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CEA/Leti Becomes a Research Associate of IBM and IBM's Semiconductor Joint Development Alliance Ecosystem Centered in Albany

CEA/Leti and IBM to Collaborate on Future Nanoelectronics Technology

Grenoble, France | Posted on April 10th, 2009

CEA/Leti (the Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory of the CEA, based in Grenoble), and IBM today announced that they will collaborate on research in semiconductor and nanoelectronics technology.

This five-year agreement is focused on advanced materials, devices and processes for the development of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process technology for the production of microprocessors and integrated circuits at 22nm and beyond.

With this agreement, CEA/Leti becomes a research associate of IBM and IBM's semiconductor Joint Development Alliance ecosystem centered in Albany, N.Y. CEA/Leti will reinforce this ecosystem through its specific expertise in low-power CMOS (such as SOI technologies), in e-beam lithography and in nanoscale characterization and modelling. This agreement strengthens the links between the IBM and Crolles-Grenoble ecosystems, following STMicroelectronics' decision to join the IBM Alliance in 2007, for the development of core CMOS and value-added application-specific derivative technologies and industrialization of these processes.

"Due to increasing complexity, CMOS technologies can only be developed through global alliances. CEA/Leti chose to partner with IBM since its alliance directly benefits companies with strong industrial activity based in Europe," said Laurent Malier, General Manager of CEA/Leti. "With 22 and 16nm nodes ahead of us, many challenges remain to be tackled and we are strongly committed to speeding up the advent of the best options for these technologies".

"This agreement reinforces the IBM ecosystem of leading companies and research organizations who are working together to achieve significant advances in semiconductor and nanoelectronics technology," said Scottie Ginn, vice president, IBM design enablement and packaging. "This unique model of collaborative development can help accelerate the production of more powerful and energy efficient chips for next-generation computers, consumer electronics and mobile devices."

Complementary expertise

This collaboration will focus on three key areas:

Advanced lithography for fast prototyping and 22nm chip technology
CMOS technologies and low-power devices for 22nm chip technology and beyond
Technology enablement, including innovative nanoscale characterization techniques for research and for the monitoring of manufacturing protocols

This development work will bring complementary expertise to the IBM Research Alliance. Research work will be carried out on CEA/Leti's 300mm silicon platform in Grenoble, as well as at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering of the University at Albany, N.Y., STMicroelectronics' facility in Crolles, and IBM's 300mm fab in East Fishkill, N.Y. A team from CEA/Leti will be assigned to work on the program at Albany Nanotech.

"We are very pleased with this agreement between CEA/Leti and IBM. It is within the logic of overall cooperation and it represents an important step for the development of advanced processes which are necessary for the implementation of the core CMOS and value-added applications specific derivative technologies at our Crolles site," added Jean-Marc Chery, executive vice president, chief technology officer, STMicroelectronics.

This agreement reinforces CEA/Leti's role as a supporter of the European microelectronics industry, as the results of this cooperation will benefit European partners of the IBM Alliance as well as the users of the alliance technology.

"A company's competitiveness depends on innovation, which is why IBM enters into partnerships with industry leading companies and laboratories to jointly take on the challenge of developing the technologies of the future," said Daniel Chaffraix, country general manager, IBM France. "Partnerships between public and private research teams can dramatically spur projects, rapidly transforming the results of researchers into benefits that improve our daily lives."

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About CEA/Leti
CEA is a French public research and technology organisation, with activities in three main areas: Energy, Technologies for Information and Healthcare, and Defence and Security. Within CEA, the Laboratory for Electronics & Information Technology (Leti) works with companies in order to increase their competitiveness through technological innovation and transfers. Leti is focused on micro and nanotechnologies and their applications, from wireless devices and systems, to biology and healthcare or photonics. Nanoelectronics and Microsystems (MEMS) are at the core of its activities. As a major player in MINATEC excellence centre, Leti operates 8,000 m² state-of-the-art clean rooms, on 24/7 mode, on 200 mm and 300 mm wafer standards. With 1,200 employees, Leti trains more than 150 Ph.D. students and hosts 200 assignees from partner companies. Strongly committed to the creation of value for the industry, Leti puts a strong emphasis on Intellectual Property and owns more than 1,400 patent families. In 2008, contractual income covered more than 75% of its budget worth 205 M€.

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Contacts:
Press Contacts:
CEA-Leti
Clément Moulet, Press Officer
Tél. : +334.38.78.03.26

or
IBM
Véronique Barone
Tél. : +33 1 49 05 73 35

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