Jeehwan Kim

  • Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
  • Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
  • M.S. in Materials Science & Engineering, Seoul National University
  • B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering, Hongik University

Electronic Materials; Manufacturing; Materials Processing; Mechanical Behavior of Materials; Nanotechnology; Nanomechanics; Phase Transformations; Photonic Materials; Semiconductors; Surfaces, Interfaces, and Thin Films; Thermodynamics

Jeehwan Kim

Research

Prof. Kim's group focuses on innovation in nanotechnology for electronic/photonic/energy applications.

The group is currently developing a graphene-based layer transfer technology  which offers infinitive growths & transfers of high quality single-crystalline semiconductor films on single-crystalline graphene. Prof. Kim's team has been investigating a method to perform van der Waals epitaxy of defect-free single-crystalline films on epitaxial graphene in general material system and studying mechanics for repeatable & precise exfoliation of epilayers on graphene. The group's focus is on fabricating high performance electronic/photonic/photovoltaics devices with low manufacturing cost based on this graphene-based layer transfer technique. Based on their expertise in the van der Waals epitaxy technique, Prof. Kim's group develops the way of fabricating single-crystalline 2D materials such as graphene and TMDCs for extremely flexible inorganic electronic/photonic devices. 

Another emphasis of the group is on neurmorphic computing where we develope high on/off ratio, uniform resistive RAM arrays and realize cognitive computing functions. 

Exploring nanotechnology for high efficiency, low cost photovoltaics is also one of the key research topics in Prof. Kim's group. Group's current interests are as following: i) Geometry modification for efficiency enhancement via constructing high aspect-ratio three-dimensional solar cells, ii) Work-function engineering of carbon-based transparent electrode via plasmonic gold nanodots, and iii) Monolithic integration of organic-inorganic hybrids.

Jeehwan Kim joined the Mechanical Engineering faculty in September 2015. He joined the Materials Science and Engineering as a joint faculty member in February 2016. Before MIT, Kim has been a research staff member at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center since 2008, conducting research in photovoltaics, 2D materials, graphene, and advanced CMOS devices. He has been named a Master Inventor at IBM for his prolific creativity, with over 100 patent filings in five years. Kim’s breakthrough contributions including: demonstration of peeling of large-area single-crystal graphene grown from a SiC substrate, enabling reuse of the expensive substrate; successful growth of GaN on grapheme, with 25% lattice mismatch and demonstrating that GaN films grown from the process function well as LEDs, pointing to a new principle for growing common semiconductors for flexible electronics; and achieving high efficiency in Si/polymer tandem solar cells and 3D solar cells.

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Publications

2021

K. Sato et al., “Observation of a flat band and bandgap in millimeter-scale twisted bilayer graphene”, Communications Materials, vol. 2, no. 1. Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2021.
K. Qiao et al., “Graphene Buffer Layer on SiC as a Release Layer for High-Quality Freestanding Semiconductor Membranes”, Nano Letters. American Chemical Society (ACS), 2021.
H. Kim et al., “Impact of 2D–3D Heterointerface on Remote Epitaxial Interaction through Graphene”, ACS Nano. American Chemical Society (ACS), 2021.
J. Gong et al., “Influences of ALD Al2O3 on the surface band-bending of c-plane, Ga-face GaN”, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 61, no. 1. IOP Publishing, p. 011003, 2021.

2020

H. S. Kum et al., “Heterogeneous integration of single-crystalline complex-oxide membranes”, Nature, vol. 578, no. 7793. Springer Science and Business Media LLC, pp. 75-81, 2020.
S. -H. Bae et al., “Graphene-assisted spontaneous relaxation towards dislocation-free heteroepitaxy”, Nature Nanotechnology. Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020.
H. Yeon et al., “Alloying conducting channels for reliable neuromorphic computing”, Nature Nanotechnology. Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020.

2018

W. Kong et al., “Polarity governs atomic interaction through two-dimensional materials”, Nature Materials, vol. 17. pp. 999-1004, 2018.

2017

S. -H. Bae et al., “Unveiling the carrier transport mechanism in epitaxial graphene for forming wafer-scale, single-domain graphene”, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vol. 114. pp. 4082-4086, 2017.
Y. Kim et al., “Remote epitaxy through graphene enables two-dimensional material-based layer transfer”, Nature, vol. 544. pp. 340-343, 2017.
J. Shim, Jo, S. -H., Kim, M., Song, Y. J., Kim, J., and Park, J. -H., “Light-Triggered Ternary Device and Inverter Based on Heterojunction of van der Waals Materials”, Acs Nano, vol. 11. pp. 6319-6327, 2017.
P. R. Kidambi, Boutilier, M. S. H., Wang, L., Jang, D., Kim, J., and Karnik, R., “Selective Nanoscale Mass Transport across Atomically Thin Single Crystalline Graphene Membranes”, Advanced Materials, vol. 29. p. 1605896, 2017.
S. -H. Bae et al., “Unveiling the carrier transport mechanism in epitaxial graphene for forming wafer-scale, single-domain graphene”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 114. pp. 4082-4086, 2017.

2016

J. Shim et al., “Extremely Large Gate Modulation in Vertical Graphene/WSe2 Heterojunction Barristor Based on a Novel Transport Mechanism”, Advanced Materials, vol. 28. p. 5293 - +, 2016.
Y. S. Lee et al., “Atomic Layer Deposited Aluminum Oxide for Interface Passivation of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)(4) Thin-Film Solar Cells”, Advanced Energy Materials, vol. 6. p. 1600198, 2016.

2015

J. Kim et al., “10.5% efficient polymer and amorphous silicon hybrid tandem photovoltaic cell”, Nature Communications, vol. 6. p. 6391, 2015.

2014

J. Kim et al., “High Efficiency Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)(4) Solar Cells by Applying a Double In2S3/CdS Emitter”, Advanced Materials, vol. 26. pp. 7427-7431, 2014.
J. Kim et al., “Solar Cells: High Efficiency Cu2 ZnSn(S,Se)4 Solar Cells by Applying a Double In2 S3 /CdS Emitter (Adv. Mater. 44/2014).”, Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), vol. 26. pp. 7426-7426, 2014.
Y. T. Chae, Kim, J., Park, H., and Shin, B., “Building energy performance evaluation of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) window with semi-transparent solar cells”, Applied Energy, vol. 129. pp. 217-227, 2014.
J. Kim et al., “Principle of direct van der Waals epitaxy of single-crystalline films on epitaxial graphene”, Nature Communications, vol. 5. p. 4836, 2014.
C. Bayram et al., “Cubic Phase GaN on Nano-grooved Si (100) via Maskless Selective Area Epitaxy”, Advanced Functional Materials, vol. 24. pp. 4492-4496, 2014.
J. Kim et al., “9.4% Efficient Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell on High Aspect-Ratio Glass Microcones”, Advanced Materials, vol. 26. pp. 4082-4086, 2014.
H. Hiroi et al., “Over 12\% Efficiency CU2ZnSn(SeS)(4) Solar Cell Via Hybrid Buffer Layer”, 2014 Ieee 40th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (pvsc). pp. 30-32, 2014.
I. -yeal Lee et al., “Poly-4-vinylphenol and poly(melamine-co-formaldehyde)-based graphene passivation method for flexible, wearable and transparent electronics”, Nanoscale, vol. 6. pp. 3830-3836, 2014.

2013

J. Kim et al., “Layer-Resolved Graphene Transfer via Engineered Strain Layers”, Science, vol. 342. pp. 833-836, 2013.
S. -U. Yang et al., “Depth-controllable ultra shallow Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide/Gallium Arsenide hetero junction diode”, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 561. pp. 228-230, 2013.

2012

J. Kim, Hong, A. J., Nah, J. -W., Shin, B., Ross, F. M., and Sadana, D. K., “Three-Dimensional a-Si:H Solar Cells on Glass Nanocone Arrays Patterned by Self-Assembled Sn Nanospheres”, ACS NANO, vol. 6. pp. 265-271, 2012.
J. Kim, Bedell, S. W., and Sadana, D. K., “Multiple implantation and multiple annealing of phosphorus doped germanium to achieve n-type activation near the theoretical limit”, Applied Physics Letters, vol. 101. p. 112107, 2012.
J. Kim, Hong, A. J., Chandra, B., Tulevski, G. S., and Sadana, D. K., “Engineering of Contact Resistance between Transparent Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Films and a-Si:H Single Junction Solar Cells by Gold Nanodots”, Advanced Materials, vol. 24. pp. 1899-1902, 2012.
J. Kim, Hong, A. J., Nah, J. -W., Shin, B., Ross, F. M., and Sadana, D. K., “Three-Dimensional a-Si:H Solar Cells on Glass Nanocone Arrays Patterned by Self-Assembled Sn Nanospheres”, Acs Nano, vol. 6. pp. 265-271, 2012.
J. Kim, Hong, A. J., Nah, J. -W., Shin, B., Ross, F. M., and Sadana, D. K., “Three-Dimensional a-Si:H Solar Cells on Glass Nanocone Arrays Patterned by Self-Assembled Sn Nanospheres”, Acs Nano, vol. 6. pp. 265-271, 2012.

2011

J. Kim, Abou-Kandil, A. I., Hong, A. J., Saad, M. M., Sadana, D. K., and Chen, T. -C., “Efficiency enhancement of a-Si:H single junction solar cells by a-Ge:H incorporation at the p(+) a-SiC:H/transparent conducting oxide interface”, Applied Physics Letters, vol. 99. p. 062102, 2011.
J. Kim, Bedell, S. W., and Sadana, D. K., “Improved germanium n(+)/p junction diodes formed by coimplantation of antimony and phosphorus”, Applied Physics Letters, vol. 98. p. 082112, 2011.
O. Tobail, Kim, J., and Sadana, D., “Method to Determine the Collection Length in Field-Driven a-Si1-xGex:H Solar Cells”, in European Materials Research Society Conference Symposium: Advanced Inorganic Materials and Concepts for Photovoltaics, vol. 10, 2011.

2010

J. Kim, Abou-Kandil, A. I., Fogel, K., Hovel, H., and Sadana, D. K., “The Role of High Work-Function Metallic Nanodots on the Performance of a-Si:H Solar Cells: Offering Ohmic Contact to Light Trapping”, Acs Nano, vol. 4. pp. 7331-7336, 2010.
J. Kim, Inns, D., Fogel, K., and Sadana, D. K., “Surface texturing of single-crystalline silicon solar cells using low density SiO2 films as an anisotropic etch mask”, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 94. pp. 2091-2093, 2010.
J. Kim, Inns, D., and Sadana, D. K., “Cracking behavior of evaporated amorphous silicon films”, Thin Solid Films, vol. 518. pp. 4908-4910, 2010.
J. Kim, Inns, D., and Sadana, D. K., “Investigation on critical failure thickness of hydrogenated/nonhydrogenated amorphous silicon films”, Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 107. p. 073507, 2010.
J. Kim, Bedell, S. W., and Sadana, D. K., “> 10(20) cm(-3) n-doping in Ge by Sb/P Co-implants: n(+)/p Diodes with Improved Rectification”, in Sige, Ge, and Related Compounds 4: Materials, Processing, and Devices, vol. 33, 2010, pp. 201-204.
J. Kim, Bedell, S. W., Maurer, S. L., Loesing, R., and Sadana, D. K., “Activation of Implanted n-Type Dopants in Ge Over the Active Concentration of 1 X 10(20) cm(-3) Using Coimplantation of Sb and P”, Electrochemical and Solid State Letters, vol. 13. pp. II12 - II15, 2010.

2008

J. Kim, Lee, J. Y., and Xie, Y. -H., “Fabrication of dislocation-free Si films under uniaxial tension on porous Si compliant substrates”, Thin Solid Films, vol. 516. pp. 7599-7603, 2008.

2007

J. Kim, Li, B., and Xie, Y. -H., “A method for fabricating dislocation-free tensile-strained SiGe films via the oxidation of porous Si substrates”, Applied Physics Letters, vol. 91. p. 252108, 2007.

2006

J. Kim and Xie, Y. -H., “Fabrication of dislocation-free tensile strained Si thin films using controllably oxidized porous Si substrates”, Applied Physics Letters, vol. 89. p. 152117, 2006.