SOTB is the technology breakthrough for smart cities

The development of smart cities and smart production has led to a sharp demand for sensors. It was estimated that 10 million sensors were used in 2007, while the figure has soared to 10 billion.

“The number of sensors to be used will be increasing. It is expected that by 2027, the world will use 10,000 billion sensing devices,” said Prof Koichiro Ishibashi from the University of Electro-Communications (UEC) in Japan.

Chips tend to have increased complexity and integration, resulting in increased power consumption. With the growing number of sensors and microchips, SOTB will play an important role in the IC development.

Dr Le Duc Hung from HCMC University of Natural Sciences said the chips designed in old ways have high heat radiating capacity. 

With higher temperature, the longevity and usable time of devices is lowered. Low-power chips will not only help save energy, but also help prolong the life span of devices.

The chips will be especially useful for battery-run devices which don’t use electricity directly. The new technology has been developed and used in Japan, the US, France and China.

The HCMC University of Natural Sciences, a member of HCMC National University, is a pioneer in the field with research on SOTB for low-power chips. 

SOTB is specter to make a breakthrough in many fields such as IoT, signal and data processing, and data fast searching in smart cities.

Most recently, a team of researchers at the HCMC University of Natural Sciences headed by Dr Le Duc Hung has worked with UEC specialists to build up the process of low-power digital chips. They have designed 65nm chips based on SOTB technology. 

This is a project under the FIRST Program on promoting innovation through scientific and technological research initiated by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST).

The chip can operate at a low 0.4-0.5V voltage, while 180nm chip needs 1.8V power. The current leakage of the chip in operation is significantly lower than that of currently used chips. 

The scientists are seeking partners to transfer technology and act as a bridge to connect those who have demand and to experts to bring the invention to life.

Developing the IC industry is a top priority on the HCMC development agenda. 

HCMC Mayor Nguyen Thanh Phong has repeatedly said that the local authorities will apply reasonable policies to set up a platform for the IC industry, and attract highly qualified workers in Vietnam and overseas, especially overseas Vietnamese.

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