History and Current Status

The Institute of Physical Electronics can be traced back to the electronic physics specialization in the Department of Physics of Peking University in the 1950s. In 1958, when the Department of Radio Electronics was established, the electronic physics specialization was subsumed into the Department of Radio Electronics. The Electronic Physics Teaching and Research Office (also known as the 332 Teaching and Research Office) was established, which was later renamed as the Institute of Physical Electronics.

The Institute of Physics and Electronics has 32 academic and research staffs, among whom 16 are professors/researchers (including 4 full professors, 3 long-appointed associate professors, and 3 pre-appointed assistant professors), 14 associate professors/associate researchers, and 2 full-time research staff. The outstanding talents include one Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 4 distinguished young scholars of the National Science Fund, 1 distinguished professor of the Changjiang Scholars Professor Program, 1 National "Ten Thousand People Plan" scientific and technological innovation leading talent, 1 National "Ten Thousand People Plan" young top talent, 3 Excellent Young Scholars of the National Science Fund, 4 scholars of Young Thousand Talents program, 1 winner of Beijing Outstanding Youth Fund, 4 supported by Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University of Chinese Ministry of Education, etc.

Research Directions and Achievements

In the early years, the Institute of Physics and Electronics mainly conducted research in the field of vacuum electronics, and the senior scientists such as Professor Ji-ye Ximen and Academician Quande Wu had made internationally influential research results in the fields of electron optics and photoelectric cathodes, etc. In the 1970s, the Institute successfully developed military micro-optical night vision devices and delivered them to user units for use. In the early 1990s, Academician Quande Wu and Professor Zengquan Xue successfully foresaw the current trend of technological development and carried out timely research in nanoelectronics. Under their active advocacy and organization, Peking University established the first national nano research center in 1997. At the end of 2003, Academician Lianmao Peng, along with researchers outside the institute, established the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices and started the research of nanoelectronic devices. At present, the research directions of the Institute of Physical Electronics focus on the possible modes of further development of nanodevices and the fundamental material, physical and chemical problems faced when the device scale gradually approaches or even becomes smaller than the characteristic length and the traditional development methods are no longer effective, in preparation for the further development of integrated chips based on new materials and new operating principles that are smaller, faster, more energy efficient and more powerful. Research directions include carbon-based electronic devices and integrated circuits, solid-state quantum devices, novel nanoelectronic devices, molecular electronics, micro and nano vacuum electronics, and synthesis and characterization of novel nanomaterials.

In the last decade, the Institute of Physical Electronics has achieved a great number of important research results, among which the direction of carbon-based electronic devices and integrated circuits led by Academician Peng Lian-mao has been in the international leading position. Achievements in research have been honored with two National Natural Science Second Prizes ("Quantitative electron microscopy methods and research on titanium oxide nanostructures", 2010; "Carbon-based nanoelectronic devices and integration", 2016), one Natural Science First Prize of the Outstanding Achievement Award for Scientific Research in Higher Education ("High-performance carbon-based nanoelectronic devices", 2013), three works selected as one of the Ten Great Advances in Chinese Science ("Realization of efficient photovoltaic multiplication effect of carbon nanotubes", 2011; "Development of the first stable and controllable single-molecule electronic switching device", 2016; Ballistic two-dimensional transistors with performance exceeding silicon limit, 2023). 

Director of the Insitute of Physics and Electronics

Prof. Wang, Yongfeng

E-mail: yongfengwang@pku.edu.cn