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X-WR-CALNAME:Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (HKUECE) 電機與計算機工程系
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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (HKUECE) 電機與計算機工程系
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TZID:Asia/Hong_Kong
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DTSTART:20240101T000000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250313T100000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250313T113000
DTSTAMP:20260509T201719
CREATED:20250211T081812Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250212T083236Z
UID:108702-1741860000-1741865400@ece.hku.hk
SUMMARY:In-memory\, Mixed Analog-digital Architectures for Energy-efficient Computing Applications
DESCRIPTION:Abstract\nThere is simultaneously an interest for more energy-efficient hardware in challenging applications\, as well as a drive to overhaul the von Neumann architecture toward more brain-like architectures. Compute-in-Memory (CIM) is one emerging paradigm addressing key memory bottlenecks such as bandwidth limitations\, access latency\, and high data movement energy in conventional computing platforms.\nIn part one\, we use this paradigm to accelerate the solving of challenging optimization problems. We describe our in-memory\, hardware approach built around modified Hopfield neural networks to accelerate problem classes such as Boolean satisfiability (3-SAT). In an algorithm-hardware co-design process\, we have developed three different architectures steadily improving on the state-of-the-art. We discuss issues encountered in mapping native optimization problems to physical hardware\, precision demands\, and matching mixed analog-digital blocks to the algorithmic needs. Quantitative performance comparisons to competing approaches in both mature and emerging technologies will be presented.\nIn the second part of the talk\, we extend CIM beyond matrix-dominant workloads\, exploring its potential for novel and powerful models like Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KAN). Our new work\, called “KA-CIM\,” provides hardware acceleration for KANs. KANs offer significant parameter reduction over traditional neural networks for AI+Science applications but relies on computationally expensive non-linear functions. We present an innovative memory-centric design that enables energy-efficient and flexible computation of non-linear functions central to KAN\, while efficiently executing KAN inference.\nWe also discuss analog CIM using commodity DRAM architectures. Unlike SRAM- and emerging memory-based CIM accelerators\, DRAM-based CIM offers both high memory capacity and technological maturity\, making it an attractive candidate for large-scale AI workloads. This portion of the talk will present both the opportunities and constraints of using commodity DRAM for CIM. A novel analog CIM architecture will be presented\, which mitigates several of these constraints and demonstrates how area- and power-intensive ADCs can be efficiently integrated within an area-optimized commodity DRAM design. Furthermore\, a key feature of this architecture is its Dual-Mode functionality\, enabling it to seamlessly operate as both conventional main memory and an accelerator. \nSpeakers\nProf. John Paul Strachan\nProfessor\, RWTH Aachen University\, Aachen\, Germany\nHead\, Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-14)\, Forschungszentrum Jülich\, Jülich\, Germany\n\nDr. Chirag Sudarshan\nPostdoctoral Researcher\nPeter Grünberg Institute (PGI-14)\, Forschungszentrum Jülich\, Jülich\, Germany \nBiography of the Speakers\nProf. John Paul Strachan directs the Peter Grünberg Institute on Neuromorphic Compute Nodes (PGI-14) at Forschungszentrum Jülich and is a Professor at RWTH Aachen.  Previously he led the Emerging Accelerators team as a Distinguished Technologist at Hewlett Packard Labs\, HPE. His teams explore novel types of hardware accelerators using emerging device technologies\, with expertise spanning materials\, device physics\, circuits\, architectures\, benchmarking and building prototype systems. Their interests span applications in machine learning\, network security\, and optimization. John Paul has degrees in physics and electrical engineering from MIT and a PhD in applied physics from Stanford University. He has over 60 patents\, has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed papers\, and been the PI in many USG research grants. He has previously worked on nanomagnetic devices for memory for which he was awarded the Falicov Award from the American Vacuum Society\, and has developed sensing systems for precision agriculture in a company which he co-founded. He serves in professional societies including IEEE IEDM ExComm\, the Nanotechnology Council ExComm\, and past program chair and steering member of the International Conference on Rebooting Computing.\n\nDr. Chirag Sudarshan is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Peter Grünberg Institute on Neuromorphic Compute Nodes (PGI-14)\, Forschungszentrum Jülich\, working under the supervision of Prof. John Paul Strachan. He received his Master’s degree (2017) and Ph.D. (2023) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau\, Germany. During his Ph.D.\, he extensively worked on novel DRAM architectural designs and is now developing innovative compute-in-memory architectures with emerging memory technologies for neuromorphic applications. His contributions have been recognized with a special academic achievement award from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and WIPOTEC GmbH following his master’s studies. He has authored or co-authored 23 publications\, filed six patents\, and currently serves as a reviewer for journals such as Results in Engineering and Micromachines. His research interests include compute-in-memory architectures\, neuromorphic computing\, emerging memory technologies\, and DRAM architectures. \nOrganiser\n\nProf. Can Li\, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering\, The University of Hong Kong; and\nCenter for Advanced Semiconductor and Integrated Circuits\n\nAll are welcome! 
URL:https://ece.hku.hk/events/20250313-2/
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre CB-A\, G/F\, Chow Yei Ching Building\, The University of Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:Highlights,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ece.hku.hk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1280-3.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250313T103000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250313T113000
DTSTAMP:20260509T201719
CREATED:20250102T023031Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250211T042315Z
UID:19666-1741861800-1741865400@ece.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Quantum Technologies with Hexagonal Boron Nitride
DESCRIPTION:Abstract\nEngineering robust\, solid-state quantum systems is amongst the most pressing challenges to realise scalable quantum photonic circuitry. While several 3D systems (such as diamond or gallium arsenide) have been thoroughly studied\, solid state emitters in van der Waals (vdW) and two dimensional (2D) materials are still in their infancy. \nIn this presentation\, I will discuss the appeal of an emerging vdW crystal – hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). This unique system possesses a large bandgap of ~ 6 eV and can host single defects that can act as ultra-bright quantum light sources. In addition\, some of these defects exhibit spin dependent fluorescence that can be initialised and coherently manipulated. I will discuss in details various methodologies to engineer these defects and show their peculiar properties. Furthermore\, I will discuss how hBN crystals can be carefully sculpted into nanoscale photonic resonators to confine and guide light at the nanoscale. Taking advantage of the unique 2D nature of hBN\, I will also show promising avenues to integrate hBN emitters with silicon nitride photonic crystal cavities. \nAll in all\, hBN possesses all the vital constituents to become the leading platform for integrated quantum photonics. To this extent\, I will highlight the challenges and opportunities in engineering hBN quantum photonic devices and will frame it more broadly in the growing interest with 2D materials nanophotonics. \nSpeaker\nProf. Igor Aharonovich\nSchool of Mathematical and Physical Sciences\,\nFaculty of Science\,\nUniversity of Technology Sydney \nBiography of the Speaker\nIgor Aharonovich is an award-winning scientist working on cutting-edge research into quantum sources that are able to generate\, encode and distribute quantum information. A Professor in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at UTS\, Igor investigates optically active defects in solids\, with the aim of identifying a new generation of ultra-bright solid state quantum emitters. He is a chief investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Materials (TMOS)\, and leads an international collaboration investigating the chemical structure of crystal imperfections\, or defects\, in the nanomaterial hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). \nIn 2016\, Igor and his team discovered the first quantum emitters in 2D materials that operate at room temperature based on defects in hBN. He has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications\, including one of the most cited reviews on diamond photonics. He has also written a road map for solid state single-photon sources. In 2019\, Igor co-founded the inaugural online photonics conference\, Photonics Online Meetup\, which attracted more than 1100 attendees from around the world\, and which was highlighted by top science outlets. The conference now runs twice a year. He has received several international awards including the Pawsey Medal (2017)\, the IEEE Photonics Young Investigator Award (2016) and in 2020 he was the recipient of the Kavli Foundation Early Career Lectureship in Materials Science from Materials Research Society. In 2021\, he became a Fellow of the Optical Society (OSA)\, and in 2024 elected as a fellow of SPIE.\nRead more about the speaker’s biography: https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Igor.Aharonovich \nOrganiser\nProf. Zhiqin Chu\nDepartment of Electrical and Electronic Engineering\,\nThe University of Hong Kong \nSupported by\nTam Wing Fan Innovation Wing Two \nAll are welcome! \nDirection: https://innowings.engg.hku.hk/innowing2/visitors
URL:https://ece.hku.hk/events/20250313-1/
LOCATION:Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing Two\, G/F\, Run Run Shaw Building\, The University of Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:Highlights,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ece.hku.hk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1280.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250313T110000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250313T113000
DTSTAMP:20260509T201719
CREATED:20250312T065738Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250312T073813Z
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SUMMARY:On The Interplay of T and R in VCM-based 1T1R Structures
DESCRIPTION:Abstract\nRedox-based resistive switching random access memory (ReRAM) which is frequently discussed as a promising non-volatile memory as well as a central element in novel neuromorphic computing applications\, is typically integrated in 1-transistor-1-resistor (1T1R) structures. While the access transistor is required as a selective device and acts as an effective current compliance during SET\, it may hinder the RESET operation due to its series resistance. We showed that this may lead to a rare endurance failure. Furthermore\, the RESET speed is affected by the voltage divider of transistor and ReRAM cell\, where the initial cell resistance\, the gate voltage and the transistor geometry (i.e.\, width over length ratio w/L) are crucial. For both\, the HRS and LRS\, we demonstrate that the operation point of the 1T1R voltage divider can be shifted between the linear and the saturation regime of the transistor transfer characteristics. \nSpeaker\nDr. Stefan Wiefels\nPGI-7\, Forschungszentrum Jülich \nBiography of the Speaker\nStefan Wiefels was born in Grevenbroich\, Germany. He received the M.Sc. degree in materials science and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and information technology from RWTH Aachen University\, Aachen\, Germany\, in 2016 and 2021\, respectively. His current research group is centered around the electrical characterization of memristive devices\, reaching from Redox-based resistive switches (ReRAM) to phase change memory (PCM) and from single cells (1R)\, via 1-transistor-1-resistor (1T1R) structures to arrays and circuits. A general focus lies on the automation of measurement schemes to generate significant statistics. This allows for understanding the intrinsic variability of resistive switching devices and is crucial to identify rare failure mechanisms. Further\, variability aware algorithms to program memristive devices are developed. A general target is emulating neuromorphic functionalities using external DAC and ADC before they are integrated on chip. \nOrganisers\n– Can Li\, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering\, The University of Hong Kong\n– Center for Advanced Semiconductor and Integrated Circuit \nAll are welcome!
URL:https://ece.hku.hk/events/20250313-3/
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre CB-A\, G/F\, Chow Yei Ching Building\, The University of Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:Highlights,Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ece.hku.hk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250313-3-03.jpg
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