Professor Rok-hyun Baek's team in the Department of Electrical Engineering — Dr. Jun-sik Yoon and Ph.D. students Jin-soo Jeong and Seung-hwan Lee — transferred an invention patent to Samsung Electronics for KRW 300 million.

The patent, “A Transistor Based on Metal Source/Drain and Its Manufacturing Method,” introduces a way to substantially improve next-generation logic device performance without increasing process costs.

It can serve as a key technology for the source/drain modules required in advanced logic processes at Samsung, TSMC, and Intel, which the source states account for over 60% of global semiconductor sales.

Among more than 100 patents developed under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's 2020 Future Semiconductor Device Program, the technology received a purchase offer after review by potential users including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

Samsung's decision to pursue purchase despite already holding a non-exclusive license — a contractual right to use the patented invention within an agreed scope — is regarded as evidence of the technology's high value.