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Kyung Seok Woo

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology · Engineering

About the Lab

Professor Kyung Seok Woo's research lab specializes in next-generation neuromorphic and probabilistic computing using resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) devices, particularly focusing on ion-migration-driven memristors based on HfO₂ and chalcogenide materials. The lab explores the dual functionality of these devices—enabling both universal Boolean logic operations and true random number generation—by exploiting their intrinsic stochastic switching behaviors. Key research directions include physical reservoir computing, probabilistic computing inspired by Hopfield networks, and hardware security applications such as physically unclonable functions (PUFs), all aimed at overcoming the limitations of conventional silicon-based systems in energy efficiency and functional versatility. The lab emphasizes device physics, stochastic dynamics, and circuit integration to enable intelligent, secure, and low-power computing architectures.

memristorprobabilistic computingtrue random number generatorneuromorphic computinghardware security

Research Overview

Papers
30
Total Citations
818
Papers (5y)
20
Primary Field
Engineering

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
20total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
479total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|110 citations·2022
Probabilistic computing using Cu0.1Te0.9/HfO2/Pt diffusive memristors
Kyung Seok Woo, Jaehyun Kim, Janguk Han, Woohyun Kim, Yoon Ho Jang, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Nature CommunicationsOA

Abstract A computing scheme that can solve complex tasks is necessary as the big data field proliferates. Probabilistic computing (p-computing) paves the way to efficiently handle problems based on stochastic units called probabilistic bits (p-bits). This study proposes p-computing based on the threshold switching (TS) behavior of a Cu 0.1 Te 0.9 /HfO 2 /Pt (CTHP) diffusive memristor. The theoretical background of the p-computing resembling the Hopfield network structure is introduced to explain

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
2
Article|90 citations·2021
Time-varying data processing with nonvolatile memristor-based temporal kernel
Yoon Ho Jang, Woohyun Kim, Jihun Kim, Kyung Seok Woo, Hyun Jae Lee, Jeong Woo Jeon, Sung Keun Shim, Janguk Han, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Nature CommunicationsOA

Abstract Recent advances in physical reservoir computing, which is a type of temporal kernel, have made it possible to perform complicated timing-related tasks using a linear classifier. However, the fixed reservoir dynamics in previous studies have limited application fields. In this study, temporal kernel computing was implemented with a physical kernel that consisted of a W/HfO 2 /TiN memristor, a capacitor, and a resistor, in which the kernel dynamics could be arbitrarily controlled by chang

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
3
Article|65 citations·2021
A High‐Speed True Random Number Generator Based on a CuxTe1−x Diffusive Memristor
Kyung Seok Woo, Jaehyun Kim, Janguk Han, Jin Myung Choi, Woohyun Kim, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Advanced Intelligent SystemsOA

Herein, a true random number generator (TRNG) based on a Cu x Te 1− x diffusive memristor (DM) using its threshold switching (TS) behavior is reported. The intrinsic stochasticity of the TS behavior contributes to the randomness of the TRNG system. The switching behavior is discussed through field‐induced nucleation theory and surface diffusion dynamics. Demonstrating the performance of TRNG as a hardware security application, the DM‐based TRNG passes all 15 National Institute of Standards and T

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
4
Article|59 citations·2018
A True Random Number Generator Using Threshold‐Switching‐Based Memristors in an Efficient Circuit Design
Kyung Seok Woo, Yongmin Wang, Jihun Kim, Yumin Kim, Young Jae Kwon, Jung Ho Yoon, Woohyun Kim, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Advanced Electronic Materials

Abstract A true random number generator (TRNG) based on the stochastic delay and relaxation times of the threshold switching (TS) behavior in a Pt/HfO 2 /TiN memristor is proposed. The stochasticities of this device are attributed to its electron trapping and detrapping processes. This electronic‐switching‐based memristor exhibits several advantages, such as low power consumption and high reliability. A new circuit is designed to improve the simplicity, miniaturization, and lifetime of TRNG. The

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
5
Article|57 citations·2024
Tunable stochastic memristors for energy-efficient encryption and computing
Kyung Seok Woo, Janguk Han, Su‐in Yi, Luke Thomas, Hyungjun Park, Suhas Kumar, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Nature CommunicationsOA

Abstract Information security and computing, two critical technological challenges for post-digital computation, pose opposing requirements – security (encryption) requires a source of unpredictability, while computing generally requires predictability. Each of these contrasting requirements presently necessitates distinct conventional Si-based hardware units with power-hungry overheads. This work demonstrates Cu 0.3 Te 0.7 /HfO 2 (‘CuTeHO’) ion-migration-driven memristors that satisfy the contr

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
6
Article|52 citations·2024
Memristors with Tunable Volatility for Reconfigurable Neuromorphic Computing
Kyung Seok Woo, Hyungjun Park, N. Ghenzi, A. Alec Talin, Tae-Young Jeong, Jung‐Hae Choi, Sangheon Oh, Yoon Ho Jang, Janguk Han, R. Stanley Williams, Suhas Kumar, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1ACS Nano

Neuromorphic computing promises an energy-efficient alternative to traditional digital processors in handling data-heavy tasks, primarily driven by the development of both volatile (neuronal) and nonvolatile (synaptic) resistive switches or memristors. However, despite their energy efficiency, memristor-based technologies presently lack functional tunability, thus limiting their competitiveness with arbitrarily programmable (general purpose) digital computers. This work introduces a two-terminal

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
7
Article|49 citations·2020
A Combination of a Volatile‐Memristor‐Based True Random‐Number Generator and a Nonlinear‐Feedback Shift Register for High‐Speed Encryption
Kyung Seok Woo, Yongmin Wang, Yumin Kim, Jihun Kim, Woohyun Kim, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Advanced Electronic Materials

Abstract A true random‐number generator (TRNG) and a nonlinear feedback shift register (NFSR) are combined to create a new type of TRNG. This TRNG is based on the intrinsic stochasticity of threshold switching behavior in a Pt/HfO 2 /TiN memristor and an NFSR circuit. Considering the transition rate of the hopping process, the stochasticity of the delay time can be attributed to the phonon‐assisted hopping process. This novel TRNG passes all 15 National Institute of Standards and Technology rand

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
8
Article|44 citations·2023
Spatiotemporal Data Processing with Memristor Crossbar‐Array‐Based Graph Reservoir
Yoon Ho Jang, Soo Hyung Lee, Janguk Han, Woohyun Kim, Sung Keun Shim, Sunwoo Cheong, Kyung Seok Woo, Joon‐Kyu Han, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Advanced Materials

Memristor-based physical reservoir computing (RC) is a robust framework for processing complex spatiotemporal data parallelly. However, conventional memristor-based reservoirs cannot capture the spatial relationship between the time-varying inputs due to the specific mapping scheme assigning one input signal to one memristor conductance. Here, a physical "graph reservoir" is introduced using a metal cell at the diagonal-crossbar array (mCBA) with dynamic self-rectifying memristors. Input and inv

Artificial IntelligenceComputer Science
9
Article|42 citations·2024
True random number generation using the spin crossover in LaCoO3
Kyung Seok Woo, Alan Zhang, Allison Arabelo, Timothy D. Brown, Minseong Park, A. Alec Talin, Elliot J. Fuller, Ravindra Singh Bisht, Xiaofeng Qian, Raymundo Arróyave, Shriram Ramanathan, Luke Thomas
SJR Q1Nature CommunicationsOA

Abstract While digital computers rely on software-generated pseudo-random number generators, hardware-based true random number generators (TRNGs), which employ the natural physics of the underlying hardware, provide true stochasticity, and power and area efficiency. Research into TRNGs has extensively relied on the unpredictability in phase transitions, but such phase transitions are difficult to control given their often abrupt and narrow parameter ranges (e.g., occurring in a small temperature

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
10
Article|36 citations·2023
Heterogeneous reservoir computing in second-order Ta2O5/HfO2 memristors
N. Ghenzi, Tae Won Park, Seung Soo Kim, Hae Jin Kim, Yoon Ho Jang, Kyung Seok Woo, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Nanoscale Horizons

memristor system present different behaviors in agreement with its history-dependent conductance and allow the fine-tuning of the behavior of each reservoir unit. The heterogeneity in the reservoir units improves the pattern recognition performance in the heterogeneous memristor RC system with a similar physical structure.

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
11
Article|34 citations·2022
Graph Analysis with Multifunctional Self‐Rectifying Memristive Crossbar Array
Yoon Ho Jang, Janguk Han, Jihun Kim, Woohyun Kim, Kyung Seok Woo, Jaehyun Kim, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Advanced Materials

Abstract Many big data have interconnected and dynamic graph structures growing over time. Analyzing these graphical data requires the hidden relationship between the nodes in the graphs to be identified, which has conventionally been achieved by finding the effective similarity. However, graphs are generally non‐Euclidean, which does not allow finding it. In this study, the non‐Euclidean graphs are mapped to a specific crossbar array (CBA) composed of self‐rectifying memristors and metal cells

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
12
Article|30 citations·2024
Fully CMOS‐Based p‐Bits with a Bistable Resistor for Probabilistic Computing
Jaehyun Kim, Joon‐Kyu Han, Hoyoung Maeng, Janguk Han, Jeong Woo Jeon, Yoon Ho Jang, Kyung Seok Woo, Yang‐Kyu Choi, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1Advanced Functional Materials

Abstract Probabilistic computing can solve complex combinatorial optimization problems more efficiently than conventional deterministic computing. A probabilistic bit (p‐bit) with an n‐p‐n bistable resistor (biristor) is demonstrated for probabilistic computing. It is fabricated on an 8‐inch wafer with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) compatible technologies. Its stochastic behavior of threshold switching, which is based on the phenomenon of a single transistor latch, provides outp

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
13
Article|29 citations·2018
Atomic layer deposition of GeSe films using HGeCl3and [(CH3)3Si]2Se with the discrete feeding method for the ovonic threshold switch
Woohyun Kim, Sijung Yoo, Chanyoung Yoo, Eui-Sang Park, Jeong-Woo Jeon, Young Jae Kwon, Kyung Seok Woo, Han‐Joon Kim, Youn‐Kyoung Lee, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q2Nanotechnology

selectivity. The OTS behavior was consistent with the modified Poole-Frenkel mechanism in the OFF state. In contrast, the similar GeSe film grown through the conventional ALD showed a low density and high vulnerability to oxidation, which prevented the OTS performance. The ALD method of GeSe films introduced here will contribute to the fabrication of a three-dimensionally integrated memory as a selector device for preventing sneak current.

Materials ChemistryMaterials Science
14
Article|20 citations·2019
Electroforming-Free Bipolar Resistive Switching in GeSe Thin Films with a Ti-Containing Electrode
Woohyun Kim, Chanyoung Yoo, Eui-Sang Park, Manick Ha, Jeong Woo Jeon, Gil Seop Kim, Kyung Seok Woo, Youn‐Kyoung Lee, Cheol Seong Hwang
SJR Q1ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Chalcogenide materials have been regarded as strong candidates for both resistor and selector elements in passive crossbar arrays owing to their dual capabilities of undergoing threshold and resistance switching. This work describes the bipolar resistive switching (BRS) of amorphous GeSe thin films, which used to show Ovonic threshold switching (OTS) behavior. The behavior of this new functionality of the material follows filament-based resistance switching when Ti and TiN are adopted as the top

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
15
Review|19 citations·2024
Localized Conduction Channels in Memristors
Kyung Seok Woo, R. Stanley Williams, Suhas Kumar
SJR Q1Chemical ReviewsOA

Since the early 2000s, the impending end of Moore's scaling, as the physical limits to shrinking transistors have been approached, has fueled interest in improving the functionality and efficiency of integrated circuits by employing memristors or two-terminal resistive switches. Formation (or avoidance) of localized conducting channels in many memristors, often called "filaments", has been established as the basis for their operation. While we understand some qualitative aspects of the physical

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering

Research Areas

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringArtificial IntelligenceMaterials Chemistry

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