EDITO :
Training: a decisive asset

Top notch nanotechnology courses based on partnership in Grenoble

Innovation is a highly topical issue. For many it is the growth engine on which economic development depends. This is especially true of the microelectronics sector.
As labour-intensive manufacturing operations are relocated out of France – an essential strategy if our companies are to remain competitive – the only way of defending the country's industrial fabric is to give innovation unprecedented support to design high added value products.
Semiconductor components have been the key driver of technological advances in a variety of business sectors. Without them industries such as information technology, the internet, fixed and mobile communications, automotive electronics and electronic entertainment would never have reaped the benefits of recent progress – or, quite simply, would have remained the stuff of dreams. Despite cyclical crises the semiconductor industry enjoys average annual growth in excess of 10%, a figure few sectors can match. Every developed country must have the capability to operate in this market.
France can only carve out a strong position through innovation, which relies heavily on the expertise of engineers and scientists in microelectronics and nanotechnology. They acquire such expertise through experience, but initial training lays the necessary foundations.
In France we are fortunate in having teaching of an enviable level and quality. We must capitalize on this major asset. But first we need greater material and human resources to support the development of training (in terms of teaching staff, equipment and infrastructure for public research laboratories, engineering schools and universities). This must be a national priority in the allocation of public funding. Training programmes must be designed in consultation with the relevant firms, and reflect the rapid evolution of electronic systems, convergence of applications, advent of microsystems, and what is now referred to as bio-electronics.
It is absolutely essential to anticipate the emerging need for engineers, technicians and academics by covering the entire value chain of business functions, from business intelligence to marketing, through strategy, systems analysis, R&D, tooling, testing, production, packaging, etc.
Each trade requires different skills, but they all demand a background of scientific, multidisciplinary training. Take microsystems, an area that draws on knowledge clusters as diverse as electronics, microengineering and the thermomechanics of heterogeneous media. The trend in training is to focus on digital microelectronics, but we must not forget analog microelectronics (this is not an entirely binary world), power, sensors, software and any complete electronic system that incorporates this range of disciplines.
Echoing the imperatives just described, numerous initiatives have been launched to bring academe and industry closer: in-company university laboratories, the National Microelectronics Training Coordination (GIPCNFM) public-private partnership, primary and secondary technology platforms with specific fields of expertise, and, most recently, the Minatec micro and nanotechnology innovation cluster and the engineer training centre in Gardanne. These initiatives have the common aim of dispensing the high-quality training needed to develop industry.Their success will hinge on:
• the human and material investment they receive;
• the European and international relations they develop with similar establishments: student and researcher exchange programmes, etc.;
• and cooperative networking with French and foreign laboratories.
The content of initial training must be supplemented by continuous training to keep pace with rapid changes in electronic systems and their impact on the various disciplines. Nor should the personal input demanded of engineers and academics be overlooked: they must display continual intellectual curiosity by exploring beyond the strict scope of their speciality.
Yet an appealing array of training is not enough. To "nourish" these programmes we urgently need to revive secondary and university students' interest in science and counter its currently waning popularity. To achieve this we need outreach programmes in secondary education.
In recent years there has been a collective realization of the challenges facing us, so we can be upbeat and confident about the future of microelectronics and nanotechnology in France. We all have a duty to protect our industry by maximizing our attributes, and training has a leading role to play.
Michel Dumont, president of Sitelesc (Professional Union of Electronic Tube and Semiconductors Industries).

The site

The first visible sign that Minatec was really happening came with the demolition, in September, of some old buildings on Grenoble's Science Park. Since then a car park has been built for the centre. Construction of premises covering 44,000 sq m will be completed in September 2005.

Students in the clean room at CIME

To keep pace with trends in the microelectronics industry and cater for the shift to nanotechnologies and integration of heterogeneous systems (systemon- chips, microsystems, etc.), new courses necessarily cover several disciplines and are more international in flavour.
To achieve these objectives universities need to make the best possible use of the fields in which they excel and establish solid partnerships. Paul Jacquet, president of INP Grenoble, explains: "Our organization has set up several courses along these lines. In 2004 we shall be launching an international course for nanotechnology engineers in partnership with Politecnico di Torino and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). A professional master’s degree in advanced ultraclean technologies will follow. In partnership with UJF and CEA Grenoble we are also involved in a European school of nanoscience and nanotechnology sched-uled to run its first course in summer 2004.We are also preparing a new nanoscience MSc. Lastly, to cater for industry's continuous training demands we are setting up a degree course for engineer-managers with Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM)."
There is clearly no shortage of projects in Grenoble, with a comprehensive range of initial and continuous training courses.
An engineering degree in nanotechnology, set up as part of the Minatec project, responds to demands from industry. It draws on the micro and nanotechnology teaching and research capability of three European universities (Grenoble, Lausanne, Turin). It aims to give tomorrow's engineers a farreaching, international approach.
GEM and INP Grenoble have set up a course for engineer-managers, catering for continuous training requirements. Designed for executives with a technical background, it will give them an engineering degree to augment their technical and business skills. One of the three specialist options will focus on micro and nanotechnology.
The new European School of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ESONN) will be targeting young European researchers. It draws on the powerful research resources of INP Grenoble, UJF, CEA-Leti and CNRS and will interest PhD students, post-docs and R&D engineers. The school will base much of its teaching on experimental practice, with particular concern for methods and instrumentation. The latter topic will make up a substantial part of courses, with 10 days spent at CIME and other Grenoble laboratories (CEA-Leti, CNRS and UJF). The inaugural course will run from 22 August to 10 September 2004.
A new master’s degree in nanoscience should be ready for the start of the 2005/6 academic year. Initially, training modules will be available as part of continuous vocational training. A consortium consisting of CEA, INP Grenoble and UJF will be responsible for this course.
A professionally-oriented MSc in ultraclean advanced technology processes is also scheduled for the start of the 2005/6 academic year. Under INP Grenoble leadership it will target management staff specializing in ultraclean industrial processes. A number of courses are also being set up locally to cater for the needs of production technicians and operators.
Qualified technicians can enlarge their initial training with a third year of study, as part of a professional bachelors' degree in microelectronics and microsystems introduced by the Electrical engineering and industrial computing department, at IUT of UJF. The course is also backed by industry, notably STMicroelectronics, Soitec, Dolphin Integration and Radiall. It started in October 2003, providing students with specialist knowledge of test and characterization techniques and enabling them to work more closely with product engineers. UJF is running the course in partnership with CEA Grenoble, under the aegis of Minatec.
CUEFA and Leti have launched a course for microtechnology production staff working in clean rooms. The first edition ran from March to November 2003. The course, backed by local authorities, leads up to a qualification, but its prime advantage is that it provides hands-on experience of clean room operations (in Cime and Leti premises), supplemented by a six-week work experience module.
Furthermore 2005 will see the opening of 700 sq m of clean room space for Cime, as part of Minatec, giving Grenoble universities access to the largest micro and nanotechnology training platform in France.
The training facilities, which will be an integral part of Minatec, stand out because they are constantly adapting to keep pace with changes in micro and nanotechnology research and technology. They also cater for a wide spectrum of profiles, ranging from researchers to production operators.
Nadine Guillemot, vice-president of the Student Life and Studies Committee at INP Grenoble, Chantal Tardif, CEA head of training at Minatec.

Continuous training in a CEA-Leti clean room

INP Grenoble, Politecnico di Torino and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne are joining forces to set up an international course for nanotechnology engineers.
Products implementing microtechnology are already omnipresent in daily life, but there is still plenty of scope for miniaturization. To go much further we must master micrometerand nanometer-scale technologies, for which specially trained engineers are essential. Nanotechnology is equally vital for developing instrumentation, not to mention the actual teaching of nanoscience. The aim of the interna-tional engineering degree in nanotechnology is to prepare graduates for such work. Successful applicants will benefit from the high-grade teaching and research capability of three European universities (Grenoble, Lausanne and Turin). The four-semester course will include modules on microsystems, microelectronics design and nanotechnology, in three languages (English, French and Italian). Students will spend a semester at each university and a fourth doing an assignment in industry or a research laboratory, making a flying start to their career. Teaching in Grenoble will be based at ENSERG(12) and ENSPG(13), both part of INP Grenoble. Between 45 and 60 places will be open in September 2004 to students from the three universities and the first batch will graduate in July 2006. This highly original course will qualify for a joint engineering degree in nanotechnology awarded by INP Grenoble, EPFL and Politecnico de Torino. It will be the first course of its kind in France.
Bernard Guérin (head of ENSERG) and Roland Madar (head of ENSPG)
Contact: Youla Morfouli, ENSERG (morfouli@enserg.fr)

INP Grenoble and Université Joseph Fourier set up the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (CIME) in 1981 as a resource for microelectronics teaching and research.
Three years ago its scope was enlarged to cover silicon microsystems, with the addition of a MEMS platform for the design, fabrication and testing of heterogeneous systems. More recently CIME commissioned two specific platforms to cater for interdisciplinary topics, biochips and micro and nanotechnology teaching:
The biochip platform, set up with support from CEA-Leti teams and officially opened in January 2003, uses a six-step fabrication process, part of which is located in CIME's clean rooms. Thanks to the support of the Rhône-Alpes region and INP Grenoble, CIME has been able to invest in a deep silicon etching machine for micro-reactor fabrication, a targetdeposition robot and a microscope dedicated to fluorescent detection fitted with a video camera and image processing resources. In 2003 a first batch of students from ENSPG worked on the platform and its force of attraction now reaches beyond Grenoble, with students from Ecole Centrale in Lyon.
The launch of another platform dedicated to nanoscience and technology fits into the larger framework of an ambitious new programme in this field, backed by the Rhône-Alpes region, INP Grenoble and UJF. The first equipment arrived on the "Nanomonde" platform this autumn: an atomicforce microscope (AFM), a scanning-tunneling microscope (STM), and an optical profilometer. In 2004 two practical modules, each lasting about 20 hours, will come on line, focusing on nanophysics and nanoscience. The two new platforms represent an investment of €330,000, funded by the Rhône-Alpes region and partner universities. With the launch of new courses at INP Grenoble and UJF a total of about 200 students will be doing practicals on the various platforms during the 2003-2004 academic year.
Building on its links with the various universities and the financial support of its partners CIME has anticipated its move to the Minatec centre with these new developments. By broadening its user base it is preparing for the challenges that will face microelectronics in coming years.
Christian Schaeffer, Head of Cime - Contact: christian.schaeffer@inpg.fr

Collaboration between INSTN, a CEAsponsored higher-education establishment based in Saclay, south of Paris, and INPG started in the mid-1950s, with the expansion of nuclear research and training in "atomic engineering".
In the early 1980s INSTN opened a branch in Grenoble, broadening the scope of collaboration with academic partners. This led to the start of postgraduate courses (DEA[15]) in scientific and technological fields in which CEA was specializing: physics, engineering and energy, materials and process engineering, electronics, electrical engineering, automation, telecommunications and signals. INSTN's Grenoble branch also developed vocational training for CEA employees.
Today the Grenoble area is driving innovation and industrial utilization of research, at the heart of the growth dynamic generated by micro and nanotechnology and the development of Minatec, new energy technology (NET), and biotechnology in the shape of the future Nanobio cluster. These changes coincide with the current reform of France's universities, which are moving to a three-tier degree system (BSc, MSc, PhD), to facilitate European integration. INSTN management has consequently decided to shift the focus of activities in Grenoble, concentrating on developing training programmes suited to the demands of research and industry in the area. CEA in Grenoble and other partners in university are all in favour of this change.
From 2004 microelectronics, nanoscience and nanotechnology research will give rise to vocational sessions forming the basis of a master's degree backed by several European universities.
CEA's Technology Research Directorate (DRT) and INSTN will be coordinating a reappraisal of NET, in particular hydrogen and fuel cells, photovoltaics, energy control.
Looking further ahead there are also plans for training in nanobiotechnology and the associated instrumentation.
By refocusing most of its activities on three areas of excellence, INSTN is affirming its determination to take part in and contribute to the future development of the Grenoble centre. This policy will be reflected in the introduction of new teaching and continuoustraining programmes with the widest possible appeal, in compliance with the single European campus.
Dominique Gentile, director of INSTN–CEA, university professor
Contact: chantal.tardif@cea.fr

Over 9,000 sq m for training

In premises totalling 9,000 sq m, the Minatec centre will play host to two engineering schools, part of the Telecommunications Department and several PhD programmes, all belonging to the INP Grenoble group:

ENSERG trains engineers for careers in electronics and telecommunications (microelectronics, optoelectronics, radiocommunications, data processing, multimedia, etc.). ENSERG is one of the leading schools for tomorrow's submicronic technologies and smart devices (mobiles, PDAs, etc.);

ENSPG trains physics engineers capable of mastering physical processes and evolving the technologies derived from them. ENSPG prepares students for professions in energy and nuclear engineering, and instrumentation, notably for biotechnologies (biosensors and biomedical applications), materials, microelectronics and optoelectronics;

The Telecommunications Department, which taps the competences of ENSERG and ENSIMAG and trains engineers with the dual skills needed to tackle all aspects of new technology and communication services (equipment architecture, transmission, networks and multimedia).

The various schools will draw on the technology platforms at CIME and LHOG, which are geared to provide students with hands-on training.
The centre will welcome nearly 1,000 students and 300 teachers-researchers. Note that on the Grenoble site some 2,000 BSc, MSc-grade and PhD students are currently enrolled on micro and nanotechnology courses.
A total of €35m will be invested in training within the framework of the Minatec programme.

Memscap buys Opsitech
After buying Israeli optics specialist GalayOr, Memscap, a Grenoble-based MEMS specialist, has announced its takeover of Opsitech, another Grenoble firm, specializing in integrated optics for MEMS.
CEA-Leti, of which Opsitech is an offshoot, is backing the takeover and will allow Memscap to use its intellectual property portfolio, notably in integrated optics technologies on silicon.

Tronic’s opens a unit at Crolles-2
Tronic’s Microsystems, another Grenoble MEMS firm, opened a new production unit in late October 2003 near the STMicroelectronics, Philips and Motorola Crolles-2 centre. The facility, with annual capacity of 10,000 100 mm wafers, will enable the startup – another CEA-Leti spinoff – to quadruple its output volume.
The whole unit (covering 1,250 sq m, including 400 sq m of clean rooms) represents an investment of $6.5m.

Micro and Nanotechnology in 2003: achievements and outlook, a seminar organized by the Micro and Nanotechnology Observatory (OMNT). Presentations, spread over two sessions, will discuss OMNT's five key concerns – nanotechnology, molecular electronics, instrumentation for biological applications, materials and optics components, and energy microsources. The first session will review the events of 2003, highlighting major scientific advances, trends and failures. The second one will focus on a major breakthrough or trend selected by the experts, with a progress report. Paris, 29 January 2004.
Contact: +33 (0)4 38 78 20 70 - OMNT@cea.fr
www.minatec.com/actualite/omnt2003.htm

“Biotech Innovation Forum: from knowledge to value”.
A seminar organized by ADEBAG, GEM and UJF on ways of optimizing our utilization of knowledge and skills related to biotechnology development.
Grenoble, 30 January 2004.
Details: www.adebag.org