Shanghai key to basic research lead(4)

Zhou Peng (first, left) and his fellow researchers with Fudan University's State Key Laboratory of Integrated Chips and Systems, published a paper on the world's fastest semiconductor charge storage device in Nature in April. (Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily)

Problem solvers

Senior scientist Zhu Shujia, from the CAS's Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, was involved in the research published in Cell in January. The study made a research breakthrough on the molecular structure of a particular receptor in mice brains.

"I've been on a quest to push boundaries in this field for 18 years. Unraveling the mysteries of the molecular mechanism of neural ion channels and brain diseases has always been a clear scientific goal," said Zhu.

"Rather than publishing papers, I'm more interested in solving scientific problems and leading the development of the discipline," she said.

Zhou Peng, a researcher with Fudan University's State Key Laboratory of Integrated Chips and Systems, said China's top universities, including Fudan, provide a highly supportive environment for scientists to immerse themselves in exploring their fields, and also delve into new areas.

He compared scientific quests to climbing Mount Qomolangma, which might be challenging, but has "many beautiful sights along the way".

"This journey is long and arduous, largely due to self-imposed pressure," Zhou said. "Yet, in the pursuit of groundbreaking discoveries, we can also reap incremental breakthroughs".

Zhou's research team published two papers in Nature in April.

One was about the development of the world's largest integrated two-dimensional semiconductor micro CPU, which has the potential to revolutionize the industry by replacing traditional silicon-based chips with molybdenum disulfide.

The other paper covered a flash memory device they devised with an unprecedented program speed of 400 picoseconds, equivalent to operating 25 billion times per second. It is the fastest semiconductor charge storage device ever developed, according to the paper.