Samsung aims to cut chip material development time using AI

Samsung Electronics aims to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology to expedite the development of new semiconductor materials, reducing the timeframe from five years to just two years. The company made this announcement during a forum organized by the Korea Industry Association Forum, where discussions centered around the application of AI in industrial research and development (R&D).

Choi Young-sang, a representative from Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, the company's research and development hub, revealed at the forum that semiconductor materials comprise numerous thin-film layers, resulting in over 100 million potential material combinations for a seven-layer structure. However, researchers are only able to conduct roughly 50 experiments monthly.

Conventional methods, which rely on researchers' experience and intuition, often require months or even years to identify promising material candidates. Moreover, data from unsuccessful experiments is not fully utilized. By employing AI, Samsung hopes to not only accelerate the discovery process but also significantly increase the number of viable material candidates, more than quintupling the initial estimates.