Imec, Belgium, celebrates its 30th anniversary. Founded in 1984 as a non-profit organization, it has enabled notable advancements in global semiconductor chip manufacturing in the three decades since its founding. At the forefront in advancing immersion lithography, EUV, and double patterning, Imec has driven lithography as a key solution to overcome the challenges in scaling down features in silicon chips.
It has grown to be a multi-disciplinary expertise center in the fields of semiconductor chips and systems, sustainable wireless communication, image sensors and vision systems, and flexible electronics and displays. Imec has collaborated with numerous partners from universities, research institutes, and top companies.
In 2013, imec and ASML broadened their partnership with the launch of a Patterning Center. When complete, this Center will offer the global semiconductor ecosystem the most advanced patterning knowledge for sub-10nm technologies, crucial to addressing future scaling and infrastructure challenges. This Center will be extended through partnerships with other suppliers into a ‘Suppliers Hub’, to collaborate on the development of next-generation process technology solutions.
Launched in 2003, imec’s research platform addressed the needs of the semiconductor value chain during the crucial transition from 200mm to 300mm silicon wafers as a manufacturing standard. The platform allows companies to collaborate on advanced process module and device research, targeting technology generations two to three nodes ahead of state-of-the-art IC production. Today, this initiative has evolved to a global collaboration platform with global industry leaders such as Intel, Samsung, TSMC, Global Foundries, Micron, SK Hynix, Toshiba, SanDisk, Panasonic, Sony, Qualcomm, Altera, Fujitsu, nVidia, Xilinx, and others, driving semiconductor industry innovations.
http://www2.imec.be/be_en/press/imec-news/imec30years.html
