Prof. Yiyang Li has been awarded a 2024 Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His research project, “Electromagnetic interference (EMI-) resilient nonvolatile memory using oxygen ion devices,” could have significant implications for improving the reliability and functionality of a wide range of electronic devices and systems that must operate in environments with extremely high levels of electromagnetic interference like lightning storms.

Traditionally, microelectronic devices operate through the movement of electrons. However, electrons are so light that they are easily affected by unexpected changes in temperature, radiation, and electromagnetic interference. This could lead to the failure of microelectronic devices if the electrons do not behave as intended due to unexpected environmental changes. Ions, on the other hand, are over 10,000 times heavier than electrons and are expected to be much more resilient to sudden energy spikes. Prof. Li will investigate if these oxygen ion-based memory devices can retain information during extreme environmental events. The devices can look like batteries; however, instead of using ions to store energy, they use ions to store information.

“In the past, we have explored the use of these battery-like microelectronic devices for low-energy computing and for high temperatures,” said Li. “With DARPA, we will see if they can be used to build more resilient microelectronics against both natural and manmade disturbances.”

“DARPA projects have had very strong track records of innovation, including the development of ARPANET, an early precursor to the Internet. We are excited that Prof. Li has the opportunity to follow in those footsteps with this project,” said MSE chair Elizabeth Holm.

Li was recently awarded an Intel Rising Star Award for leading groundbreaking technology research; in his case, building a materials research program that can be fundamentally disruptive to semiconductors by incorporating electrochemical principles. 

About the DARPA Young Faculty Award

The objective of the DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) program is to identify and engage rising research stars in junior faculty positions at U.S. academic institutions. The long-term goal of the YFA program is to develop the next generation of academic scientists, engineers and mathematicians in key disciplines who will focus a significant portion of their career on DoD and national security issues.