The global shortage of semiconductors has led to an increased awareness of the importance of semiconductors. Globally, several countries have made large investments into the semiconductor manufacturing industry, including Japan. However, this industry requires constant innovation to meet the current demands, which is a considerable challenge. In my laboratory, we set R&D targets by backcasting, with a focus on two future electronics products: smart dust and swarm sensing.

Smart dust is a tiny, on the order of a grain of sand, stand-alone sensor manufactured from environmentally friendly materials. The global environment can be monitored in detail by scattering many of these sensors, which will contribute to the realization of Society 5.0, wherein cyberspace and physical space are highly integrated. Smart dust requires an energy harvester that permanently produces electric power from environmental energy sources. My laboratory is working on the development of silicon-based micro thermoelectric power generation devices that are compatible with the Si-CMOS LSI technology.

Swarm sensing is another approach toward Society 5.0, which is a group of sensors that have the ability to move freely like flying insects. Smart dust has the drawback that it is difficult to generate enough power depending on where it is scattered. In contrast, if sensors can move freely, they can simply return to a base station and recharge. We are developing an autonomous flight control technology based on machine learning using a relatively large flapping flying robot. When artificial muscles are developed in the future, artificial ultra-compact flapping drones will be realized.

We hope to contribute to the revival of Japan’s semiconductor industry by creating new markets for sustainable semiconductor electronics.