Prof. Kei May LAU, Research Professor of the Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas (EMIA) and Prof. TSUI Chi Ying, Professor of the Division of Integrative Systems and Design (ISD), have both successfully secured funding through the Innovation and Technology Commission’s (ITC) Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus (RAISe+) Scheme, contributing to HKUST's leading performance among local institutions.

The RAISe+ funded projects led by AIS faculty: 

• 3.3 kV High Power GaN Devices on 8 Inch Novel Substrates

        Principal Investigator: Prof. Kei May LAU

        Project Leader: Dr. LIANG Hu 

        Project Details: By 2030, up to 80% of global electric power will rely on power electronics, making energy efficiency crucial. Prof. Kei May LAU and her research team identified a novel aluminum nitride (AlN)-based substrate that allows gallium nitride (GaN) devices to operate at high voltages (2.4kV and 3.3kV) with superior thermal stability. This advancement enables the growth of high-quality GaN and AlN layers on 8-inch wafers, with potential scalability to 12 inches, at a competitive cost of approximately HK$1,000 per wafer. Companies like Zhiming Microelectronics and HiWAFER have shown strong interest, and the team plans to fabricate these devices for market deployment using RAISe+ funding. 

• High Energy-Efficient Edge Chip & System for Large AI Models

        Principal Investigator: Prof. TSUI Chi Ying

        Project Leader: Mr. WANG Huaibin 

        Project Details: A research team led by Prof. TSUI Chi Ying will develop a high energy-efficient edge chip and system to accelerate AI computing for embodied AI, addressing issues of low energy-efficiency and high cost in current GPU devices. Their innovative approach combines software-hardware co-design, AI model compression techniques, and digital in-memory computing technology, improving edge AI performance with real-time processing and sustainable power efficiency. This advancement supports flexible systems for diverse embodied AI applications and has been recognized in leading conferences. The team aims to create low-cost, scalable intelligent hardware systems to advance embodied AI in industrial and domestic settings, offering significant societal benefits.

The RAISe+ Scheme, initiated by the Innovation and Technology Commission in 2023, funds university research teams with strong potential to generate real social impact and market value. The scheme helps bridge the gap between academic discovery and practical commercialization by supporting projects that demonstrate excellence in commercial viability and relevance to government policies.

Congratulations again to Prof. Lau and Prof. Tsui for the achievement!