work when not connected.'

So the Open/Short test was a very important management variable. However, as the operating speed of electronic devices exceeded 1Gbps, cases where 'it is connected but does not work properly' began to occur. From this time on, SI/PI technology began to be applied to semiconductor packaging.

In my personal opinion, it seems that many companies are well aware that SI/PI technology must be applied to design semiconductor packages exceeding 1Gbps at this point in time. However, the burden of technical consulting costs is still high.

As a way to overcome this, I think we should 'expand education on semiconductor package design and analysis technology considering SI/PI'. Although it may take a little more time than receiving expensive technical advice, it is a method that can be expected to improve technology at a low cost.

[Reporter] It seems like your work as the chairman of the EMC Technology Research Association is nearing its end. I am curious about your thoughts on the efforts you have made so far.

[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] I started in 2023 and am currently in my second year as the chairman of the EMC Technology Research Association. Many chairmen have helped this association grow over the years, and I hope to help it grow even further.

It may be a bit early to talk about my thoughts since there are still 6 months (25%) left in my term. However, I can tell you this for sure: The EMC Technology Research Association is not a research association that operates under the leadership of a single chairman. With the active and proactive participation of 68 committee members, many major events are carried out.

For example, in the case of EMC KOREA 2024, the event is being prepared through the efforts of 23 TFT committee members. Also, the age range is very wide, from those in their 60s to those in their 30s, so it can be said to be a 'research group with very high sustainability potential.'

Through active technical exchange activities in the EMC Technology Research Group, synergy effects are created, and all members of the research group feel the improvement of technology. If you are an expert interested in EMI/EMC technology, please contact us at any time. (Korea Electromagnetic Engineering Society https://www.kiees.or.kr/ )

[Reporter] If you have any plans or goals for the future, please tell us.

[Dr. Kim Jong-hoon] I am always surprised when I get asked these questions in life.

My basic goal is to 'do my best in what I have to do now.' There are many things I have to do in the future and many things I want to do, but the reality is that I can't do everything, so I have no choice but to be selective and focused.

Activities for a living are basically essential, and I think it is important to complete my role as chairman of the EMC Technology Research Association without any problems. My short-term goal is to hand over the chairmanship in a slightly more mature form.

In the long term, my goal is to use my knowledge to the fullest extent possible to expand the base of EMC countermeasure design technology. My goal is to share my 'EMC Countermeasure Design Technology' with all electronic device design engineers in Korea. So, whenever someone asks me a technical question, I try my best to answer it.

Thank you. Have a relaxing summer!