EDITO :
CEA-Leti's part in Minatec

Technological research:
diversified, evolutive programmes

In the course of 2003 CEA-Leti made a number of changes to its organization in order to maintain its position among the international leaders in micro and nanotechnology research, in a context of constant, deep-rooted change. With steady growth, based on important results in science and technology and more than 150 patents filed every year, Leti is one of the key players in applied micro and nanotechnology research.
As an innovation accelerator it enables its industrial partners to pack more and more intelligence into their products.
The start of 2004 saw the signature of the Nanotec 300 agreement with the Alliance formed by STMicroelectronics, Motorola and Philips and the opening of new 300mm clean rooms set aside for this project at the Leti site. The in-line characteriz-ation unit's first equipment is already up and running.
But Leti also depends on upstream research. The Basic Technology Research (RTB) agreement it signed with France's Ministry of Research opens the way for recruitment of more than 50 post-doctorants and the launch of ambitious programmes to anti-cipate industrial demand by five to 10 years.
All these changes must be seen in the context of Minatec, the realization of a scheme prepared many years earlier. Several laboratories have already start-ed operations at Minatec and have notched up some promising results. We are expecting to enter into other partnerships with research and industry. Once it is complete this world class micro and nanotechnology centre will comprise buildings covering a total of 45,000 sq m.
The formidable challenge posed by "Leti in Minatec" will take us into the world of nanometric engineering, where information technology goes hand in hand with biology and researchers are the obvious way of promoting innovation in industry.

Bernard Barbier
Director of CEA-Leti

Thanks to its facilities Leti is pushing lithography technology to the limits of physics.

Leti concentrates on mastering critical micro and nanotechnologies several years ahead of market requirements. It is this ability to anticipate that adds value to its transfer of microcomponents to industry and strength to innovation in application fields: information and communications, biology and healthcare, defence and security. The Basic Technology Research (RTB) programme, initiated in 2003 by the Ministry of Research, will enable it to sustain this ability.
With Nanotec 300 and the development of 300mm activities with the Crolles 2 Alliance (formed by STMicroelectronics, Motorola and Philips), Leti is resolutely committed to nanoelectronics.
Working in pluridisciplinary competence centres Leti experts keep two or three generations ahead of industrial development. Breakthroughs are expected in substrates, materials, processes and devices. The Leti silicon-technology centre will gradually shift to 300mm equipment, which explains the investments decided for the 2003-8 period.
CSEM and Leti formed an alliance three years ago, banking on the synergy between microsystems and system-on-chips (SoC). The drive to embed new functionality comes in response to consumer demands for improved performance and lower costs, which in turn accounts for the importance of integrating radiofrequency and image-capture components. Another priority, essential to sectors ranging from aerospace to automobiles, is to shorten lead times by combining microsystems and ad hoc chips to form a system-in-package. Similarly the agreement with the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, signed in September 2003, gives Leti a valuable partner in this field.
Leti's optronics activity is founded on three special-ities: infrared detection, optical communications and the image processing chain. In the last field components are evolving fast. Small, flat imagers are being integrated in portable devices. Nanotechnology is multiplying reversible storage densities at a stupendous rate. Liquid-crystal displays have only just superseded cathode-ray tubes and already nano-emissive displays (NED) using carbon nanotubes conjure up dreams of wall-to-wall images.
The CEA Biochip programme continues and is now entering a phase of active transfer to industry. Inspired by its success Grenoble's scientific community set in motion the Nanobio project. Originally proposed by CEA and Université Joseph Fourier, Nanobio focuses research on nanochemistry and molecular biology, opening a broad spectrum of applications: diagnostics, online analysis, molecular imaging, in vivo characterization.
The miniaturization and wireless connection of smart devices took several steps forward in one go with MEMS integration in the radiofrequency front-end, promising exploration of ultrawide band (UWB), a new interface, and successful demonstration of new concepts such as adaptable antennas.
Leti is stepping up its efforts in defence and security, with the backing of France's Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), as part of Minatec. Priority will be given to strategic components, but also the security of information technology and prevention of bio-hazards.
Lastly Leti's design activity is becoming increasingly horizontal. Heterogeneous design links technology specialists and designers. Joint hard and software design of embedded systems connects experts in the two fields.
And usage-assisted design, the fruit of an encounter between sociologists, ergonomists and technologists, holds the promise of future progress…

Six microsensors and their electronics in a cube of only a few cubic centimetres.

20GHz UWB digitizer.

On 22 April CEA signed a four-year R&D contract (2004-7) with the three members of the Crolles2 Alliance: STMicroelectronics, Philips and Freescale Semiconductors, a Motorola subsidiary.
The agreement covers development of nanoelectronic technology for 45 and 32 nanometre CMOS nodes, and lower. It is a logical follow-up to earlier research programmes focusing on CMOS technology on 200mm wafers undertaken jointly by Leti and STMicroelectronics in the Grenoble area. As part of their long term collaboration the two partners have regularly exchanged researchers, with the same silicon wafers going back and forth between the two sites. Standard fabrication processes are located at Crolles2 whereas the most advanced technology is implemented at Leti. The new agreement provides for a similar approach, designed to optimize investment.

1,800 sq m of new clean room
Under the terms of the agreement Leti will carry out research on a new 300mm platform named Nanotec 300, officially opened on 22 April in Grenoble. The platform consists of 1,800 sq m of clean room space and a wide range of equipment for fabrication (deposition and etching), characterization and metrology of electronic components, notably transistors, on 300mm wafers.
Research is focusing on four fields: advanced lithography and etching, materials and processes for transistors, materials and processes for interconnections, innovative transistor architectures. Research programmes will also draw on existing partnerships between the three members of the Crolles2 Alliance and other players such as IMEC4 in Louvain, Belgium, and the Dan Noble Center in Austin, USA.
Nanotec 300 is a major initiative in microelectronics research. It will significantly increase the importance of the Grenoble area as an international centre of micro and nanotechnology excellence. The Nanotec 300 project adds up to an investment of €300m funded by the French government, the Crolles2 Alliance and local authorities: the Rhône-Alpes region, the Isère department, Grenoble city council and the Greater Grenoble council.

An event of international import
Some 300 guests attended the ceremony for the signature of the agreement and official opening of the Nanotec 300 building at CEA.
They were very much aware of the stakes involved for the partnership and here again the support and powerful mobilization of local authorities was much appreciated. Over and above members of the signatories’ senior management (Jean Therme, Director of CEA Grenoble and CEA Director of Technology Research, Denis Griot, Vice-President Corporate at Motorola, René Penning de Vries, Deputy Chief Technology Officer at Philips, and Joël Monnier, Vice-President Corporate and Director Central R&D at STMicroelectronics) we should also note the presence of major international personalities representing industry, notably T. Stanley Myers, President and CEO of Semi. This underlines the exemplary nature of the initiative and augurs well for the success of future collaboration.
A large contingent from the national and internat-ional media, and good coverage of the event all helped to strengthen the position of the Minatec centre as one of the leading centres of nanotechnology excellence, and more specifically in the field of transfers from research to industry.

INP Grenoble, with its partners Université Joseph Fourier and CNRS, is participating in the development of IMEP and LTM, two laboratories at work in the establishment's micro and nanotechnology competence centre

IMEP in the era of CMOS and post-CMOS nanoelectronics

The Institute of Microelectronics, Electromagnetism and Photonics (IMEP), with staff of 120, is one of France's top micro and nanotechnology research centres, particularly for micro- and nanoelectronics, microphotonics, microsystems and microwaves.
Over the next 20 years the economic stakes for potential applications of such research (semiconductors, information technology, telecommunications, etc.) are enormous. IMEP is focusing much of its efforts on CMOS and post-CMOS nanoelectronics, as well as new materials and smart devices.
Imep's main strongpoint is interdisciplinary research in fields covering a very broad spectrum – materials, technologies, components, circuits and systems – and involving partners from many horizons, ranging from designers of electronic and optoelectronic circuits and systems to nanophysicists and materials chemists.
The Grenoble-based institute is primarily pursuing two lines of research:
CMOS nanoelectronics, with work focusing on new materials (SOI, SiGe, strained Si, high-permitt-ivity dielectric materials) and new MOS transistor architectures for decananometric integration (ultra-thin SOI films, ground plane, DTMOS, multi-gates, etc.). Imep researchers were the first to propose a double-gate MOS/SOI component using the principle of volume inversion, a structure now being proposed as the most suitable for ultimate integration of CMOS technologies.
in the field of post-CMOS technology, nanometric devices operating with one or a few electrons (nanoflash memory, single-electron transistors, single-electron memories) and quantum components on Si or SOI. Such structures could be used on the same chip as CMOS devices, or as post-CMOS components when CMOS technology will reach its integration and performance limits.
As IMEP is working at the meeting point between many scientific disciplines and technologies, it plays a federative role in the world of research. This is also due to its target audience and the recognition its work has gained. It is coordinating a large number of ambitious regional, national and European projects, addressing the challenges of tomorrow's electronics. In particular IMEP is leading the Sinano (silicon-based nanodevices) network of excellence, which was launched in January 2004 as part of FP6. With 41 partners in 16 European countries it represents an unprecedented level of integration. The prime task of the network is to boost European excellence in silicon nanoelectric devices, crucial to the integrated circuits of the next few decades.
IMEP also plays an extremely active role in transferring its research (launching start-ups, supervising transfers as part of a joint venture, etc.) and circul-ating information. It will be one of the first entities to move into the Minatec Centre once the new buildings are ready.

New probe station for measuring device electrical properties over a wide range of temperatures (5K to 400K) and frequencies (up to 60 GHz) on 200mm wafers.

Six essential research topics

IMEP activities centre on the following research topics:
• advanced CMOS components on bulk silicon, SOI, SiGe and strained Si,
• nanometric devices: single-electron components, quantum devices,
• large-gap components on SiC,
• photonics: materials for guided optics, innovative electromagnetic structures, active and passive optical components integrated on glass and semiconductors,
• microsensors and microsystems using Si, SOI, and integrated optics on glass,
• radiofrequencies, microwaves and opto-microwaves: active and passive RF components integrated on Si and SOI, digital RF and optoelectronic circuits and systems.

In particular its skills and know-how focus on:
• characterization: electrical characterization of micro and nanoelectronic components, RF and microwaves characterization and testing, optical and optoelectronic characterization,
• technologies: electronic devices on Si and SOI, optical components integrated on glass, microsensors and microsystems on Si, SOI and glass,
• numerical simulation of technological processes and electrical or optical properties,
• physics of electronic and photonic components and nanostructures.

LTM researching emerging nanotechnologies

Silicon gate on a CMOS transistor with an 18nm gatelength.
Although the Microelectronics Technology Laboratory (LTM) is only a recent development (started by CNRS in 1999) it has already gained an impressive reputation in the world of nanoelectronics, having chosen to focus on understanding and characterizing the techno-logical stages involved in miniaturizing CMOS devices.
In collaboration with Leti and STMicroelectronics (which will become a partner of the UMR in 2005) LTM is carrying out an important research programme exploring technologies for miniaturizing and producing high-permittivity dielectric materials. In particular it is studying extreme UV (13nm exposure wavelength) nanolithography techniques and the associated polymer resists. An experimental etching assembly is used to check the plasma processes being used down to a few nanometres and studies problems related to the integration of the new materials that will form the core of tomorrow's CMOS devices. Over the last few years LTM expertise, boosted by the start of many industrial and international partnerships, has contributed to significant progress understanding the mechanisms that govern etching these new materials.
LTM's work encompasses the following new technologies:
nano-imprint lithography, where patterns are no longer obtained by exposure but by embossing. Mastering polymer flow mechanisms during embossing enables patterns to be produced on a complete 200mm silicon substrate. This achievement has had major international repercussions.
memory based on silicon nanocrystals with enhanced fault tolerance. Obtaining high dot densities (about 1012/sq cm) in partnership with Leti opens the prospect of their rapid transfer to industry. They will compete with other non-volatile memory technologies.
study of new technological stages and their sequencing, with the aim of addressing, localizing and interconnecting nano-devices. One day this futuristic programme will perhaps result in a carbon nanotube or an organic molecule forming the core of a nanoelectronic device.

Olivier Joubert to head FMNT-Rhône-Alpes
Olivier Joubert, a CNRS research director, has been appointed head of the Rhône-Alpes Micro and Nanotechno-logy Federation (FMNT). He replaces Gérard Ghibaudo, who during the first two years of FMNT's existence launched many joint projects in nanoelectronics, photonics, microsystems and spin electronics. Joubert's mission is to set up flexible technological resources, open to Rhône-Alpes' academic community, and develop existing partnerships with STMicroelectronics and Leti.

Crocus for next-generation memory
Crocus Technology, which develops magnetic random access memory (MRAM), started trading on 7 April 2004. It is exploiting a portfolio of international patents and transfer of know-how from Spintec, a joint laboratory set up by CEA and CNRS, two public bodies working in concert. CEA Valorisation SA (the CEA venture capital fund) is one of the joint founders of Crocus Technology, alongside other investors. The firm is focusing on the highly competitive memory market, currently dominated by generic MOS technology.
Crocus will be presenting memory that improves on the technological features of products being marketed at present: non-volatile, high read and write speeds, higher endurance, very low-cost fabrication process, low power consumption and insensitivity to ionizing radiation. This will primarily interest semiconductor manufacturers and users of miniaturized components.
The aim is to cater for fast growing demand for non-volatile memory integrated in wireless equipment such as cellphones, smart cards, personal data assistants, laptop computers, RFID tags, electronics for automobiles and defence, etc.

IST Mobile & Wireless Communications Summit 2004
The 13th international summit organized by the European Commission provides an update on technological progress in telecommunications.
27 to 30 June, Cité Internationale, Lyon.
Details: www.mobilesummit2004.org

Esson’04
The first session of the European School of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology will be held in Grenoble from 22 August to 10 September. It is designed for doctoral students, post-doctorate researchers and R&D engineers. Academic and practical teaching will cover fabrication, the principles and characterization of nano-objects. NB: half the programme will be taught in Cime clean rooms and Grenoble laboratories.
Details: www.esonn.inpg.fr

Migas’04: Silicon on insulator
Every year Migas focuses on a new field of microelectronics. This year it is looking at "Silicon on Insulator: technology and devices".
26 June, Villard-de-Lans.
Details and reservations at www.migas.inpg.fr

2004 Minatec Student and Business Forum
The second edition of the forum will bring together about 1,000 students with companies and research laboratories working in micro and nanotechnology. Grenoble World Trade Center, 26 November 2004. Organization: Junior Conseil at INP Grenoble. Contact: forumminatec2004@inpg.fr - www.minatec.com/forum2004