Dr. Zhi Chen's Group
 Home|  Research|  Publication|  Vita|  Opening|  Lab|  Group Member |   Teaching

Vita

Dr. Zhi David Chen

Office address: 

Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, 453 F. Paul Anderson Tower, Lexington, KY 40506 
Phone: (859)218-6550; Fax: (859)257-3092; E-mail: zhichen@engr.uky.edu 

Title:

Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 
 

Education: 

Ph.D.  in Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.  August 1999

M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology (China). May 1987

B.S.  in Electrical Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology (China). July 1984
 

Research interests: 

Nano-scale materials, nano-scale device fabrication, photovoltaic devices, and sensors.  
 

Professional Experience: 

07/2009-Present    Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

04/2011-Present    CEO/CTO and Co-Founder, Advanced Semiconductor Processing Technology  LLC (ASPT), Lexington, KY, USA.

01/2017-Present    Visiting Professor, University of Electronic Science & Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China (Visiting in summers)

08/2015-12/2016    Visiting Professor, University of Electronic Science & Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China (Part-time consulting in the academic years and visiting in summers, approved by University of Kentucky)

08/2015-12/2016    Entrepreneurial Leave, Advanced Semiconductor Processing Technology, LLC (ASPT), Lexington, KY.  (Fall 2015 and Fall 2016, approved by University of Kentucky)

05/2012-8/2015    Visiting Professor, University of Electronic Science & Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China (Summers in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and sabbatical leaves in Fall 2013 and Fall 2014, approved by University of Kentucky)

07/2011-07/2013    Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

07/2009-07/2013    Kentucky Utilities Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

07/2007-06/2009    Kentucky Utilities Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
   
07/2004-06/2009    Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

07/2001-Present    Associate Director of Center for Nanoscale Science & Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

07/1999-06/2004     Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

05/1998-08/1998    Member of Technical Stuff, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Orlando, FL

01/1994-06/1999    Research Assistant, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL

01/1993-12/1993    Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Electrical Engineering, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

05/1987-12/1992    Lecturer, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Industrial Experience: 

Investigated the interface trap generation in CMOS devices using charge-pumping test and hot carrier aging as member of technical stuff of Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Orlando, Florida (1998). 
 

Awards: 

National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2001

National Award for Invention, Ministry of Science and Technology, P. R. China, 1995 

The Second Prize Paper Award, Industrial Automation and Control Committee, the 27th Annual Conference, IEEE Industry Application Society, USA, 1992

Who's Who in America,  2001 - 2010

Senior Member, IEEE

Kentucky Utilities Professorship, University of Kentucky, 2007

Wethington Award, University of Kentucky, June 2005

1998-1999 Beckman Graduate Fellowship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
 

Professional Achievements: 

See the main page of this website
 

Professional Services: 

Society office positions:

05/2018-present    Treasurer, Division of Dielectric Science & Technology (DST), the Electrochemical Society (ECS)
05/2014-present    Governing Body Member, Division of Dielectric Science & Technology (DST), the Electrochemical Society (ECS)
   
Editorial positions:

05/2003-present    Member, Editorial Board of Sensor Letters, American Scientific Publishers, Stevenson Ranch, CA

10/2014-present    Member of Editorial Board of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) Transactions

06/2016    Co-Editor of ECS Transaction for Symposium D01: Dielectrics for Nanosystems 7: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing, 229th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Inc. San Diego, CA, May 29-June 3, 2016

05/2014    Co-Editor of ECS Transaction for Symposium N2 - Dielectrics for Nanosystems 6: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing, the 225th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Orlando, Florida, May 11-16, 2014

05/2012    Co-Editor of ECS Transactions for Symposium of Nanosystems V: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing, the 221th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Seattle, Washington, May 6-11, 2012

04/2010    Co-editor, ECS Transactions, in Dielectrics for nanosystem 4: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing, vol. 28, issue 2, 2010

05/2009-05/2010    Co-editor of ECS Transactions for Dielectrics for nanosystems IV (E2), 217th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Vancouver, Canada, April 25-30, 2010

08/2004    Associate Editor, Medical Physics, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine

03/2003    Associate Editor, Medical Physics, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine

Conference Organization

02/2018 每 10/2019    Symposium Organizer for Symposium I02 Photovoltaics for the 21st Century 15: New Materials and Processes, 236th ECS Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 13-17, 2019.

10/2018 每 05/2019    Symposium Organizer for Symposium B07: Low-Cost Photovoltaics, 235th ECS Meeting, Dallas, Texas, May 26-30, 2019.

02/2018 每 10/2018    Symposium Organizer for Symposium D02: Photovoltaics for the 21st Century 14, 234th ECS Meeting, Cancun, Mexico, Sept 30 每 Oct 4, 2018

02/2017 每 10/2017    Symposium Organizer for Symposium Z02: Nanotechnology General Session, 234th ECS Meeting, Cancun, Mexico, Sept 30 每 Oct 4, 2018

08/2017 每 05/2018    Symposium Organizer for Symposium Z02: Nanotechnology General Session, the 233rd ECS Meeting, Seattle, WA, USA, May 13-17, 2018.

02/2017 每 10/2017    Symposium Organizer for Symposium Z02: Nanotechnology General Session, the 232nd ECS Meeting, National Harbor, Maryland, USA, October 1-6, 2017.

02/2017 每 10/2017    Symposium Organizer for Symposium D02: Photovoltaics for the 21st Century 13, the 232nd ECS Meeting, National Harbor, Maryland, USA, October 1-6, 2017.

08/2015 - 06/2016    Symposium Organizer for Symposium D01: Dielectrics for Nanosystems 7: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and  Manufacturing, 229th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Inc. San Diego, CA, May 29-June 3, 2016

08/2015 - 06/2016    Symposium Organizer for Symposium Z02: Nanotechnology General Session featuring Nanoscale Luminescent Materials, 229th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Inc. San Diego, CA, May 29-June 3, 2016

08/2013 - 06/2014    Technical Program Committee Member, 2014 IEEE International Conference on Electron Devices and Solid-State Circuits, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, June 18-20, 2014

09/01/13-05/15/14    Symposium Organizer for Symposium N2 - Dielectrics for Nanosystems 6: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing, the 225th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Orlando, Florida, May 11-16, 2014

09/01/11-05/11/12    Symposium Organizer for Dielectrics for Nanosystems V: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing, the 221th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Seattle, Washington, May 6-11, 2012

05/06-05/11, 2012     Session Chair for Dielectrics for Nanosystems V: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing, the 221th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Seattle, Washington, May 6-11, 2012

07/01/09-04/30/10    Symposium Organizer for Dielectrics for Nanosystems IV: Materials Science, Processing, Reliability, and Manufacturing, the 217th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Vancouver, Canada, April 25-30, 2010

04/25-04/30, 2010     Session Chair, Dielectrics for nanosystems IV (E2), 217th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Vancouver, Canada, April 25-30, 2010

05/2009-05/2010     Symposium organizer, Dielectrics for nanosystems IV (E2), 217th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Vancouver, Canada, April 25-30, 2010

07/10-07/13, 2009    Session Chair, The 2nd International Multi-Conference on Engineering and Technological Innovation: IMETI 2009, Orlando, Florida, USA

08/2009-07/2010    Technical Program Committee Member, the 2010 IEEE UGIM (University Government Industry Micro/nano) Symposium, June 28-July 1, 2010, West Lafayette, IN.

07/14-07/16, 2008    Session Chair, the 17th Biennial IEEE University Government Industry Micro/nano Symposium, Louisville, KY, USA

05/18-05/23, 2008    Session Chair at the International Symposium on Dielectrics for Nanosystems III, 213th Meeting of Electrochemical Society, Phoenix, AZ, May 18-23, 2008.

08/2007-07/2008    Technical Program Committee Member, the 2008 IEEE UGIM (University Government Industry Micro/nano) Symposium, Louisville, KY

05/27-05/30, 2001    Session Chair, The ECS International Semiconductor Technology Conference, the Electrochemical Society, USA, Shanghai, China

05/15-06/15, 2001    Short course: ※MOSFET Technology§, at Lexmark International, Inc., Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Technical Review:

Proposal Review:

06/2011    Panelist , ※Nanoelectronics for 2020 and Beyond,§ National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
02/2011    Proposal reviewer, University Coal Research program, US Department of Energy
08/2009    Panelist, SBIR program, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
02/2008    Proposal reviewer, Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
01/2007    Panelist, Regular program, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
01/2007    Proposal reviewer, Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
11/2006    Proposal reviewer, Swiss National Science Foundation, Wildhainweg 3, P.O. Box 8232, CH-3001 Berne, Switzerland
03/2006    Proposal reviewer, Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
06/2005    Proposal reviewer, University Coal Research program, US Department of Energy
05/2005    Panelist, SBIR program, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
12/2004    Proposal reviewer, US Civilian Research and Development Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
06/2004    Proposal reviewer, US Civilian Research and Development Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
03/2004    Proposal reviewer, CHE- Analytical and Surface Chemistry, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
10/2003    Proposal Reviewer, US Civilian Research and Development Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
06/2003    Proposal Reviewer, US Civilian Research and Development Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
09/2003    Panelist, SBIR program, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
09/2002    Proposal Reviewer, Moldovan-U.S. Bilateral Grants Program, US Civilian Research and Development Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
04/2002    Proposal reviewer, SBIR Phase II program, US Department of Energy
10/2001    Proposal reviewer, US Civilian Research and Development Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
05/2001    Proposal reviewer, SBIR Phase I program, US Department of Energy
01/2001    Panelist, NIRT program, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia

Faculty Promotion Review

03/2014    Evaluation of a faculty member for promotion from Associate Professor to Full Professor for Al-Balqa* Applied University Amman, Jordan Amman, P.O.Box (15008), marka ashamalia.

12/2013    Evaluation of a faculty member for promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor for King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology Scientific Council P.O. Box 6086, Riyadh 11442, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.


Paper Review:

Reviewed numerous papers for
Journal of Applied Physics
Applied Physics Letters
Medical Physics
IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
IEEE Transactions on Devices and Materials Reliability
IEEE Sensor Journal
Journal of  Electrochemical Society
Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Sensors and Actuators
Sensor Letters
Solid State Electronics
Journal of Materials Science
Journal of Electronic Materials
Journal of Physics D
Journal of Physical Chemistry
Physica Status Solidi
Thin Solid Films

UNIVERSITY SERVICE

08/2019-02/2020    Search Committee for New Faculty, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky

07/2011-07/2013    Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky

07/2009-07/2013     Graduate Committee, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky

09/2008    Department Representative, International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Screening Test, Graduate School, University of Kentucky

07/2001-present    Associate Director, Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky

07/2004-06/2006    Search Committee for New Faculty, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky

07/2004-12/2006    Seminar Coordinator for Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University of Kentucky

03/2004-12/2004    Ad Hoc Committee for Use of Current Technology, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky

03/2001    Review for Undergraduate Scholarship in Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky

03/2000    Review for Undergraduate Scholarship in Electrical Engineering, University of Kentucky


EDUCATION OUTREACH

Seminars for high school students, "Computer Chips: A World of Microelectronics," in North Laurel High School, London, KY, May 22, 2009.

Seminars for high school students, "Computer Chips: A World of Microelectronics," in Rogers Scholars Program, Center for Rural Development, Somerset, KY, July 15 and July 22, 2000 and July 17, 2001, July 24, 2001, July 12, 2007.

Education outreach for 3rd-5th grade students in Deep Spring Elementary School and J. R. Ewan Elementary School at Lexington, KY, April 2001.

Lab sessions for high school students, Assembling Humidity Controller Circuits, Lie Detector Circuits, and Oscillating Circuits, in Rogers Scholars Program, Center for Rural Development, Somerset, KY, twice each Summer, 2002-2008

COMMUNITY SERVICES:

05/2013-05/2014     President, Kentucky Chinese American Association, Lexington, KY
05/2012-05/2014    Board of Director, Kentucky Chinese American Association, Lexington, KY
05/2010-05/2012    Membership Officer, Kentucky Chinese American Association, Lexington, KY


TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION:

12/2019 ASPT LLC, USA achieved volume production of dew point transmitters by 2000 units per year

12/2014 ASPT LLC, Lexington, KY, USA, received $1,000,000 private investment to scale up manufacturing of dew point transmitters.

08/2014 Developed a prototype dew point meter to measure trace moisture levels down to 0.5 ppmv (-80C dew point). The hybrid dielectric moisture sensors exhibit remarkable stability, fast response, and high sensitivity.

12/2012 Invented a new moisture sensor based on the alpha-Al2O3/SiO2 hybrid dielectric material (US Patent 8,739,623, US Patent 9,285,334, and Chinese Invention Patent 201410246545).

04/2011 Co-founded a company, Advanced Semiconductor Processing Technology LLC (ASPT USA), to commercialization of my university research results. ASPT USA is also responsible for research and development, manufacturing of sensor chips, and calibration and assembly of sensor meters.

INVITED PRESENTATION at INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

1.    Hojjat Sarvari, Mohsen Nasseri, So Min Park, Poorya Kamali, Douglas R. Strachan, Kenneth Graham, Vijay P. Singh, and Zhi David Chen, ※The Key Processing Issues and Their Solutions for High-Quality Perovskite Solar Cells§ 236th ECS Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, Oct. 13-17, 2019. (Invited)

2.    Long Ji, Peng Zhang, Yafei Wang, Detao Liu, Shibin Li, and Zhi David Chen, ※High efficiency and low hysteresis solar cells based on perovskite with triple cation and mixed Pb-Sn,§ 234th ECS Meeting, Cancun, Mexico, Sept 30 每 Oct 4, 2018 (Invited Talk)

3.    Peng Zhang, Yafei Wang, Detao Liu, Shibin Li, and Zhi David Chen, "Improvement of Perovskite Films and the Perovskie/TiO2 Interface", the 232nd ECS Meeting, National Harbor, Maryland, USA, October 1-6, 2017. (Invited)

4.    Shibin Li, Detao Liu, Peng Zhang, Yafei Wang, Hojjatollah Sarvari, Yaoyu Xuan, Zhi David Chen, "The Defects of ZnO Nanorods Passivated By Ultra-Thin Al2O3 Film for Solar Cell Applications", the 229th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, San Diego, CA, May 29-June 3, 2016. (Invited)

5.    Shibin Li, Xiaohui Yang, Xiongbang Wei, Yaoyu Xuan, Yadong Jiang, Zhi Chen, "Fabrication of high-quality TiO2 nanotubes on conductive glasses", the 227th ECS Meeting, Chicago, IL, May 24-28, 2015. (Invited)

6.    L. Han and Z. Chen, ※Atomic Layer Deposition of HfO2 Using HF Etched Thermal and RTP SiO2 as Interfacial Layers§, 225th ECS Meeting, Orlando, FL, May 11-16, 2014. (Invited)

7.    L. Han and Z. Chen, ※Ultrathin SiO2 Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition Using Tris(dimethylamino)silane (TDMAS) and Ozone§, 224th ECS Meeting, San Francisco, CAㄛ Oct 27 - Nov 1, 2013. (Invited)

8.    Zhi Chen, ※Origin of Tunneling Current Reduction and Phonon-Energy Coupling Enhancement in the SiO2/Si System,§ The 12th International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS) Conference in Asia, Taipei, Taiwan, Sept. 19-22, 2011. (Invited)

9.    Jun Fang, Youngsik Song and Zhi Chen, ※SU-8 Nanopillars and Hierarchically Branched Nanowires Fabricated Using Anodic Aluminum Oxide Templates,§  Nanoscale Low-Dimensional Electronic and Photonic Devices,  the 218th Meeting of The Electrochemical Society, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 10-15, 2010. (Invited)
   
10.    Shibin Li and Zhi Chen, ※Effect of the chemical oxide layer thickness on the interfacial quality of ALD-grown HfO2 on silicon,§ at the International Symposium on Dielectrics for Nanosystems III, the 217th Meeting of The Electrochemical Society, Vancouver, Canada, April 25-30, 2010. (Invited)

11.    Zhi Chen, ※A New Physics Effect, Phonon-Energy-Coupling Enhancement, and Its Applications for Leakage Current Reduction of Gate Dielectrics,§ at the International Symposium on Dielectrics for Nanosystems III, the 213th Meeting of Electrochemical Society, Phoenix, AZ, May 18-23, 2008. (Invited)

12.    Zhi Chen, ※Fundamental Mechanisms for Reduction of Leakage Current of Silicon Oxide and Oxynitride through RTP-Induced Phonon-Energy Coupling,§ 14th Annual IEEE International Conference on Advanced Thermal Processing of Semiconductors - RTP2006, Kyoto, Japan, October 10-13, 2006. (Invited)
 
INVITED TALKS/SEMINARS

1.    " Nanoscale Dielectric Materials and Low-Cost Solar Cells" US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Jan. 8, 2016

2.    ※Computer Chip Technology and Micro/Nano-Scale Materials and Devices§, University of Electronic Science & Technology of China, Chengdu, China, Sept. 29, 2014

3.    ※Ultrathin SiO2 and HfO2 Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition§, Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China, Nov 16, 2013

4.    ※The Past and Future of Computer Chips: From Micro- to Nano-Scale Technology§, University of Electronic Science & Technology of China, Chengdu, China, June 6, 2013

5.    ※Nanoscale Structure and Material Research for MOS Transistors, Molecular and Photovoltaic Devices,§ University of Electronic Science & Technology of China, Chengdu, China, July 6, 2011

6.    ※Enhancement of Phonon-Energy Coupling: Dramatic Reduction of Gate Leakage Current of MOS Devices,§ Shanghai Jiaotung University, Shanghai, China, June 13, 2007.

7.    ※Enhancement of Phonon-Energy Coupling: Dramatic Reduction of Gate Leakage Current of MOS Devices,§ University of Electronic Science & Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, June 29, 2006.

8.    ※Enhancement of Phonon-Energy Coupling: Dramatic Reduction of Gate Leakage Current of MOS Devices,§ Texas Instrument and University of Texas at Dallas, May 21, 2006.

9.    ※Enhancement of Phonon-Energy Coupling: Dramatic Reduction of Gate Leakage Current of MOS Devices,§ Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, May 2006.

10.    ※Enhancement of Phonon-Energy Coupling: Dramatic Reduction of Gate Leakage Current of MOS Devices,§ Purdue University, April 2006.

11.    ※Electronic Device Research: From Submicron to Nano-Scale,§ Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, Maryland, August, 2002.

12.    ※The Surface and Interface of Semiconductors and Carbon Nanotube Based Nanotechnology,§ University of Electronic Science & Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, May, 2002.

13.    ※Porous nanostructures and carbon nanotubes for chemical and biomedical applications,§ University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, August, 2001.

14.    ※GaAs-based metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures and deuterium-processed Si MOS transistors§, Lucent Technology Bell Labs, Breinigsville, PA, Nov. 2000.

15.    ※Physical and electrical properties of  MOS transistors processed in deuterium and hydrogen,§ University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, Feb. 1999.

16.    ※Electrical properties of Si MOS devices processed in deuterium and hydrogen,§ IBM Semiconductor Research and Development Center, Essex Junction, VT, May, 1999.

17.    ※Deuterium processing for MOS transistors: Reliability improvement and degradation mechanism,§ University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, Oct. 1999.
 
 

List of Publications: (See the Pubilcation Bar)