Stephen Y. Chou, Ph.D.
Professor
Princeton University

2005 Researcher Category

Stephen Y. Chou, Joseph C. Elgin Professor of Engineering and the head of the NanoStructure Laboratory at Princeton University, is a world leader, pioneer and inventor in a broad range of nanotechnologies.  Dr. Chou received his PhD from MIT in 1986.  He was a Research Associate and Acting Assistant Professor at Stanford University (1986--1989), and a faculty member at the University of Minnesota (1989-1994) and joined Princeton University in 1998.  As an entrepreneur, Dr. Chou founded Nanonex (1999) and NanoOpto (2000) Corporations.

Dr. Chou’s pioneering research in a broad variety of nanotechnologies and nanodevices has helped shape new paths in the fields of nanofabrication, nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics, magnetics and materials.  Dr. Chou’s graduate work used X-ray lithography to scale MOSFETs to the 60 nm range, and since 1985 he has demonstrated very small MOSFETs, quantum devices, and single electron transistors. In early 1990’s, he began pioneering work in exploring sub-wavelength optical elements (SOEs) and bringing nanofabrication into magnetic data storage media, and he originated quantized magnetic disks (QMDs). In 1995, he pioneered his best-known work, nanoimprint lithography (NIL), a revolutionary nanoscale patterning method that allows sub-10 nm patterning over large areas with high throughput and low cost.  He is a key originator of lithographically induced self-assembly (LISA) and laser-assisted direct imprint (LADI).

Dr. Chou’s inventions and pioneer work have brought significant impacts to industry.  Nanoimprint lithography is regarded as one of the “10 emerging technologies that will change the world.” (MIT Technology Review), is selected as a next generation lithography for semiconductor ICs, and is becoming an enabling manufacturing platform for multiple multi-billion-dollar industries, ranging from semiconductor ICs, magnetic data storage, displays, optics, biotech to nanomaterials.  Furthermore, SOEs and QMDs are being aggressively developed by industries as a future of integrated optics and magnetic data storage.

Dr. Chou received 2004 IEEE Brunetti Award “for the invention and development of tools for nanoscale patterning, especially nanoimprint lithography, and for the scaling of devices into new physical regimes.”

Among other awards he received are, IEEE Fellow, Packard Fellow, the McKnight-Land Grant Professorship and the George Taylor Distinguished Research Award at the University of Minnesota, DARPA ULTRA program Significant Technical Achievement Award, and three best paper awards.  Dr. Chou has published more than 280 papers, has given over 100 invited presentations at conferences and workshops, and holds 11 U.S. patents and over 40 patent applications.