There's Moore in Europe

Moore's law has for decades been the driving force of the semiconductor industry and there is 'more Moore' to come. The emphasis in most research programs is currently on 45 and 32nm generations and there is no indication that this evolution will stop in the next decade. Although the largest concentrations of IC-production facilities are found in Asia and the U.S., Europe is far from lagging behind in the development of next-generation technologies. On the forefront, IMEC and its partners are strongly investing in removing the semiconductor bottlenecks of the future. Our strategic alliance with ASML is the cornerstone of the world's largest consortium on advanced lithography in our 300mm research facility. Also in the quest for novel materials (e.g. high-k dielectrics for the gate stack) and device architectures (FinFET), Europe has earned its place on the global semiconductor map. IMEC's strong participation in worldwide renowned conferences such as the IEDM, ISSCC and the VLSI Technology Symposium is direct proof of this solid reputation.

But there is 'more than Moore'. Electronic systems increasingly integrate heterogeneous technologies and a diversity of standards. Engineering these complex devices is a key asset in the knowledge-based economy towards which Europe is evolving. In this respect, IMEC has recently set up a new research centre in collaboration with TNO (The Netherlands) and financially supported by the Dutch government. The activities in the Holst Centre will accentuate IMEC's research on 'more than Moore' towards a diversity of application domains such as healthcare, automotive, construction etc. It is therefore a unique example of joint collaboration across national borders and across disciplines.

With its multitude of cultures, languages and technology standards, Europe is uniquely positioned to cope with complex environments in the development of advanced systems. The 'new' European Union, with nearly 500 million consumers and human resources, will strengthen this quality even more. It is important to maintain the already strong European emphasis on the 'more than Moore' domain and the intelligent environment, in order to assure Europe's internationally competitive position.

European technology platforms such as ENIAC and ARTEMIS are the ideal vehicles to make this happen. These platforms , under the guidance of industry, allow for large research centers such as CEA-LETI, the Microelectronics Alliance of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft and IMEC to reach out to each other, to smaller institutes and to research teams at universities. IMEC is a strong believer in the construction of a European research vision beyond 2020 and wants to play a key role in it, hoping that this vision will be elaborated and implemented in collaboration between industry, R&D centers, universities, public authorities and the European Commission.

The European ecosystem for advanced technologies is flourishing. The Aachen-Eindhoven-Leuven triangle is continuously attracting new companies. Crolles, Dresden and Catania are only a few of the other European magnets for advanced-technology developers. Within these environments, an important role is to be played by public-private partnerships. Independent research centers act as the necessary bridge between academia and industry. Europe is setting a worldwide example, as can be read in SEMI's recently published White Paper (p.9: "There are lessons to be learned from the IMEC model that could be applied to other consortia around the world."). (1) In the support of these initiatives, the importance of public funding - such as through the European framework programs - can hardly be overestimated. We can therefore only hope that the European Commission will realize the ambitious plans made during the Lisbon and Barcelona summits. Until now, the goal of 3% of the gross domestic product invested in R&D by 2010 is still more than one percent out of sight. And this while the U.S. and Japan are already much closer, or even beyond. The expectations for the seventh framework program to validate Europe's intellectual uniqueness are therefore highly set.

But let's not only focus on intellect. "Europe is strong in research, but weak in applications," is a statement that is too often postulated. The 'European paradox' seems hardly visible in reality. With three companies in the global top-10 of semiconductor manufacturers and ASML as world leader in lithography tools, Europe is strongly represented. On the applications front, Europe holds even more trump cards. Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens, Alcatel and Thomson belong to the world leaders in mobile and broadband communication systems. In the automotive sector, renowned European brands as Mercedes, BMW and Volvo can rely on a strong backbone of car-electronics providers such as Bosch and Valeo. In consumer electronics and smart-card solutions, the European voice is heard through companies such as Philips, Gemplus and Axalto. It is my strong belief that a persistent effort and investment in R&D, together with the expansion of public-private partnerships can guarantee the leading position of these - and other - European companies in the years ahead and thus of Europe's wealth creation for a better society.

References
(1) http://content.semi.org/cms/groups/public/documents/homepervasive/p036611.pdf