News Article
Partnership will pursue nanotechnology and semiconductor materials research
Keithley Instruments, Inc. has announced that it has entered into a Joint Development Partnership (JDP) surrounding semiconductor device material testing technology with CEA Leti.
Keithley Instruments, Inc. has announced that it has entered into a Joint Development Partnership (JDP) surrounding semiconductor device material testing technology with CEA Leti. The JDP calls for Keithley and CEA Leti to research methods for characterising advanced semiconductor materials and devices that support DC, high frequency, and RF-level signals on both micro- and nano-level structures. CEA Leti will use Keithley RF-enabled semiconductor test equipment as part of its broad portfolio of research projects in order to expand and enhance understanding of the performance of semiconductor devices that perform at the highest levels. "As semiconductor technology pushes the upper limits to achieving RF-level signals and device miniaturisation to nano levels, measurement technology must not only keep pace but even lead researchers' ability to build and test these devices," explained Mark Hoersten, Keithley vice president, business management. "Our partnership with CEA Leti is a great opportunity to create new measurement technology at the point where many of our customers' technologies converge – semiconductor, RF/wireless, and nanotechnology." "The ability to make high quality electrical measurements is crucial to advance the ‘More Moore' and ‘More Than Moore' initiatives forward," explained Olivier Demolliens, head of the Nanotech Division at CEA Leti. "Our electrical experts need the finest data to understand, model, and improve our devices. The partnership with Keithley makes it possible to help develop and boost the measurement technology to coincide with the needs of research and industry experts. So, it is a major bonus for CEA Leti to be involved with such a quality measurement company as Keithley." The Keithley-CEA Leti JDP comes at a time when CEA Leti itself is strengthening its own investment in nanotechnology with the recent opening of the new MINATEC innovation centre. CEA Leti reports that MINATEC will focus the activities of researchers, teachers, and manufacturers working in the micro- and nanotechnologies on a single campus and allow the development of joint initiatives to increase and quicken the pace of innovation and industrial value creation.
