Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) master's student Kim Seoyoung (Department of Electronic Information Materials Engineering) has been selected as a final recipient of the 2026 Academic Research Support Program in Science and Engineering (Master's Student Research Encouragement Grant), funded by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

This program supports creative and challenging degree research by domestic master's students and aims to cultivate outstanding next-generation scholars. Starting in September 2026, Kim will receive KRW 12,000,000 in research funding over one year to conduct her research.

The selected project is titled "Study on Defect-Controlled Perovskite PMMA-Based Parallel TRNG Devices." The core objective is to implement a fast and highly reliable True Random Number Generator (TRNG) by exploiting irregular photoelectric signal variations that occur when polymers are mixed into light-responsive perovskite materials.

A TRNG is a technology that generates random numbers from physically unpredictable phenomena. Unlike conventional algorithm-based pseudorandom methods, TRNGs are difficult to reverse-engineer for their generation rules, giving them high value for applications in various information security fields such as cryptographic key generation, personal data protection, Internet of Things devices, and security semiconductors.

Kim plans to mix polymers into perovskite materials with high optical absorption to control defect density and charge dynamics within the material, and to realize these effects as stochastic signals suitable for random-number generation.

She will also introduce a nanometer-thick PMMA ultrathin interfacial layer between the electron transport layer and the gold electrode. This approach is intended to control nonlinear variability in the charge transfer process and to modify the temporal and spatial distribution of charges collected at each electrode, thereby enhancing the randomness of the generated numbers.

Ultimately, the generated bit sequences will be validated for true randomness using the 15 randomness tests of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The project aims to secure a generation rate exceeding 20,000 bits per second.

The perovskite defect control, PMMA interfacial engineering, and parallel signal-processing techniques to be developed in this study are expected to serve as foundational technologies for improving the performance of compact, low-power security devices. The research may also be extended to next-generation information security applications such as smart devices, the Internet of Things, security semiconductors, and hardware cryptographic systems.

Kim said, "I am grateful to my advisor, Professor Yoo-shin Park, and the members of the laboratory for guiding the research direction and providing generous support. I will develop TRNG technology that leverages the stochastic properties of perovskite materials and grow as a researcher who contributes to next-generation information security and security semiconductors."