When the world’s leading scientists and engineers in micro/nanoelectronics convene in Washington, D.C. this December for the 61st annual IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), the subjects under discussion will encompass a range of topics critical to the continuing progress of the industry:

• how to make transistors that are vanishingly small
• a growing emphasis on low-power devices for mobile & Internet of Things (IoT)
• alternatives to silicon transistors
• 3D IC technology
• a broad range of papers that address some of the fastest-growing specialized areas in micro/nanoelectronics, including silicon photonics, physically flexible circuits and brain-inspired computing.

The 2015 IEDM will take place at the Washington D.C. Hilton Hotel from December 7-9, 2015, preceded by day-long short courses on Sunday, Dec. 6 and a program of 90-minute tutorials on Saturday, Dec. 5. In addition to a technical program of some 220 papers, other events will take place during the meeting, including evening panels, special focus sessions, IEEE awards, and an entrepreneurial luncheon sponsored by IEDM and IEEE Women in Engineering.

Back for the third year, the 2015 IEDM will feature a slate of designated focus sessions on topics of special interest. This year’s topics are:

• Neural-Inspired Architectures: From Ultra-Low Power Devices To Applications
• 2D Layered Materials And Applications
• Power Devices And Their Reliability On Non-Native Substrates
• Flexible Hybrid Electronics
• Silicon-Based Nano-Devices For Detection Of Biomolecules And Cell Functions

“From its inaugural meeting until today, the IEDM conference has been the place where breakthroughs that drive the electronics industry forward are unveiled,” said Mariko Takayanagi, IEDM 2015 Publicity Chair and Senior Manager at Toshiba. “For example, at the IEDM in 1975 Intel’s Gordon Moore gave a talk that refined his earlier prediction of transistor scaling into what has since become known as Moore’s Law. That tradition of attracting the best speakers and a large, diverse audience from around the world continues, with a focus this year on devices intended to support the Internet of Things and other emerging areas of importance that depend upon advances in semiconductor technology.”