CEA-Leti: Laboratoire d'électronique des technologies de l'information
Encyclopedia
CEA-Leti, a Grenoble, France-based research institute for electronics and information technologies, is one of the world’s largest organizations for applied research in microelectronics and nanotechnology.
) France’s nuclear and alternative energy commission, Leti was established in 1967 in Grenoble
, a university town in the French Alps that today has become an internationally recognized center for scientific research. Today, CEA-Leti registers over 250 patents a year and handles a portfolio of more than 1,700 inventions protected by patents.
The institute employs 1,200 people, while training more than 220 graduate students and hosting 200 assignees from its research and industrial partners. It has extensive facilities for micro- and nanotechnology
research, including 200mm and 300mm fabrication lines, 11,000m² of cleanroom
space, and laboratories and equipment that provide first-class nanoscale characterization, chemistry and biology, photonic, design and upstream research capabilities.
CEA-Leti’s technologies provide innovation and competitive advantage for its partners across a wide range of industrial sectors including aerospace, automotive, communications, health care, housing and information technology.
Leti’s European partnerships are aimed at strengthening Europe’s competitive position in key technological areas and developing new technologies. Examples include:
One of the most successful of these new companies is the Soitec Group, a Bernin, France-based developer of silicon-on-insulator and other related semiconductor substrate technologies, which spun off from Leti in 1992. Soitec, which is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange, reported sales of €$209 million during the fiscal year ended in March 2010.
Other Leti spinoffs include:
Overview
A subsidiary of the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEACommissariat à l'Énergie Atomique
The Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives or CEA, is a French “public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power, both civilian and military...
) France’s nuclear and alternative energy commission, Leti was established in 1967 in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, a university town in the French Alps that today has become an internationally recognized center for scientific research. Today, CEA-Leti registers over 250 patents a year and handles a portfolio of more than 1,700 inventions protected by patents.
The institute employs 1,200 people, while training more than 220 graduate students and hosting 200 assignees from its research and industrial partners. It has extensive facilities for micro- and nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
research, including 200mm and 300mm fabrication lines, 11,000m² of cleanroom
Cleanroom
A cleanroom is an environment, typically used in manufacturing or scientific research, that has a low level of environmental pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes, aerosol particles and chemical vapors. More accurately, a cleanroom has a controlled level of contamination that is specified by...
space, and laboratories and equipment that provide first-class nanoscale characterization, chemistry and biology, photonic, design and upstream research capabilities.
Mission
Leti’s mission is to create innovation and transfer it to industry for technologies and products that improve the quality of life for individuals worldwide. Leti does this by helping companies bridge the gap between basic research and manufacturing, and by helping to create new enterprises, while providing its partners with intellectual property for competitive advantage. In all its projects, Leti maintains a focus on usefulness and manufacturability.Milestones
- 1967: Originally created to meet the electronics needs of the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)Commissariat à l'Énergie AtomiqueThe Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives or CEA, is a French “public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power, both civilian and military...
, Leti is reorganized to facilitate partnerships with private industry. - 1972: Spin-off EFCIS to become STMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for EMEA region are based in Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V. is registered in Amsterdam,...
. - 1980s: Leti opens several new buildings and cleanrooms and becomes known for its work in infrared technology and magnetometry. It also begins developing micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), including accelerometers, SOI pressure sensors, weight sensors and humidity sensors. Leti also patented the Comb Capacitive Lateral MEMS accelerometers.
- 1985: President Francois MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
inaugurated on January 23 a buildings comprising 2,000 m² of clean rooms. - 1991: Leti joins forces with the Centre National d'Etudes des Telecommunications (CNETCNETCNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
), France’s national telecommunication research center, to form the Grenoble Submicron Silicon Initiative (GRESSI). - 1992: Leti spins out SoitecSoitecSoitec is a French semiconductor manufacturer which specializes in the production of Silicon-On-Insulator wafers. Soitec is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange , and its headquarters are located in Bernin,France....
to commercialize silicon-on-insulator and other semiconductor substrate technologies. - 1997: Leti spins out Tronics Microsystems to commercialize customer-specific MEMS manufacturing technology.
- 2002: first silicon 200mm gyrometer MEMS developed and transferred in 200mm wafers.
- 2003: Si accelerometerAccelerometerAn accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration, also called the four-acceleration. This is not necessarily the same as the coordinate acceleration , but is rather the type of acceleration associated with the phenomenon of weight experienced by a test mass that resides in the frame...
process transferred. - 2006: Leti, in collaboration with local and state governments and the Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG), launches Minatec, a Grenoble-based research and development campus intended to foster public-private partnerships focused on micro- and nanotechnology.
- 2008: Alliance with Caltech (NanoVLSI Alliance).
- 2009: IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
More Moore CMOSCMOSComplementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
Alliance. - 2011: First 3D 300mm full capability 3&D line.
Primary areas of activity and applications
- Micro- and nanotechnologies for microelectronics
- Micro- and nanotechnologies for biology and healthcare
- Developing and integrating microsystems
- Imaging technology for medicine and security
- WirelessWirelessWireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
and smart devices - Space and science
- Energy, Transport and environment
CEA-Leti’s technologies provide innovation and competitive advantage for its partners across a wide range of industrial sectors including aerospace, automotive, communications, health care, housing and information technology.
Partnerships
Leti researchers work closely with industrial partners from around the world in focused strategic partnerships to accelerate the development and commercialization of new technology. Leti also is engaged with numerous cooperative research initiatives, including:- IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
’s semiconductor Joint Development Alliance - The Alliance for Nanosystems VLSI (with California Institute of Technology)
- The MicroMachine Center (with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
- CEA-Leti and NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
Research Center - IMAGINE, maskless lithography
Leti’s European partnerships are aimed at strengthening Europe’s competitive position in key technological areas and developing new technologies. Examples include:
- The Heterogeneous Technology Alliance (which links four European research institutes)
- pHotonics ELectronics functional Integration on CMOS (HELIOS)
- WADIMOS, for demonstrating a photonic interconnect layer on CMOSCMOSComplementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
- EARTH, energy efficiency in mobile broadband systems
Spinoffs
Since its early days, Leti has encouraged the transfer of technology to private industry through an ambitious spinoff program that supports the formation of new companies.3 Thus far, 37 companies have been formed as Leti spinoffs, resulting in the creation of more than 2,500 jobs.One of the most successful of these new companies is the Soitec Group, a Bernin, France-based developer of silicon-on-insulator and other related semiconductor substrate technologies, which spun off from Leti in 1992. Soitec, which is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange, reported sales of €$209 million during the fiscal year ended in March 2010.
Other Leti spinoffs include:
- EFCIS,semiconductors, 1977 (evolved through mergers to become ST Microelectronics)
- Sofradir, Infrared detectors, 1986
- Tronics Microsystems, MEMS technology, 1997
- Movea, MEMS motion sensors, 2007
- Fluoptics, fluorescence imaging for cancer treatment, 2008
- MicroOLED, OLED microdisplays, 2007
- Others…
External links
- CEA-Leti official website http://www.leti.fr/en
- Minatec http://www.minatec.com/en