Tomás Palacios Group

My group at MIT has been pushing the limits of microelectronics demonstrating new extreme material semiconductor devices since 2006. We combine new electronic materials (e.g. 2D materials and III-Nitrides) with novel device concepts (e.g. lateral and vertical FinFETs, field emitters, and chemical sensors), and showcase this combination through impactful system-level prototypes. To ensure maximum impact, we use the new physics of novel materials to improve a wide variety of semiconductor devices. We enjoy prototyping systems based on these novel devices. Almost all our students learn across the entire nanoelectronics stack, from materials to systems, with a strong emphasis on devices. We believe in integrating electrical engineering, device physics, and materials science multidisciplinary approaches to push the boundaries of microelectronics. Our group enthusiastically works with our partners and sponsors in industry and academia to invent the next generation microelectronic technologies, from zero-energy systems for 6G networks to power electronics to address the energy challenge, or microprocessors for a future Venus rover. 

We are currently working on a wide variety of projects, including GaN devices for quantum computing, cell-sized microsystems, high-temperature electronics for Venus applications, large-area distributed neural networks based on MoS2, and graphene-based electronic nose technology, to name only a few. 

Our group has repeatedly set state-of-the-art standards for device design experiments within GaN and 2D electronics. For example, we are the only group in the world to receive the IEEE George Smith award for the best paper published in IEEE Electron Device Letters twice, one for the invention of the tri-gate GaN transistor and a second one for the invention of the vertical FinFET power device. We have also demonstrated the highest operating frequencies in GaN transistors, as well as the first MoS2 electronic circuits, among many other key technologies.​​​