Meet imec fellow Jan Van Houdt
“Learn from the outliers in your work and try to be one yourself sometimes.”
In short
Joined imec in 1988
Obtained a PhD in device physics in 1994
Became memory group leader in 1999
Became director of flash memory at imec in 2011
Appointed chief scientist at imec in 2014
Was a distinguished member of technical staff at imec between 2016 and 2018
Assumed the role of scientific director in imec’s semiconductor technology and systems department in 2018
Appointed as program director of ferroelectrics in 2019
imec fellow since 2022
Read Jan’s story
Four years after imec’s foundation, Jan Van Houdt embarked on his imec career. After obtaining a PhD in device physics, Jan’s work focused on embedded flash memory technology and transferring those technologies to several production lines. He took the role of team leader, group manager and program manager, all in memory technology. His impact resulted in being named director of flash memory and overseeing imec’s flash memory business line. Afterwards, Jan was named chief scientist in memory R&D and held the position of scientific director from 2018 until 2019. Memory technology is the buzzword in Jan’s story, but in 2014, he returned to his first love of physics by (re)starting the ferroelectrics program and later assuming the role of program director of ferroelectrics.
Five highlights that add color to Jan’s career
Jan’s extensive career has resulted in many impactful contributions to imec. Still, there are five highlights which stick out noticeably.
- “The first highlight is my PhD. I tried to discover a more efficient flash memory device. So, I came up with a new concept: HIMOS. To this day, the HIMOS mechanism is the main mechanism for embedded flash technologies in the flash memory industry.”
- “We then entered the affiliation program mode. We had to broaden our research topic to pull in large memory companies. We brought in Intel in 2003. Other companies followed gradually, such as Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix, SanDisk (now part of Western Digital) and Toshiba (now Kioxia). We reeled in those important players through our flash memory research.”
- “Afterwards, I moved to the area of ferroelectrics. In 2011, I was intrigued by a paper in which a ferroelectrics phase in hafnium oxide was presented. That material is cleanroom-friendlier and more CMOS compatible. After some research, I wrote a patent about a vertical ferroelectric FET and started a new activity within a short timeframe and with just one PhD student. Today, the imec ferroelectrics program, which grew out of that patent, is almost as big as the flash program.”
- “During my work on ferroelectrics, I stumbled upon so-called negative capacitance. Some groups claimed you could create steep slope transistors by using ferroelectrics in the transistor’s gate. I built a team to dig into that controversial theme and explain it, and we concluded that the concept doesn’t work. So, we shared that information with our partners and urged them not to invest in it. I learned a lot from that process.”
- “Lastly, I was trying to connect oxide semiconductors to 3-dimensional DRAMs. I learned from imec’s flexible electronics team that those materials were interesting in designing transistors. I used that knowledge to extend the DRAM program. That program has now grown into a major memory program as well.”
A message to young researchers
“I have been advising young researchers and students for quite some time. There is much advice to give, but I always mention the following things.”
- “You must be relaxed to generate good ideas. It’s hard to get good ideas when you’re under stress. When you are relaxed, your mind will be entirely empty and will have room for new ideas. New ideas will therefore sometimes come on weekends, holidays etc., as a scientific mind doesn’t stop at 5 p.m. on a Friday afternoon”
- “Think outside the box. Sometimes, people have great ideas but don’t push for them. Or worse: they’re pushed back by people that don’t believe in the idea. Just push forward, put in as much energy as possible, and make yourself heard. Scientific progress comes not only from following the common path but also by doing new things. Learn from the outliers in your work and try to be one yourself sometimes.”
- “You can’t do everything by yourself. Meet people who do similar or complementary work. Meet your peers. Putting ideas and thoughts together gives synergy to a story. In that sense, it’s important to meet people, not only inside of your bubble but also outside of it.”
Ready to set off on your own imec journey?
Authors
Jan Van Houdt
Jan Van Houdt received a Ph.D. from the KU Leuven. During his PhD work, he invented the HIMOS™ Flash memory, which he transferred to several industrial production lines. In 1999, he became responsible for Flash memory at imec and as such was the driving force behind the expansion of imec’s Industrial Affiliation Program on Memory Technology. Jan has published more than 300 papers in international journals and accumulated more than 250 conference contributions (incl. ~50 invitations and 5 best paper awards). He has filed about 80 patents and served on the program and organizing committees of 10 major semiconductor conferences. In 2014, he received the title of IEEE Fellow for his contributions to Flash memory devices. In the same year, he started the Ferroelectrics program at imec and became a guest professor at the KU Leuven teaching on CMOS and memory technology. Today, he is Scientific Director at imec, active both in the memory as well as in the logic scaling programs.
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