It is hard to believe this conference is older than most all of the participants, including myself. The amount of history behind this conference is amazing. Back in 1955 the meeting began as the Electron Devices Meeting (EDM), organized by what later became the IEEE Electron Devices Society. Its core purpose was to bring together scientists and engineers who were trying to figure out how solid-state devices actually worked, at a time when the field was still young and rapidly evolving.
The first conference centered on:
- Transistors, which had only been invented a few years earlier (1947)
- Diodes and vacuum tubes, which were still widely used
- Fundamental device physics, such as charge transport, junction behavior, and material properties
- Manufacturing challenges, including reliability, yield, and reproducibility
Today, the 71st International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM 2025) reaffirmed its position as the world’s premier forum for advances in semiconductor devices and technologies. Held in December 2025, the conference brought together researchers, engineers, and industry leaders under the theme “Shaping Tomorrow’s Semiconductor Technology,” highlighting both the depth and breadth of innovation driving the future of electronics.
IEDM 2025 featured a high-quality technical program organized into 41 sessions, reflecting record-breaking engagement from the global research community. A total of 923 papers were submitted, the highest number in the conference’s history, with 295 papers accepted, underscoring the event’s selectivity and technical rigor.
The program included three plenary talks, four focus sessions on emerging areas, and a rich mix of oral and poster presentations spanning logic, memory, power devices, sensors, optoelectronics, and emerging compute paradigms.
Attendance at IEDM 2025 demonstrated the conference’s strong international reach and cross-sector relevance. The event recorded 2,123 registered attendees, with the vast majority participating in person. Industry professionals accounted for 52% of attendees, followed by 39% from universities and 7% from government and research institutions, reinforcing IEDM’s role as a bridge between academic research and industrial application
Participants represented a broad range of countries, reflecting the global nature of semiconductor innovation.
A major highlight of IEDM 2025 was its four focus sessions, each targeting transformative technology areas. Topics included efficient AI solutions across architecture, circuits, devices, and 3D integration, advances in thin-film transistor technologies, beyond-Von-Neumann and quantum-inspired computing, and silicon photonics for energy-efficient AI computing
These sessions emphasized how scaling challenges are increasingly being addressed through system-level co-design, heterogeneous integration, and new device concepts rather than traditional transistor scaling alone.
IEDM 2025 also showcased a set of highlight technical papers that illustrated the cutting edge of device research. Notable breakthroughs included monolithic 3D CFET integration for future logic and SRAM, oxide-semiconductor channel transistors for high-density 3D DRAM, and monolithic 3D compute-in-memory architectures capable of delivering dramatic gains in energy efficiency
Additional highlights addressed GaN and silicon co-integration for power and RF electronics, sub-micron pixel image sensors, and transistor-to-package thermal simulation techniques aimed at improving reliability in advanced 3D integrated circuits.
Beyond technical sessions, IEDM 2025 placed strong emphasis on professional development and community engagement. The program included six tutorials, two short courses, a career-focused luncheon, and an evening panel discussion examining the evolution of field-effect transistors and the growing role of AI in semiconductor design
These events provided valuable opportunities for early-career researchers and seasoned professionals alike to gain perspective on both historical progress and future challenges.
An industry vendor exhibition, held from December 8–10, featured leading semiconductor companies, equipment suppliers, and research organizations, further strengthening collaboration between academia and industry. On-demand access to conference content extended the reach of IEDM beyond the live event, enabling continued engagement with the material after the conference concluded
Bottom line: IEDM 2025 successfully captured the state of the art in electron devices while pointing clearly toward the future. Through record participation, groundbreaking technical contributions, and a strong emphasis on emerging compute and integration paradigms, the conference demonstrated how the semiconductor community is collectively shaping the next era of electronics innovation.
Next we will cover the key presentations so stay tuned.
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