Myeongseop Song received his Ph.D. degree from Seoul National University and joined the research group of Prof. Sayeef Salahuddin at the University of California, Berkeley as a postdoctoral researcher in 2024. His research focuses on the synthesis and functional property engineering of oxide thin films using atomic layer deposition (ALD), with particular emphasis on HfO₂–ZrO₂-based ferroelectric and antiferroelectric materials. He studies functional phenomena such as ferroelectricity, antiferroelectricity, and negative capacitance (NC), aiming to understand and control the phase stability and nonlinear dielectric responses of functional oxide systems.
His work involves precise control of composition, thickness, multilayer structures, interface engineering, and thermal processing to tailor the electrical and structural properties of oxide thin films. He is also interested in integrating functional oxide materials into scalable device architectures through multilayer engineering, 3D trench structures, and advanced electrical characterization techniques, including high-speed pulse measurements and transient switching analysis.
Research
As conventional CMOS scaling approaches fundamental limits, functional oxide materials with nonlinear dielectric responses have emerged as promising candidates for next-generation electronic devices. His research aims to understand the phase stabilization mechanisms and electrical switching behaviors of HfO₂-based ferroelectric and antiferroelectric thin films, and to utilize these properties for future functional electronic applications.
His work particularly focuses on phenomena such as ferroelectric switching, double hysteresis behavior, negative capacitance, and squeezed-antiferroelectric characteristics observed in HfO₂–ZrO₂ systems. By systematically tuning parameters including Hf:Zr composition ratio, film thickness, multilayer stacking, Al₂O₃ interlayer engineering, and annealing conditions, he investigates phase evolution, polarization dynamics, coercive field modulation, and nonlinear dielectric behavior in functional oxide thin films.
In addition, he explores the integration of these materials into three-dimensional device structures enabled by ALD-based conformal deposition techniques. Through high-speed pulse switching and transient charge/discharge characterization, he studies the dynamic response and switching kinetics of functional oxide capacitors under realistic operating conditions. Ultimately, his research seeks to establish scalable functional oxide platforms for next-generation memory, low-power electronics, negative capacitance devices, and advanced capacitor applications.