Oh Jun-hak, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University, has been selected as the recipient of the April Science and Technology Person of the Month award. The 'Science and Technology Person of the Month' award recognizes outstanding research and development achievements that contribute to the advancement of science and technology, awarding one researcher each month with the Minister of Science and ICT prize and a monetary reward of 10 million won.
Professor Oh has been highly recognized for his contributions in accelerating the practical application possibilities of next-generation optical sensors and optical communication technologies through the development of chiral organic optoelectronic materials and devices. Chirality refers to the asymmetry that occurs when two objects, like a right hand and a left hand, have the same shape but cannot be superimposed. Materials that possess chirality and can control the properties of light and electrons are called chiral optoelectronic materials. Such materials can detect or emit light that rotates in a specific direction (circularly polarized light), enabling precise light control.
Existing circularly polarized light control technologies required separate devices such as polarizers and phase delay plates. This made miniaturization and integration of devices difficult; however, chiral optoelectronic technology allows for miniaturization. Research is underway to utilize chiral optoelectronic technology in various fields such as 3D displays, virtual reality, ultra-precision sensors, bioimaging, and quantum computing.
Professor Oh has overcome the disadvantages of chiral materials, which have low circularly polarized light detection capability and high costs due to complex manufacturing processes. He introduced the concept of supramolecular chirality for the first time, adding chiral materials to polymer semiconductors using a simple solution process. With the helical polymer supramolecule created by Professor Oh, it is possible to precisely detect not only circularly polarized light but also elliptically polarized light, regardless of the angle of incidence.
Professor Oh's research achievements have received support from the government's Mid-sized Research Project and Basic Research Laboratory Support Program, as well as the Samsung Electronics Future Technology Foundation. In May 2023, the research results were also published in Nature.
Professor Oh noted, 'This research strongly integrates basic science and applied technology, making collaboration between different disciplines and research teams a key element,' adding, 'I felt that the value and significance of research grow even more when it connects to practical technology through not just academic advancement but also industrial application.'