35 European partners mobilized
NANOCMOS, a EU-funded IST Integrated Research Project, brings a new dimension to nanoelectronics research by developing close and effective cooperation between universities and nanoelectronics clusters. Indeed NANOCMOS will be succeeded by PULLNANO. The NANOCMOS to PULLNANO transition is the result of a long-term strategy to strengthen collaborative research in Europe in the field of nanoelectronics.
In the quest for miniaturization in which semiconductors manufacturers are engaged, research has always been a key driver of competitiveness. While industries throughout the world are shifting from 90nm technologies to 65nm technologies, the European project NANOCMOS has demonstrated the feasibility of the 45nm technology node. PULLNANO opens the door to 32nm and 22nm technologies and will exploit the great potential of European universities/academic teams. "NANOCMOS has structured Europe's technological research around three major nanoelectronics clusters.
PULLNANO goes further by incorporating an unprecedented number of Academic teams" says Gilles THOMAS, Coordinator of the PULLNANO Project. PULLNANO brings together 35 partners including 17 universities from 12 different countries willing to share their expertise and skills to achieve the ambitious objectives of the project.
Europe has to get a leadership position in the field of nanoelectronics
Thanks to the miniaturization process, semiconductor technologies are at the heart of major advancements in multimedia, telecommunications systems and applications, Internet and other industrial fields. Each step or "technology node" of the miniaturization process allows for a further reduction of the cost of each integrated function of a product. This is why it is extremely important for Europe to get a leadership position in the field of nanoelectronics research and technology, a key driver of product innovation and added value generation in many industrial fields.
45 and 32nm technology nodes will allow integrating tens of millions of transistors on a chip. Moore's law, according to which the surface of a chip decreases by a factor of 2 approximately every two years, will continue to apply for at least the next ten years.
To achieve the technological objectives set and remain competitive at global level, nanotechnology industries are faced at each technology node with a 30% increase in R&D costs and a dramatic rise in investments in manufacturing lines. In this specific context of exploding costs, it appeared necessary to share industrial tools, laboratories as well as expertise and skills. Economic clusters mobilizing a critical mass of competitive resources were also created in Europe, Asia and America.
