Simon Min Sze
Simon Min Sze
Contact Menu
Dr. Simon Sze, a visionary in the field of semiconductor physics and technology, and a renowned educator, passed away peacefully on November 6, 2023, at the age of 87. His remarkable life and contributions to the world of electronics and semiconductor devices will be remembered and cherished.
Dr. Sze was born in Nanking, China, and his early life was marked by intellectual curiosity and a passion for science. He earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University, an M.S. at the University of Washington, and went on to complete his Ph.D. at Stanford University, where he made significant contributions to the understanding of electron transport in semiconductor devices. In 1967, Dr. Sze and Dawon Kahng fabricated the world's first floating-gate nonvolatile memory device, which is among the key components used in today's popular consumer technology products and one of the major breakthroughs in semiconductor technology.
Dr. Sze's distinguished career included notable positions at Bell Laboratories and National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. His groundbreaking work spanned a wide range of areas, including the development of MOSFET technology, semiconductor device physics, and semiconductor device reliability. He was the author of several seminal books, including Physics of Semiconductor Devices, which has become an essential reference in the field and has educated generations of engineers and scientists. He received numerous awards for his outstanding teaching and research, including the Future Science Prize in 2021 and the IEEE EDS J.J. Ebers Award in 1991, which recognized his lifelong contributions to the field.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years Therese, his son Raymond and daughter in law Karen, his daughter Julia, his grandchildren Alyssa, Arianna, Ethan and Jake, and his granddogs Coco, Lola, MeiMei, Pepper and Poe.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Published by San Francisco Chronicle on Nov. 7, 2023.
Read more about Dr. Sze: The Enduring Contributions of Dr. Simon Min Sze In Semiconductor Technology
Dr. Simon Min Sze is a pioneer in semiconductor technology, and he is maybe best known for co-inventing the floating-gate MOSFET, an invention that set the stage for the development of non-volatile memory such as EPROM and flash memory. His contributions have had a profound influence on modern electronics, making data storage possible in everything from cell phones to servers. His book, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, also remains a basis for semiconductor study and research. This article follows Dr. Sze's main innovations and enduring legacy in the semiconductor industry and academia.