KRISS Researcher Wins APMC 2025 Prize at Asia-Pacific's Premier Electromagnetics Conference

- Selected among three papers out of 689 submissions from 36 countries, demonstrating KRISS's global leadership in electromagnetic metrology -

 

 

 

▲ (Left) Dr. Koo Hyunji of the Electromagnetic Wave Metrology Group after receiving the award;

(Right) Certificate of the APMC 2025 Prize 

 

Dr. Koo Hyunji, Principal Research Scientist of the Electromagnetic Wave Metrology Group at Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), along with co-researchers Dr. Kwon Jae-Yong and Dr. Cho Chi Hyun, also Principal Research Scientists, received the APMC 2025 Prize at the Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC 2025), the most prestigious international conference in the Asia-Pacific region in the field of electromagnetics, held on December 4.

 

The Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC) is a leading international conference under the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), providing a broad platform for technical exchange ranging from fundamental electromagnetic theory to defense and industrial applications.

In 2025, the conference—recognized for leading advances in next-generation communications and defense technologies—received 689 paper submissions from 36 countries worldwide. Following a rigorous review by international experts, only three outstanding papers were selected for final awards. Through this highly competitive process, Dr. Koo once again demonstrated KRISS's world-class capabilities in electromagnetic metrology on the global stage.

 

The award-winning paper, "Interlaboratory Comparison of Commercial High-Resistivity Silicon Calibration Substrate at D-Band," presents the results of an interlaboratory comparison of silicon semiconductor impedance measurements conducted jointly by KRISS and Germany's National Metrology Institute, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).

Semiconductor impedance standards are a base quantity in electromagnetic metrology, critically influencing the performance of next-generation semiconductors, 6G communications, autonomous vehicles, and defense and space electronic systems. Despite serving as essential infrastructure for strengthening technological self-reliance and global competitiveness in Korea's semiconductor industry, the lack of internationally agreed standards has long limited the reliability of related measurements.

 

 

▲ Dr. Koo Hyunji during a research collaboration visit to PTB in Germany 

 

The study has been recognized for ensuring reliability through international mutual validation, demonstrating the stability and reproducibility of calibration processes, and laying the foundation for traceability and equivalence by identifying key sources of measurement uncertainty. Through these outcomes, the research has helped reduce reliance on overseas technologies and has created an environment in which domestic companies and research institutions can develop and validate technologies based on a common standard.

In recognition of its scientific excellence, the research results were published in IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters (MWTL), a leading journal in the field of electromagnetics.

 

 

▲ Speakers at the KRISS–PTB co-hosted workshop during APMC 2025

(Dr. Kwon Jae-Yong (third from the left) and Dr. Lee Dong-Joon (second from the right) at KRISS) 

 

 

This achievement is particularly meaningful as it represents the outcome of sustained collaboration through the KRISS Virtual Lab, even during the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s, when research exchanges were at risk of disruption. The paper was completed based on the results of two rounds of reciprocal research visits conducted in 2022 and 2024.

Meanwhile, during APMC 2025, KRISS and PTB co-hosted a workshop on next-generation communication measurement technologies. Dr. Kwon Jae-Yong and Dr. Lee Dong-Joon of KRISS participated as speakers and shared KRISS's technological capabilities.

 

Dr. Koo Hyunji stated, "This award reaffirms that the stability and reproducibility of on-wafer measurements are not concerns limited to the field of metrology, but key issues drawing broad attention across the semiconductor industry and the research community." She added, "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the institutions that supported this research through the KRISS–PTB Virtual Lab initiative, as well as to Dr. Kwon Jae-Yong, the project lead. Building on this achievement, we will contribute to establishing international equivalence in on-wafer measurement standards in collaboration with leading European metrology institutes."

 

The technology is expected to be further extended to cryogenic environments, enabling high-precision measurements of quantum devices and components, and serving as a foundation for the advancement of cryogenic metrology standards.

 

In particular, this achievement represents not only an individual accomplishment, but also the outcome of a joint research effort built on the strong global partnership between the Electromagnetic Wave Metrology Group at KRISS and Germany's PTB. Based on this trust, Dr. Koo Hyunji and the KRISS Electromagnetic Wave Metrology Group have been confirmed to participate, starting in June, in a European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) project consortium under Horizon Europe, the EU's largest research funding programme.

 

The initiative is expected to serve as a strong example of KRISS's measurement standards capabilities advancing to the core of global standards development and contributing to international leadership in the field.