Ajou University첨단신소재공학과

Applied Physics of
Functional Materials Laboratory

from structure–property relationships to device applications: understanding charge and ion dynamics in organic and inorganic semiconductors to design next-generation optoelectronic devices.

Fundamental Research

Seeing charges move, from femtoseconds to devices

Time-resolved spectroscopy and conductive AFM reveal how excitons, polarons and ions travel through phase-separated polymer films.

Join Us대학원생 모집

We are recruiting graduate students and interns

Organic & perovskite solar cells, quantum-dot light emitters, organic photodiodes, OECT biosensors. Start your research career with us at Ajou University.

Welcome to APFM LAB

Materials design & process engineering for advanced optoelectronic devices

We integrate photophysics and device physics to understand, design, and realize functional materials for optoelectronics, including solar cells, light-emitting devices, and photodetectors, as well as biosensors.

Our research spans fundamental studies of excited-state dynamics and charge transport in organic semiconductors and halide perovskites, and applied research that turns this understanding into practical devices. The laboratory was established in September 2026 at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ajou University, building on Prof. Kim's eight years of research and teaching at Kyoto University.

Learn more about our research →
2026.09Lab established at Ajou University
78Publications · 68 peer-reviewed journal articles · 1,803 citations, h-index 20 (Google Scholar)
12Research grants (5 as principal investigator)
KR · JPFounder of the Korea–Japan S&T Innovation Forum and the Wiley Small Science Symposium
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APFM News

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Open Positions대학원생 모집

  • Ph.D. / M.S. / Integrated students (2027 Spring & Fall)
  • Undergraduate research interns (학부 연구 인턴)
  • Postdoctoral researchers (inquire by e-mail)

We are looking for highly motivated graduate students (M.S., Ph.D., and integrated M.S.–Ph.D.) and undergraduate research interns who are interested in organic and inorganic semiconductor-based optoelectronic materials and devices. Students with backgrounds in materials science, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, or polymer science are all welcome. Please contact Prof. Hyung Do Kim (hyungdokim@ajou.ac.kr) with your CV.

기능성소재응용물리연구실(APFM Lab)에서는 유·무기 반도체 기반 광전자 소재 및 소자 연구에 관심이 있는 대학원생(석사·박사·석박사통합)과 학부 연구 인턴을 모집합니다. 신소재공학, 화학공학, 화학, 물리학, 고분자공학 등 관련 전공자라면 누구나 환영하며, 광물리·소자물리, 전하 및 이온 동역학, 태양전지·발광소자·바이오센서 연구에 참여할 수 있습니다. 관심 있는 학생은 김형도 교수(hyungdokim@ajou.ac.kr)에게 이력서(CV)와 함께 연락주시기 바랍니다.

Research

Functional Materials: from Structure–Property Relationships to Device Applications

Two fundamental pillars support four applied research directions.두 개의 기초 연구 축이 네 가지 응용 연구 방향을 뒷받침합니다.

Highlights

Selected Publications

Representative papers from recent work (* corresponding author, † co-first author). See the full list on the Publications page.

Advanced Energy Materials2021

Genetic Manipulation of M13 Bacteriophage for Enhancing the Efficiency of Virus-Inoculated Perovskite Solar Cells with a Certified Efficiency of 22.3%

Jiye Han, Kyusun Kim, Jeong-Seok Nam, Sung Jun Hong, Eun Jung Choi, Dawoon Kim, In Chung, Hao-Sheng Lin, Tae-Dong Kim, Michael S. Strano, Byungchan Han, Jin-Woo Oh*, Hyung Do Kim*, Il Jeon*

Inside Back Cover

Read the paper ↗
Advanced Energy Materials2024

Decoding Polymeric Additive-Driven Self-Healing Processes in Perovskite Solar Cells from Chemical and Physical Bonding Perspectives

Jeong-Seok Nam, Jin-Myung Choi, Jang Woo Lee, Jiye Han, Il Jeon*, Hyung Do Kim*

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ACS Energy Letters2021

Elucidating Mechanisms behind Ambient Storage-Induced Efficiency Improvements in Perovskite Solar Cells

Yongyoon Cho†, Hyung Do Kim†, Jianghui Zheng, Jueming Bing, Yong Li, Meng Zhang, Martin A. Green, Atsushi Wakamiya, Shujuan Huang, Hideo Ohkita*, Anita W. Y. Ho-Baillie*

Cover Picture

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Advanced Functional Materials2026

Competition between Charge Collection and Recombination Governing the Fill Factor in Phase-Separated All-Polymer Solar Cells

Jihun Jeon, Kodai Yamanaka, Masahiko Saito, Itaru Osaka, Hideo Ohkita*, Hyung Do Kim*

Read the paper ↗
Nano Energy2026

Impact of Additive-Induced Nonfullerene Acceptor Aggregation on Photovoltaic Performance in Organic Photovoltaics

Jihun Jeon, Momoko Urano, Shusuke Bando, Hiroki Ogawa, Hideo Ohkita*, Hyung Do Kim*

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Who we are

About APFM LAB

한국어

아주대학교 첨단신소재공학과 김형도 교수가 이끄는 기능성소재응용물리연구실(APFM Lab)은 유기·무기 반도체 기반 광전자 소재와 소자를 연구합니다. 시간분해 분광법과 소자물리 해석을 결합하여 재료 내부에서 일어나는 들뜬 상태(excited state)의 동역학, 전하·이온의 생성·수송·재결합 과정을 규명하고, 이를 바탕으로 유기·페로브스카이트 태양전지, 그래핀 양자점 기반 발광 소재, 유기 포토다이오드, 유기 전기화학 트랜지스터 및 바이오센서(후각 센서 포함) 등 실제 소자의 성능을 결정하는 구조–물성–소자 특성의 상관관계를 밝히는 것을 목표로 합니다. 기초 연구에서 얻은 물리적 이해를 재료 설계와 공정 기술로 연결하여 차세대 에너지·디스플레이·센서 기술의 실용화에 기여하고자 합니다.

English

The Applied Physics of Functional Materials Laboratory (APFM Lab), led by Prof. Hyung Do Kim at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ajou University, studies optoelectronic materials and devices based on organic and inorganic semiconductors. By combining time-resolved spectroscopy with device physics, we elucidate excited-state dynamics and the generation, transport, and recombination of charges and ions inside functional materials. This fundamental understanding is translated into materials design and process engineering for organic and perovskite solar cells, graphene quantum dot-based light-emitting materials, organic photodiodes, and organic electrochemical transistors and biosensors including olfactory sensors, bridging structure–property relationships and practical device applications.