EDITO: International development, a shared priority

Research strategy building European alliances

J-C Guibert

The international strategy of the Minatec innovation centre comes in response to competition linked to increasingly global markets and access to knowledge. The centre's two key partners are gradually merging their efforts, previously undertaken separately, to offer top-grade international collaboration under the Minatec brandname. On the one hand the international policy of INP Grenoble is based on actions combining training, research and technology transfer.

P. Ozil

With the focus on clearly identified regional targets such actions are based on partnerships such as the European Cluster network, set up in 1990 with 11 reputed technology universities. INP Grenoble, which hosts 1,000 foreignstudents every year, is leading several European research projects with its academic partners – CNRS and universities. Lastly, in conjunction with CEA-Leti, INP Grenoble has initiated a deliberate policy of recruiting foreign scientists (researchers, engineers, post-doctorates and students).
At the same time CEA-Leti's proactive approach has attracted industrial partners from abroad, the most striking example being the Crolles2 Alliance involving STMicroelectronics, Freescale (Motorola) and Philips. On the strength of these results Leti has established itself as one of the key laboratories in several European initiatives and projects, particularly in microelectronics and information technology, but also biotechnology as part of the sixth Framework Programme.
Thanks to the Minatec centre, Grenoble, traditionally one of the first places to pioneer technological breakthroughs, now has every reason to lay claim to being a centre of excellence for nanotechnology in a context of increasingly global competition. Very few cities can offer internationally recognized skills in training, research and industrial development all in one place.
To secure its lasting success Minatec's international strategy is rooted in mutual trust between its partners, backed by the support of European bodies. This strategy, which is necessarily a long-term process, resulted in the Minatec Vietnam operation, based on institutional links with polytechnic institutes in Vietnam that INP Grenoble has been developing over the last20 years. Building on the international experience they have gained, CEA-Leti and INP Grenoble are now launching joint actions targeting other countries of common interest. Canada, China, Brazil, Tunisia and Thailand are all potential candidates for shortor medium-term partnerships in the years to come.
In a survey of European cities published in August, Time Magazine dubbed Grenoble "little big town", in recognition of its status as Europe's capital of advanced technology. We have every reason to be proudof this title. But only by sustaining and developing synergy between the various skills Minatec brings together, in well organized international partnerships, will Grenoble continue to deserve such a title, which sums it up so well.

Jean-Charles Guibert,
Director of Industrial Transfer at CEA,
Patrick Ozil, Vice-President of INP Grenoble in charge of international relations.

Since the launch of the sixth European Union framework programme for R&D CEA-Leti and INP Grenoble have been very busy developing actions and partnerships in nanotechnology and nanoscience. In particular they are proposing projects integrating training, research and development based on instruments funded by Europe: integrated projects, networks of excellence, and specific targeted research projects. Work also includes projects carried out in training networks as part of Marie-Curie actions.

In June 1999 CEA-Leti and the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) signed a collaboration agreement. It was the first of a series of alliances with major European micro and nanotechnology research institutes. Since the end of 2003 similar agreements have been signed with, successively, the Fraunhofer Microelectronics Alliance (FhG-VµE) inGermany, the National Microelectronics Research Centre (NMRC) in Eire and most recently the Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Centre (Imec) in Belgium. All these agreements provide for regular contacts, visits and staff exchanges, and joint research projects in well defined fields, differing with each partner.
These alliances already mean that Minatec is particularly well represented in integrated projects (for example, NanoCMOS – see box – and MoreMoore) carried out in collaboration with top microelectronics firms and academic partners involved in the centre.

Combining upstream and downstream research, a Grenoble strongpoint.
With its participation in European networks of excellence Grenoble's scientific community, drawing on the close links between INP Grenoble, UJF and CNRS, is providing further proof of how important upstream research is for nanoscience and nanotechnology. CEA-Leti is an obvious partner for this type of project. One of Grenoble's strongpoints is its ability to bring together skills ranging from physics to materials, and components to complete devices, to focus on a specific project.
In the field of microelectronics Imep is coordinating the Sinano network (as in Silicon-based Nanodevices, see box below) dedicated to tomorrow's electronic components. The project brings together all the skills required to rise to the challenge of producing innovative nanodevices.
In the field of advanced multifunctional materials LMGP is a leading player in the Functional Advanced Materials and Engineering of hydrides and ceramics (Fame) network of excellence. The network is focussing on smart nano-materials, an emerging field that draws largely on nature and the living world. It sets out to design new devices and processes for fields as varied as micro and nanotechnology, telecommunications, healthcare and the environment.
Thanks to the networks, the training of doctoral students (in specialist training centres such as Edith), basic research and exchanges between European researchers will form an incubator of complementary, coordinated skills. Their task will be to better understand and ultimately master tomorrow's devices or complex physical-chemical and biological phenomena that may be used to control multifunctional, environmentally efficient materials.

Preparing the future of the European Research Area
Two large projects recently approved by the European Commission provide a further illustration of how such cooperation may work. STAR supports the creation of a coordinated 300mm nanoelectronics research infrastructure at Minatec, in Grenoble, Dresden and Louvain, with scope for it opening to the European scientific community. MNT-Europe aims to integrate the microtechnology infrastructures of the five partner-institutes (see diagram), enhancing compatibility and common ground. Both projects are supported by the Flying Wafer concept, covered in turn by a specific targeted research project.
The Commission has also proposed several new initiatives such as European Technology Platforms (ETP) to prepare the future of the European Research Area. CEA-Leti, INP Grenoble and several of its partners are closely involved in the nanoelectronics and embedded systems ETPs. Grenoble university was recently selected as a Marie Curie research site.Now Leti has proposed a new concept, the MMNT Marie Curie House. The idea is for the Minatec centre's Maison des Micro et Nanotechnologies to host European researchers funded by the Commission's Marie Curie programme. For each visiting researcher, Leti would second one of its team to another European centre.

François Weiss, Vice-President of INP Grenoble in charge of research,
Christian Cochet, head of European relations at CEA-Leti

Cooperation between CSEM and Leti, coordinated on the ground by Jean-Pierre Dan and Bernard Béchevet has, among others, led to the production of RF filters

RF Filters

The international dimension, long a key concern of INP Grenoble, is an integral part of micro and nanotechnology training.
Launch of Europe's first joint engineering degree
INP Grenoble is actively developing its international policy. In pursuit of this aim it welcomes more than 1,000 students for masters degrees or thesis courses every year. And the Minatec project is stepping up cooperation with other European universities. INP Grenoble, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Politecnico di Torino inaugurated the first joint nanotechnology engineering degree in September (www.nanotech.inpg.fr). Students enrolled for this master's degree are embarking on a two year course, taught in English and located in three countries (France, Switzerland and Italy). They will be rewarded with a Master’s degree in Micro and Nanotechnologies for Integrated Systems, a joint engineering degree issued by the three universities and the first of its kind in Europe. As a follow-up to this initiative, INP Grenoble and Politecnico di Torino plan to launch another European master's degree, in information technology, starting in the 2005-6 academic year.
Three nanotechnology summer schools for three different audiences
Grenoble is effering an increasing number of micro and nanotechnology summer schools:
The MIGAS summer school, organized by Imep since 1997, focuses on advanced topics related to micro and nanotechnology. Every year some 50 representatives of research and industry take part in the event, now an international reference in its field. The theme of the next session, to be held in 2005, at Autrans on the Vercors plateau, will be: "Physical and electrical characterization of materials and components for silicon nanoelectronics". Contact: www.migas.inpg.fr
Esonn, the European School of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, started this year as part of Minatec. It draws on the skills of CEA, INP Grenoble and UJF.
Contact: www.esonn.inpg.fr
Students are taking an interest in nanotechnology too. The theme of the 2004 Board of European Students of Technology (Best) summer school, organized by INP Grenoble students, was micro and nanotechnology.
EWME, an international symposium Grenoble-born and bred
Micro and nanotechnology, with its fast evolving skills, demands constant reappraisal of training, notably its content and the key abilities it seeks to develop. Every two years the European Workshop on Microelectronics Education (EWME) symposium brings together academics and business people from all over the world to discuss tomorrow's trades, new courses and pedagogic practice. Now an internationally recognized event, INP Grenoble started EWME in 1996 in conjunction with the US-based Microelectronics Systems Education (MSE) conference. Making allowance forthe increasingly international character of advanced training courses, the need to keep track of emerging skills and the development of cutting-edge platforms, it is essential for the Minatec project to have powerful tools for developing micro and nanotechnology courses. INP Grenoble is very closely involved in the organization of EWME and MSE symposia, forums for exchanges, and in proposing ways of innovating in training in this field.

Nadine Guillemot, , Vice-President for Study Counselling and University Life at INP Grenoble

Leti and INP Grenoble increasingly involved in Vietnam's future

Micro and nanotechnology actions in Vietnam took a big step forward in April with a twin partnership agreement covering training of researchers and advanced technology research.

These actions are the result of the joint determination of Minatec partners – CEA-Leti and INP Grenoble – to meet the pressing demands of their Vietnamese partners. But they alsoreflect both partners' determination to invest heavily in southeast Asia, and Vietnam in particular, a high potential location currently enjoying strong growth.
Who are the Vietnamese partners?
Mainly Vietnam's two national universities (UNVN) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, assisted by the city's People's Committee and the Saigon HiTech Park.
What do actions involve?
They are already pursuing two priorities:
the first priority is training of Vietnamese researchers in INP Grenoble and CEA-Leti laboratories. The aim of the agreement signed with INP Grenoble is to boost the flow of jointly supervised theses in micro and nanotechnology, telecommunications, information technology, energy and materials. The corresponding agreement with Leti covers training ofVietnamese nanotechnology researchers, engineers and technicians. Seminars in nanophysics, nanomagnetism and micro-biosystems already taught in 2003 and 2004 will continue in 2005.
second priority concerns the development of joint research projects and technical support for nanotechnology. Leti will be supporting the setting up of a micro and nanotechnology laboratory in Ho Chi Minh City.
The two agreements were signed by Patrick Ozil, representing the President of INP Grenoble Paul Jacquet, Jean Therme, the Director of CEA Grenoble, Nguyen Tan Phat, President of UNVN Ho Chi Minh City, and Pham Chanh Truc, President of SHTP. The ceremony was also attended by Geneviève Fioraso, President of SEM Minatec and senior representatives of local and regional government.

Michel Dang

Signatories of the April partnership agreement.

UP SGI investing
UP SGI Ultra Propreté is a subsidiary of Société Galvanoplastie Industrielle (SGI), the French market leader for high-technology surface treatment. UP SGI specializes in recycling and reconditioning semiconductor fabrication equipment and is investing €1.5m in its new centre at Seyssinet (1,200 sq m, including 100 sq m clean room space). It plans to increase the workforce from 10 at present to 30 in three years time. The move to the Grenoble area will enable the firm to assist its customers with product miniaturization and (resist) photostabilization.

edXact, the IC checker
The software developer edXact has just opened an office in Voreppe. edXact specializes in the physical checking of integrated circuits, a niche market which it expects to generate €100,000 revenue for the first financial year (rising to €700,000 in 2005). Europe, and in particular Atmel, STMicroelectronics, Philips, Infineon, AMS and Toshiba and Motorola subsidiaries – represents 30% of edXact's potential market. The United States accounts for half the market, with Asia bringing in the remaining 20%. edXact works with about 60 integrated circuit manufacturers. It plans to consolidate its position in Europe, before opening a sales office in the US in early 2006 and finding a distributor for Asia.

Soitec launches germanium-free strained SOI solution
Soitec, based in Bernin, is the world's leading manufacturer of silicon-on-insular (SOI) wafers, a key technology for semiconductor fabrication. It has just announced the industry's first germanium-free strained SOI (sSOI). This material, compatible with existing processor architectures, will enable chip manufacturers to achieve up to an 80% improvement in the electron mobility of their future chips, paving the way for a substantial increase in performance without any significant change in fabrication processes. The new technology, developed in partnership with the equipment manufacturer ASM International, is based on the Smart Cut® process originally patented by CEA-Leti. Industrial production is scheduled to start in the second half of 2005.

First stone laid
On 27 September André Vallini, President of the Isère Departmental Council, Alain Bugat, General Administrator of CEA, Jean Therme, Director of CEA Grenoble, and Paul Jacquet, President of INP Grenoble laid the first stone of the Minatec centre at a ceremony attended by a large number of personalities.
For Alain Bugat, Minatec is a "flagship project" reflecting the strategy of CEA, France and Europe as a whole. He added: "This strategy fits into a larger picture, with future convergence of miniaturization technologies, of biology, computing and cognitive science. CEA has every intention of playing a key role in this process which will benefit, in particular, healthcare, the environment and leisure."
André Vallini is convinced that the ratchet effect of Minatec will reach beyond Grenoble. He explained: "Minatec must also be a state of mind, encouraging new technology to circulate all over our region for the good of conventional industry."
Paul Jacquet pointed out that Minatec, which enjoys the support of national and local government, is a fine example of the "competitivity centre" concept that the government plans to support in the 2005 budget as a potential development model. He said: "The three key elements for the successful construction of this centre are responsiveness, synergy and quality of partnership."

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Continuous micro and nanotechnology training: find all the courses at www.minatec.com
Minatec has given a new lease of life to micro and nanotechnology training by its two main partners. Alongside conventional degree courses, the INP Grenoble Continuous Training Department and INSTN, the training arm of CEA, are scheduling a wide range ofcourses for employees of one or more companies for 2005.
Continuous training courses, lasting one to eight days, combine state of the art teaching and practical sessions, in many cases using facilities at Cime, CEA-Leti and Grenoble research laboratories. The choice is wide and targets trainees ranging from production operators to researchers. Full information is available at www.minatec.com/minatec/formation.htm.
You may also contact directly :
D. Pellegrino (didier.pellegrino@inpg.fr),
C. Tardif (chantal.tardif@cea.fr).

Journées “Nanosciences-nanotechnologies en Rhône-Alpes” - 18 and 19 November 2004 in Grenoble.
http://www.minatec.com/jnn
3rd ST-CNRS workshop. New materials for nanoCMOS will be the theme of the six-monthly workshop organized by CNRS and STMicroelectronics. 26 November in Crolles. Contact : balestra@enserg.fr
Bio Nano-engineering for nanodevices
Seminar organized by OMNT, 15 December 2004 in Paris.
. http://www.omnt.fr/

ECIO’05 European Conference on Integrated Optics, 6 to 8 April 2005 in Grenoble. http://www.minatec.com/ECIO2005/
ESSCIRC/ESSDERC 2005
Conferences The European Solid-State Circuit Conference (Esscirc) and the European Solid-State Device Research Conference (Essderc), 12 to 16 September. http://www.essderc2005.com/