The 3rd Microelectronics Technology Forum (MTF) 2026, held as part of the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) Celebration Series marking the 100th anniversary of the Field-Effect Transistor (FET), took place successfully on 18 June 2026 at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Jointly organised by the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT) under the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) and the Semiconductor Nanotechnology Alliance (SNA), and co-organised by IEEE EDS, the forum brought together renowned researchers, industry leaders and technology innovators to discuss the future of semiconductors under the theme “Semiconductor Technologies in the AI Era”. The event celebrated a century of transistor innovation while showcasing emerging technologies that will drive the next generation of artificial intelligence, computing and intelligent systems.
The forum opened with remarks by Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU, and Prof. CHAI Yang, Director of RIAIoT and Chairman of SNA. In his opening remarks, Prof. Teng reaffirmed PolyU’s commitment to advancing frontier research, fostering innovation and strengthening academia-industry collaboration, while underscoring the University’s ambition to contribute to regional and global leadership in microelectronics and semiconductor technologies. Delivering the welcome address on behalf of the organising institutions, Prof. Chai highlighted RIAIoT’s vision of advancing intelligent systems through the convergence of artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductor devices, sensing technologies and computing hardware. He also outlined three key technological pillars shaping the future of AI—continued Moore’s Law scaling, emerging computing architectures such as neuromorphic, quantum and optical computing, and advanced power devices that enable energy-efficient intelligence.
The technical programme featured a distinguished line-up of speakers and presentations spanning the semiconductor innovation value chain. The morning sessions celebrated the centenary milestone of FET development, covering innovations beyond traditional scaling approaches and topics such as heterogeneous integration, 3D complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) architectures, advanced memory technologies and computing-in-memory (CIM) solutions to meet the growing demands of AI.
The afternoon sessions focused on industrialisation and ecosystem development, highlighting advances in semiconductor equipment, metrology, chip packaging, smart manufacturing and AI data centre infrastructure, as well as strategies to strengthen regional innovation capabilities and accelerate technology commercialisation through cross-sector collaboration and investment.
A highlight of the forum was a series of panel discussions that brought together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and researchers. The discussions explored the evolution of microelectronics over the past century, opportunities for emerging chip startups in the Greater Bay Area, and pathways to translate breakthrough research into real-world industrial impact through stronger academia-industry collaboration.
The forum closed on a positive note with a call for continued collaboration among academia, industry and government to accelerate innovation in microelectronics and semiconductor technologies. The insights shared and partnerships forged during the event are expected to drive future advancements in AI-enabled hardware and semiconductor innovation. Looking ahead, RIAIoT will continue to foster cross-sector collaboration, drive advances in microelectronics, and support Hong Kong’s sustainable innovation-led growth in the AI era.
| Research Units | Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things |
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