Bijan Davari
Bijan Davari | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1954 Tehran, Iran |
| Occupation(s) | Electrical engineer, IBM Fellow, Vice President at IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | Contributions to CMOS technology, semiconductor downsizing, leadership at IBM Semiconductor Research Center |
Bijan Davari (Persian: بیژن داوری) is an Iranian-American electrical engineer who serves as an IBM Fellow and Vice President at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center located in Yorktown Heights, New York. His groundbreaking contributions to the downsizing of semiconductor components have transformed the computing industry. Davari’s investigations facilitated the creation of the initial generation of voltage-scaled deep-submicron CMOS technology, which replaced bipolar technology in IBM mainframes and powered advanced UNIX servers.
During his tenure as leader of IBM’s Semiconductor Research Center (SRDC), he spearheaded the early implementation of Copper interconnects, silicon on insulator (SOI), and Embedded DRAM technologies, securing IBM’s competitive advantage. Recognized as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Davari has made fundamental advancements in CMOS technology. He holds IEEE Fellow status and has been honored with the J J Ebers Award in 2005 and the IEEE Andrew S. Grove Award in 2010. Presently, he oversees IBM’s research efforts within the Next Generation Systems Area.
Education
Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1954, Bijan Davari obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. He further pursued graduate studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), earning both master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering with a concentration on semiconductor device interfaces. In 1984, he joined the IBM Thomas J Watson Research Center.
Technical achievements
At IBM, Dr. Davari significantly advanced MOSFET and CMOS technologies that are essential to contemporary semiconductor manufacturing processes. In 1985, he launched IBM’s next-generation CMOS integrated circuits initiative known as CMOS-5X, which led to high-performance, low-voltage deep submicron CMOS technology. This CMOS-5X platform supported microprocessors such as the PowerPC® 601+ and those used in IBM System/390 servers.
He established IBM’s strategic roadmap for technology and voltage scaling, shaping industry-wide CMOS development down to the 70 nm technology node. This progression enabled successive generations of high-efficiency, low-power CMOS technologies critical for servers, laptops, and handheld electronics.
Davari’s group introduced the first shallow trench isolation (STI) technique designed to minimize current leakage within integrated circuits. This innovation was initially implemented in IBM's 0.5-micrometer CMOS logic and 16-Megabit DRAM products before becoming a standard across the semiconductor industry.
In 1987, he led research at IBM that produced the first MOSFET featuring a 10 nanometer gate oxide utilizing tungsten-gate technology. The following year, his team created high-performance dual-gate CMOS transistors with channel lengths ranging from 180 to 250 nm.
After being appointed Vice President of IBM’s Semiconductor Research Center (SRDC) in 1998, Dr. Davari directed efforts that positioned IBM at the forefront of Copper Interconnects, silicon on insulator (SOI), and Embedded DRAM adoption. Under his leadership, SRDC formed partnerships with major industry players such as Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft Xbox, Apple, and AMD—strengthening IBM’s scale and financial capacity to maintain semiconductor innovation leadership.
He also contributed significantly to the development of IBM’s Cell Broadband Engine processor utilized in the IBM Roadrunner supercomputer. In 2008, Roadrunner became the first supercomputer to surpass one petaflop in processing speed, marking a pivotal achievement in high-performance computing.
Notable recognitions and distinctions
- Appointed as an IBM Fellow in 1996
- Recipient of the J J Ebers Award in 2005
- Honored with the IEEE Andrew S. Grove Award in 2010
- Inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2014