Integrating information perception, storage and processing, abandoning redundant module combinations and data conversion and transmission, the detection and recognition of moving objects is in place in one step... Retinal-form integrated motion detector pieces are no longer imaginary.
Professor Zhou Peng of the School of Microelectronics of Fudan University cooperated with Hu Weida, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to make original progress in the field of intelligent motion detection, and cleverly used the new neural network concept to create an "all in one" device that integrates dynamic sensor memory and computing and can realize the complete function of human vision, which can be processed on the time scale for the first time to achieve motion detection and recognition.
On November 8, the research results were published online in nature nanotechnology under the title "all-in-one two-dimensional retinomorphic hardware device for motion detection and recognition."
Zhou Peng's team has been deeply engaged in the field of integrated circuit new devices and systems research for 16 years, with fruitful results, and since May 2021 alone, six achievements have been published in nature electronics, nature nanotechnology, nature communications and other nature sub-journals.
"Wind Tunnel" Experiment: Exploring and Expanding for "Silicon"
Behind the fruitful results is decades of deep cultivation and continuous exploration. After graduating from Fudan University with a Ph.D. in 2005, Zhou Peng stayed on to teach and has been deeply rooted in the research of new materials, new devices and new processes of integrated circuits for many years. "On the road of scientific research, confusion and difficulty are the norm, and we cannot be anxious, and after experiencing continuous experimentation and exploration, there will finally be a time to blossom and bear fruit."
Silicon is the main carrier of integrated circuits at present, however, the overly expensive process process limits the design and development of creative devices, and conventional silicon device structures and systems can no longer meet the new needs generated in the intelligent era. Zhou Peng's team set their sights on two-dimensional materials with richer physical properties and more diverse properties to build new devices, and to find solutions for silicon to try to solve the current problems of integration density and energy consumption.
"Our two-dimensional atomic crystals act as a 'wind tunnel' in aviation technology, exploring the way for silicon." Zhou Peng explained. The team firmly grasps the two main lines, that is, starting from the basic principles of the device and starting from the essential characteristics of the material, the two lines cross and converge to obtain new ideas and new views, obtain general laws, and then reproduce on silicon to explore the possibility of introducing new technologies.
In order to break through the principle bottleneck restricting silicon-based flash memory technology, Zhou Peng's team first discovered the ultrafast charge storage mechanism of the double triangle tunneling barrier from the source, and based on this principle, a general device model was established, and van Der Waals heterojunction flash memory with three major elements was designed and prepared, which pointed out the principled research and development path for the application of the silicon system.
In view of the difficulties of silicon infrared detection, the team has pioneered the van der Waals unipolar barrier detector to see the "red light in the dark", build a natural barrier to block the "harmful" noise dark current component, and at the same time ensure the smooth flow of the "beneficial" signal photocurrent, effectively suppress the dark current without weakening the light response, and improve the detector signal-to-noise ratio.
In terms of exploring the essence of materials and expanding functions, based on wafer-level two-dimensional semiconductor materials, the team has innovatively built a new architecture that can be used for multiplication accumulation operations, which has great potential for low-power and high-computing fusion systems; in terms of circuit wafer-level integration, a two-dimensional semiconductor integrated circuit process optimization route suitable for academic exploration is proposed, showing the application prospects of future chips of two-dimensional material systems; for brain-like neuromorphic technologies with major needs, The team uses the inherent characteristics of bipolarity of two-dimensional atomic crystals to realize single transistor-based nonlinear logic operations, providing a new technical path for the development of high-performance and low-power intelligent systems, and is expected to build a true "electronic brain".
Passing on the Torch: Scientific Research and Writing report on the national situation
In addition to the identity of scientific research workers, as a teacher, it is his original intention to cultivate reserve talents for the field of integrated circuits, and he was awarded the "Zhong Yang Style" good teacher in 2021.
"In my opinion, each student is like a seed, teachers should provide a good soil environment, formulate a training plan according to the characteristics of students, and appropriately 'let go' so that their subjective initiative is fully stimulated." Under the careful cultivation of Zhou Peng, many students have won national scholarships, "Fudan University Academic Star" and other honors, and many students have published papers in core journals.
Chen Huawei, a 2016 ph.D. student at the School of Microelectronics, joined Huawei to engage in the research and development of new chips after graduation, and he is still deeply impressed by his mentor's teachings in the past five years: "Teacher Zhou encouraged me to break the limitations of thinking and fully try different possibilities. ”
"Teacher Zhou's influence on me is enormous." Liu Chunsen, the first student recruited by Zhou Peng, said: "Teacher Zhou often mentioned that silicon has accumulated too many technical barrier patents in traditional technology, and we must focus on cutting-edge unique paths and adopt new materials to achieve technological breakthroughs, so that China does not have to be subject to people in the basic manufacturing of integrated circuits. This also prompted me to stick to the research path in the field of 'card neck', and then go on. Today, Liu Chunsen is a young researcher at the Institute of Chip and System Frontier Technology of Fudan University, inheriting this academic "core" relay of serving the country.
Teacher Zhou taught by example and guided students to deepen their understanding of the four words of "scientific research for the country". Doctoral student Wang Shuiyuan said: "He instructed us that scientific researchers should go to different directions in the darkness of the forefront of technology to ignite the shimmer, dock the national strategic needs, and lay a warm lighthouse and reliable supply station for the front road of the industry." With this in mind, he leads the team to continuously expand the unlimited space of integrated circuit technology.
Based on the field of integrated circuits, Fudan University is one of the earliest units engaged in research and development of microelectronics technology in China. In 2014, it was approved to establish the "National Integrated Circuit Talents International Training (Shanghai) Base", in 2015 it became one of the 9 demonstration microelectronics colleges in the country, the "National Integrated Circuit Innovation Center" led in 2018 was inaugurated, in 2019 it undertook the "National Integrated Circuit Industry-Education Integration Innovation Platform" project, built the Innovation Platform of the Ministry of Education, and took the lead in piloting the establishment of the "Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering" first-level discipline in 2020... It is not a question of which cup to use for water when you are thirsty, but the need to start planning where the next cup of water will come from before drinking this cup of water. "With the large platform as the cornerstone and the upgrading of the institutional mechanism as the engine, Zhou Peng's team has achieved a series of results.
Author: Yang Zexuan
Editor: Wu Jinjiao
Image source: This newspaper information picture