MEDEA+ ADVOCATES FOR EUROPEAN SOLUTIONS TOWARDS LEADERSHIP IN NANOELECTRONICS
Paris, 30 November, 2004 - Europe´s nanoelectronic industry is determined to master the ever increasing technical challenges in their domain and advocates a long term accord with National and European Governments to achieve more innovation and economical growth.
At its annual FORUM, held this year in Paris on November 23rd and 24th MEDEA+ illustrated its strong contributions in micro-/nanoelectronic technologies and applications. In his opening speech, Patrick Devedjian, French Minister of Industry, welcomed the more than 300 participants from almost all EUREKA countries. He pointed out, that the EUREKA formula (`bottom-up`, lean and flexible organisation) has always been a strong asset in supporting Europe´s economy. He is looking forward that the upcoming 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission will offer clear opportunities for enhanced coordination, aiming at increasing Europe´s competitiveness.
With 54 projects running or successfully ended in MEDEA+ Phase 1, equivalent to cumulated resources spent in advanced R&D of almost 14 000 person-years, MEDEA+ is a significant driver for European nanoelectronics innovation. One of these projects has been heralded the winner of the `Jean-Pierre Noblanc Award for Excellence`.
Jean-Pierre Noblanc Award for Excellence In memory of the late MEDEA+ Chairman, the most innovative and sustainable project, so far carried out in MEDEA+, has been honoured. The trophy was awarded to a Technology Project, “T201 CMOS logic 0.1 µm and below” on the development of next generation basic CMOS process. Under the leadership of Guillermo Bomchil, STMicroelectronics, main European semiconductor and equipment companies together with leading institutes have been cooperating and achieving essential European breakthroughs (Air Liquide, Aixtron, Bull, Epichem oxides and nitrides, IMEC, INPG/CNRS, Jobin Yvon, Leica Microsystem Lithography, LETI, LTM/CNRS, Philips, STMicroelectronics). Only 15 months later, the technological process has been introduced in manufacturing lines.
For MEDEA+, the second phase running from 2005 to 2008, is about to start. For that purpose the “White Book”, the strategic perception of the MEDEA+ programme, has been updated and aligned with the most recent technological trends. Work areas have been reassessed. On basis of these preparations the first call for project proposals has been launched. Submitted proposals are under evaluation, all of them showing an increased engagement of all partner categories including SMEs.
As in past years, keynote speekers have been invited to present their views on dedicated topics directly or indirectly related to MEDEA+ activities. “Challenges to bridge the future Technology-Design Gaps” was introduced by Hugo de Man, IMEC, and “Smart-Card, key to the Digital Economy” presented by Olivier Piou, Axalto. Both presentations gave an impressing perspective on opportunities Industry will have to resolve. “Technological innovation and industrial competitiveness” illustrated by Jean-Louis Gergorin, EADS, gave from his company´s point of view an excellent example of European cooperation and success. A visionary outlook on “21st Century Challenges, Business, Technology and Economy”, carried out by Paul Ostendorf, a Dutch futurologist, proved, that nanoelectronics innovation and evolution is more and more seizing society´s life and well-being.
Other agenda items dealt with include Europe´s long term perspective and credentials in nanoelectronics. MEDEA+ Chairman Arthur van der Poel highlighted leadership positions of European companies in silicon technologies, telecoms, automotive, consumer electronics and smart cards. He emphasized that political action and support are required for an attractive and competitive operational environment in Europe. “Europe´s skill and expertise are clear assets; industry, institutes and academia are well prepared to trigger growth by innovation. Nanoelectronics is the vital cornerstone for almost all industries”, the Chairman said.
He urged to fully exploit all possible political and technical synergies, like the coordination with the new “Technology Platforms”, being part of the future 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission. This Programme should be complementary to the reinforced commitment of the EUREKA members on supporting and funding EUREKA projects, as well as further industrial investment in high-tech` Eco-systems`.
“It is vital that Europe remains an attractive base for industry and continues to be master of its own destiny”, Arthur van der Poel concluded, marking the way to possible solutions in the form of joint commitments of all stakeholders involved in private-public partnership helping Europe achieve its long term industrial and social goals. And he urged of taking action now.
Paris, 1 June, 2004 - MEDEA+ announces Juergen Deutrich as new Vice Chairman Applications, following Roel Kramer, who has accepted another assignment within the EUREKA organisation.
Juergen Deutrich started his professional career in 1968 as development engineer for colour TVs and car radios at Blaupunkt / Bosch. Internationally he has built up his reputation as Head of Development of Blaupunkt´s activities in Penang, Malaysia and later in France. In 1990 he was assigned Managing Director of Teldix GmbH Heidelberg, Germany. As VP Robert Bosch GmbH and Director Corporate Research in charge of communications, multimedia, car electronics and software technology, he was fundament to the increasing and prosperous segment of products and technologies in Blaupunkt and Bosch Automotive Electronics until his retirement in 2003.
In 1980, Deutrich was assigned as Vice Chairman of a ZVEI technical committee, whilst on European level he became involved in large EUREKA projects. Since 1996 he has been member of the MEDEA Steering Group, continued in MEDEA+ until his retirement, and was also core-team member in the edition of the MEDEA+ Applications Technology Roadmap.
Based on his solid background, his team spirit and his broad expertise in Applications, Juergen Deutrich is highly welcomed as the new Vice Chairman Applications at MEDEA+.
SUCCESSFUL MEDEA+ ANNOUNCES NEW CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Paris, 5 April, 2004 - A mid-term assessment carried out by independent contractors on behalf of European National Public Authorities is testifying good results for MEDEA+ strategic approach and performance, thus paving the way to enter the second phase (2005 to 2008) of the MEDEA+ programme.
MEDEA+, the industry-driven pan-European programme for advanced co-operative Research and Development in Microelectronics (EUREKA 2365) is announcing its 1st call (2nd phase) open for project proposals from April 05 to May 17, 2004. After the evaluation and selection process, the final decision is to be expected in December 2004 with project labelling. It can be assumed that the projects will start from 1st January 2005 onwards. Related information and guidelines for preparation are accessible on: http://www.medeaplus.org/webpublic/helpdesk_new/helpdesk1.htm.
There will be an awareness day too, held on April 22, 2004 to further exchange of information about proposals and bidding consortia. For online-registration, please visit: www.medeaplus.org/awarenessday.
During MEDEA+ first phase (2001-2004) more than 280 partners from 16 European countries with average annual resources of 2500 person- years contributed to Europe´s leading role in Semiconductor technology and -applications. MEDEA+ projects are executed by industry, (SMEs and large enterprises), universities and institutes and are supported by European national Public Authorities.
INNOVATION IN MICROELECTRONICS IS EUROPE´S GROWTH ENGINE In drawing a positive balance over a busy year 2003, MEDEA is well ahead in its preparation for the second phase of its mission from 2005 to 2008.
Berlin, 25 November, 2003 - All 38 running MEDEA+ projects, representing some 10,000 person.years of research into advanced microelectronics, are well on track, with six of them having already finished and delivered excellent results for further product developments. Most of the remaining projects are scheduled to be finished towards the end of 2004. Another 14 new projects have been recently added following an open call for new proposals. "The overwhelming response by MEDEA+ partners has clearly demonstrated the continuing commitment of Europe´s microelectronics industry to invest in innovations and microelectronics R&D". Arthur van der Poel, new Chairman of MEDEA+ stated, looking forward that the European microelectronics industry continues to lead the world in terms of converting its R&D investments into successful commercial products. A prosperous microelectronics industry, being the key enabler for added value and jobs, is of vital importance, not only for progress in the entire electronic industry but also for the significant leverage effect for industry as a whole in Europe.
"We took the deliberate decision to focus on innovations and a strong European microelectronic R&D and this has turned out to have been very successful; now we have to build on that success and any hesitation to implement the chosen strategy may result that the window of opportunities may be closed and the process will be irreversible," Van der Poel said.
Berlin, 25 November, 2003 - MEDEA+ is pleased to announce Arthur van der Poel as its new Chairman.
Born in Hoorn, the Netherlands, in 1948, Mr. van der Poel graduated in telecommunications engineering at Eindhoven Technical University. He started his career with the Dutch PTT, where he held several positions, and joined Philips in 1984. He led the world wide Consumer IC business from 1991 till 1996 and was CEO of Philips Semiconductors from 1996 to 2001. On top of this role, van der Poel was appointed a member of the Board of Management of Royal Philips Electronics in 1998, becoming involved in decision processes pertaining to the whole Philips portfolio. In May 2003, Arthur van der Poel stepped down as member of the Philips Board of Management but remained a member of the Group Management Committee.
Arthur van der Poel succeeds Dr. Jean-Pierre Noblanc, who sadly passed away in September 2003. Mr. van der Poel´s solid know-how in technologies and in applications, his international experience and the expertise, gained as Board member in the predecessor programmes JESSI and MEDEA, will ensure a continuation of the high profile chairmanship.
Paris, 22 September, 2003 - MEDEA+ Chairman, Dr. Jean-Pierre Noblanc, passed away on 20 September 2003. His death was completely unexpected.
Having attended L'Ecole Supérieure d'Electricité, which he left in 1960 with a degree of engineering, Mr. Noblanc went to Paris University where he finalised his doctorate degree in Solid State Physics in 1971.
His life was fully devoted to research, innovation and scientific progress. Starting as a research engineer pioneering the opto-electronics field, he served at CNET, the Research Centre of France Telecom.
He occupied in 1979 the position of Director of the Research Centre of Bagneux, near Paris, in Applied Physics and opto-electronics devices. In 1990, he became Director of the Research Centre for Silicon Microelectronics (Centre Norbert Segard) in Grenoble.
He was a founder of GRESSI, the co-operative research group of advanced silicon technologies between France Telecom and CEA/LETI and one of the strong pushers for the "Centre Commun" of Crolles between France Telecom and SGS-Thomson (now STMicroelectronics).
As Director of CEA-Industrie (now AREVA), Jean-Pierre Noblanc served in the Supervisory Board of STMicroelectronics since 1994 and occupied in alternate years the position of Chairman or Vice-Chairman. He also sat on boards of several companies: CILAS, SOFRADIR, PICOGIGA and THOMSON.
Besides that, Jean-Pierre Noblanc has been Chairman of the Steering Committee of the French National Research Programme in Telecommunications (RNRT), member of the French Academy of Technologies and participated in the CNRS Advisory Board.
Europe's Industry selected Mr. Noblanc as Chairman of MEDEA+ in 2001, a clear recognition of his full commitment to European semiconductor research and development activities.
Due to his immense merits as a scientist, Dr. Noblanc was honoured with the Légion d'Honneur and other awards.
With his death, the European landscape for innovations has lost one of its pioneers, the European microelectronics industry one of its fully committed promoters and the MEDEA+ Organisation its Chairman and inspiring member.
CHALLENGING UPCOMING APPLICATIONS FOR SYSTEMS ON CHIPS Fully prepared for upcoming challenges in Microelectronics Technologies and Applications, MEDEA+ is well positioned to support Europe in maintaining its first class position in innovative R&D.
Antwerp, 26 November, 2002 - Significant progress in all of the 36 currently running projects was today reported by MEDEA+ during its annual Forum, held in Antwerp, Belgium. MEDEA+ (Microelectronics Development of European Applications) is an industry initiated pan-European programme for advanced co-operative Research and Development in Microelectronics and is striving towards maintaining Europe's continued technological and industrial competitiveness in this sector. Labelled within the framework of EUREKA, the programme, which began in January 2001, currently involves more than 230 partner organisations from 16 European countries and engages more than 2500 highly qualified engineers per year.
Commenting on the strategic vision of MEDEA+, Jean-Pierre Noblanc, Chairman of the MEDEA+ Board, said, "By 2007, chips with 1 billion transistors will be feasible" and he is confident that the European electronics industry has all assets on hand to pioneer this domain. He emphasised specific prerequisites, including the role of Electronic Design Automation, sub-100nm CMOS processes, state-of-the-art lithography, as well as the timely definition of new killer applications.
PREPARING THE RECOVERY
There are first indications of a recovery in Microelectronics, as well as some growth forecasted for 2003 but the world-wide Semiconductor Market will not reach its year 2000 size again before 2004/2005. However, despite the lower turnovers experienced in the market downturn, MEDEA+ partners did not reduce their R&D expenditure for the programme, believing that the availability of new product/system solutions is a major requirement for a rapid upswing of the industry.
The achievement of a global target such as maintaining Europe's first class position in Microelectronics R&D deserves not only private initiative but also well co-ordinated public support. For the upcoming definition and execution of the IST (Information Society Technologies) programme related to the 6th Research Frame Work of the European Commission, the Eureka Cluster programmes ITEA and MEDEA+ have submitted a "Strategic Domains Concept" for a co-ordinated approach. In order to secure Europe's position, there has to be a common understanding of Industry and Public Authorities to enlarge the engagement in R&D, i.e. to increase both private and public funding of upcoming projects. Noblanc comments, "Europe's productivity and employment levels will decline if we fail to make the necessary investment into microelectronics competitiveness".
TOWARDS MEDEA+ 2ND PHASE
The European Microelectronics industry is fairly confident that it can develop technologies in line with or even ahead of ITRS (International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors). However, in view of the latest market drifts and expected system innovations, MEDEA+ will upgrade its technical work programme, the 'White Book', for the second phase.
A major prerequisite will be more information on upcoming applications, so that these can be accommodated in the updated White Book. It has therefore been decided to prepare an Application Roadmap, involving experts from MEDEA+ partner organisations.
With its decision one year ago to install a Scientific Committee, the MEDEA+ Board has already paved the way to adopt and integrate into future products the know-how gained from the Scientific Community.
Electronic Design Automation (EDA), the indispensable tool, for System-on-Chip design, has been strongly pushed by MEDEA+ and will be further enhanced, particularly in embedded software productivity.
"MEDEA+ has a clear perception of the requirements for next generation System-on-Chip technologies and applications and is fully geared to meeting these upcoming challenges", Noblanc concluded.
MEDEA+ DESIGN AUTOMATION CONFERENCE Major European companies present results and highlights from MEDEA + projects in the Design Automation area.
Stresa (Italy), 24 October, 2002 - The MEDEA+ Design Automation Conference started today in Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy. This conference is a major European event in the field of design automation for the microelectronics industry and focuses on theoretical and practical issues related to application oriented design automation for Systems on Chip (SoC). It aims to give a comprehensive overview of emerging techniques and advanced research tools.
The conference examines the need to engineer design solutions more rapidly, in a top down design flow with various silicon application platforms of choice, and to develop early reusable system IP's (Intellectual Property) for the next generation of products. These system IP's will include basic digital functions but also value-added functionalities such as analogue, radio frequency and embedded memories. This approach should be a primary strategic objective of the European microelectronics industry.
SoC design is a key factor for the development of chips of the future. Special emphasis is given to this vital issue, through the panel discussion on the benefits of the recently published 3rd edition of the MEDEA+ EDA Roadmap. The MEDEA+ EDA Roadmap aims at consolidating the developments coming from European major players, as well as from specialised firms, to improve the competitive position of the European semiconductor and systems industries.
Hosted by Jean-Pierre Noblanc, Chairman of the MEDEA+ Programme, the conference opened with remarks by Andrea Cuomo, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Advanced System Technology at STMicroelectronics, followed by speeches by Andrew B. Kahng, Chairman of the Design International Technology Working Group (DITWG), International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) 2001-2002 and Joseph P. Borel, the author of the MEDEA+ Roadmap.
In his introductory speech, Andrea Cuomo, presented an illustrative contribution about the "Past, Present and Future of Embedded Systems". Andrea's speech clearly emphasised the need to come to a more application-driven design.
Andrew B. Kahng described the design and design automation advances required in the ITRS roadmap. He highlighted the fundamental role played by design automation technology in extracting value from manufacturing technology advances.
Joseph P. Borel, talked on the recent developments in the MEDEA+ Roadmap, highlighting its final goal to allow early focused development of top down engineered solutions. He also emphasised that new challenges are to improve embedded software design productivity and move to design for manufacturability.
To conclude, Jean-Pierre Noblanc highlighted the central role of EDA in the MEDEA+ Programme as an enabling factor for SoC design. He commented: "Recovery from the crisis will belong to those companies mastering advanced technologies and Electronic Design Automation".
The conference has attracted more than 100 attendees from across Europe, bringing together leading design automation specialists from industry and academia with an audience of senior design and system engineers. It takes place from 23-25 October, 2002, at the Hotel La Palma, Lake Maggiore, Stresa, Italy.
Paris, 27 August, 2002 - MEDEA+, the industry-driven pan-European programme for advanced co-operative Research and Development in microelectronics (EUREKA 2365) has announced its third call for project proposals from 1st September to 3rd December 2002. After the evaluation and selection process the final decision can be expected on 28th May 2003 with project labelling. It can be assumed that the projects will start from 1st July 2003.
Related information and guidelines for preparation are accessible during this time on http://www.medeaplus.org.
Considering the pace of the technical and business evolution in the microelectronics domain, it was anticipated from the beginning that a third call for proposals would be launched within the first phase of the programme (2001-2004).
With already 36 active projects resulting from the first and second call, involving over 200 participating organisations and on average 2500 researchers per year, MEDEA+ is the leading European programme in microelectronics supported by industry and governments.
Paris, 13 May, 2002 - MEDEA+ today welcomed Roel KRAMER as new Vice Chairman Applications.
Succeeding Ben WAUMANS, Roel KRAMER joins the team comprised of Jean-Pierre NOBLANC, Chairman; Peter TISCHER, Vice Chairman Technologies; and Gérard MATHERON, Office Director.
Roel KRAMER started his career at Philips Research in 1970 and spent 20 years with a main responsibility in Semiconductor Technology. In 1990 he joined Philips Semiconductors as Chief Technology Officer.
He was very active in European co-operation, mainly JESSI where he served until 1996 as Chairman of the Technology Board. JESSI's approach was to foster a network of cooperations aimed at ensuring a viable microelectronics infrastructure for European industry. And indeed MEDEA, the succeeding cooperative R&D programme has seen the three largest European semiconductor companies entering the world top-ten.
From 1997 up until 2002, Roel KRAMER was CTO of Philips Consumer Electronics in charge of the overall technological direction and orchestrated activities in several key areas, such as, storage, display, wireless connectivity and operating platforms. He was one of the founders and served as Chairman for the ITEA programme on software and middle-ware (Eureka E!2023).
Roel KRAMER will therefore bring on-board MEDEA+ a solid expertise in both semiconductors and electronic systems, as well as a true cooperation spirit.
CURRENT ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES: MEDEA+ REPORTS ON ITS FIRST YEAR With 38 running projects, MEDEA+ , the Microelectronics R&D programme for "system innovation on silicon for the e-economy", is on track and paving the way for European leadership in the microelectronics world league
Amsterdam, 7 December, 2001 - At the first Annual Forum of the MEDEA+ Programme, held in Amsterdam today, a comprehensive review of the Programme's first year of operation confirmed that MEDEA+ has made an excellent start, with 38 important projects already underway.
The MEDEA+ Programme (S! 2365), involving about 220 partners from 17 countries, began operations in January 2001 with the aim of taking Europe to the top of the world microelectronics league through the facilitation and fostering of pre-competitive collaboration in Research & Development. Much of the initial work was concerned with issuing calls for projects and evaluating the resulting proposals with the view of maximising the synergy between large companies, SMEs and university/research institutes throughout Europe in line with strategic objectives.
Thirty-eight projects passed a severe screening process and were granted a MEDEA+ label out of the 64 project proposals received by the MEDEA+ office. They all have secured their funding and are now fully operational. These represent a total resource commitment in excess of 10,000 person-years. Sixteen of the current MEDEA+ projects address fundamental technology issues such as sub-100nm CMOS processes, while the other 22 focus on developing and gaining key expertise in applications such as network access, multimedia and security. The first three "project-leaflets" were also introduced, two in Applications and one in Technologies, representing 33 different partners in 9 countries.
Commenting on the progress to date, Mr. Jean-Pierre Noblanc, Chairman of the MEDEA+ Board, said: "the extreme interest of so many partners willing to cooperate and the high acceptance rate of the projects clearly demonstrate that we correctly targeted the necessary work to further boost Europe's microelectronics industry. We also appreciate that the Public Authorities are fully committed to supporting R&D for this industry on a par with other macroeconomic regions in the world".
PREPARING FOR THE NEXT WAVE
MEDEA+ is already playing a key role in helping European manufacturers develop the advanced technology and applications expertise that will put them in pole position when the world's semiconductor industry emerges from the dramatic downturn that took place during the first year of the programme. While the present economic climate is far from ideal, it is also widely accepted that recovery will occur from 2003 onwards. However, during this sharp downturn, companies maintained high R&D investments in absolute values to prepare the next generation of components and systems.
Most importantly, the markets that are widely seen as the drivers for future economic growth are precisely the applications previously targeted by MEDEA+ and the earlier MEDEA programme. "To a large extent, the future market growth will result from increased attractiveness to customers of products utilising new features developed as part of MEDEA or MEDEA+ projects, especially in the domains of 3G telecom and consumer electronics", said Mr. Noblanc.
ADDRESSING THE FUTURE
The evolution of the technical content of the MEDEA+ Programme will be determined by the results of comparative benchmarking and road mapping studies now underway. Due to the very rapid acceleration of technology development in all parts of the world, it is expected that the third call for project proposals, to be launched in the second half of 2002, will further extend the technical targets.
MEDEA+ expects that the main factors driving this technological acceleration will include the continuous convergence of Internet with digital consumer electronics and the growing demand for secured transactions, mass deployment of 3G telecom, automotive electronics (security, comfort and multimedia), the continuing scaling down of silicon feature sizes, new demands for mobility, implying new system architectures for extremely low power consumption, and the emergence of "heterogeneous" silicon technologies and solutions with imaging and natural interface features. The differentiation of technologies for Systems on Chip is undoubtedly one of the key success enablers for European companies.
To reinforce its "vision for the future", the MEDEA+ Board is also forming a Scientific Committee, composed of leading academic experts, to provide advice on the main directions where increased research work will be required and on the strengths of advanced European research teams. "The new committee will have a fundamental role in opening the future roads of microelectronics, identifying crucial topics impacting microelectronics development within the coming 5 to 10 years and benchmarking our resources in Europe against those of other regions", said Mr. Noblanc.
MEDEA+ COMPLETES ITS SET-UP AND GRANTS LABEL TO NEW PROJECTS TO ENHANCE EUROPE´S MICROELECTRONICS COMPETITIVENESS MEDEA+ microelectronics R&D programme for "Systems innovation on silicon for the e-economy" has now 40 labelled projects.
Paris, 18 July, 2001 - MEDEA+ today announced the completion of the selection phase for its second call for proposals, leading to 13 additional labels.
Started at the beginning of this year, MEDEA+ (S! 2365) aims at taking Europe to the top of the world league in the microelectronics sector. A first call for proposals, opened between June and September 2000, received 46 project proposals, out of which 27 were granted a MEDEA+ label at the end of 2000.
The second call, open between December 1st 2000 and end of January 2001, received 18 new proposals. They have been carefully analysed in two steps (Project Outline and Full Proposal) by the two relevant Steering Groups, taking into account the intrinsic value of the proposals and their adherence to the selection criteria defined for the programme. This process ended in May 2001 with 15 recommendations for labeling those projects that had also received a positive funding outlook from the relevant Public Authorities.
The labeling decision was the responsibility of the MEDEA+ Support Group, according to the MEDEA+ rules. In two meetings, MEDEA+ labels were granted to four, then nine new projects, increasing therefore the project count to 40. These new projects will start before the end of this year, when the administrative and financial obligations of each partner towards its own Public Authorities will have been fulfilled, thus securing their funding.
The present project portfolio is made up of 22 projects in the Applications domain and 18 in the Technologies sector. With most of the first call projects already well started and expected to deliver their first results by end of 2002, the MEDEA+ programme is now running full steam.
MEDEA+ SECOND CALL COMPLEMENTS THE TECHNICAL SCOPE OF THE FIRST CALL PROJECTS.
The most important topics covered by the new projects selected from the second call are:
For projects in the Applications domain: Main applications targeted through co-operation are cryptography, secure telecom applications, pocket multimedia and the development of an intelligent camera for web access. In addition, five new projects address the design methodologies for SOC integration, IP re-use and test of highly complex chips. In Applications, the average size of projects is in the range of 260 persons.year, thus making it possible to gather competencies from all possible partners willing to contribute.
For projects in the Technologies domain: one of the greatest deals for the future in this domain is the Extreme UV lithography. MEDEA+ has labeled 3 projects (sources, masks and preparation of an alpha-tool demonstrator) cumulating over 1,700 persons.year in resources. Europe has one of the world-leading companies active in lithography (ASM-L) and plenty of additional competencies in other companies and public laboratories, that are all willing to put together their resources and cope with the challenge of "Next Generation Lithography". Similar consortia have been formed in the USA and in Japan, with the same goal, and co-operation between the 3 zones is already under discussion.
"Ambient Intelligence" is a hot topic for the coming years. It requires high performance, affordable systems on chips for many functions such as: security, care, home control, entertainment… For future Medea+ "Calls for projects", it will be highly interesting to have application and enabling technologies projects closely related to these areas.
MEDEA+ ACHIEVES A BROAD COVERAGE IN TERMS OF TYPE OF PARTNERS AND COUNTRIES.
MEDEA+ ACHIEVES A BROAD COVERAGE IN TERMS OF TYPE OF PARTNERS AND COUNTRIES. With the new projects, the MEDEA+ programme mobilises cumulative resources of over 10,900 person.years, for 230 partners and an average project duration of 3.5 years. Sixteen Eureka countries are involved, with most of the effort being supported by France, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Belgium. Other countries from the South (Greece, Israel, Portugal, Spain) and the East (Poland) have also shown interest in joining this vital venture with their embedded networks of Universities and/or SMEs. It is worth noting that SMEs and Universities/Institutes form the majority of the partners in the programme, with 39% and 31% each, a combined increase of 8% compared with the former MEDEA programme. The larger companies accounting for the remaining 30%, still contribute with the largest share of resources mobilised (about 70%).
MEDEA+ APPOINTS LEADERSHIP TEAM FOR NEXT 8 YEARS OF GROWTH AND INNOVATION IN EUROPEAN MICROELECTRONICS Jean-Pierre Noblanc as Chairman, Peter Tischer as Vice Chairman for Technologies and Ben Waumans as Vice Chairman for Applications will lead the MEDEA+ microelectronics R&D programme for "systems innovation on silicon for the e-economy"
Paris, 1 March, 2001 - MEDEA+ today announced the team that will lead the new European microelectronics R&D programme.
Following the widely acclaimed success of the JESSI and MEDEA programmes in helping Europe take its place as a world player in microelectronics, a new European microelectronics R&D programme in the EUREKA framework was started this year. MEDEA+ (S! 2365) will focus over the next 8 years on innovation in European microelectronics with the objective of taking Europe to the top of the world league in this vital enabling technology sector.
Jean-Pierre Noblanc is appointed MEDEA+ Chairman. Mr. Noblanc holds a degree in engineering and a doctoral degree in Solid State Physics. His extensive experience in R&D in the microelectronics sector started at CNET, the Research Facility of France Telecom, were he was Director of several Research Centres. Mr. Noblanc was one of the founders of GRESSI and a member of the Steering Committee of the 'Centre Commun' of Crolles, two cooperative research entities in the Grenoble, France, area. Since 1994, Mr. Noblanc has been Director of CEA-Industrie, CILAS SA, SOFRADIR and PICOGIGA SA and is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of STMicroelectronics. Mr. Noblanc is also active in numerous national and international research programmes and Conference boards such as the French National Research Program in Telecommunications (RNRT), ESSDERC and ESSCIRC.
Mr. Noblanc is assisted by two Vice-Chairmen: Peter Tischer and Ben Waumans.
Peter Tischer is appointed Vice-Chairman for Technologies of MEDEA+. With a doctoral degree in Physics, Mr. Tischer joined the Research Laboratories of Siemens in 1966. From 1976 he worked for the central R&D of Siemens AG. He has been active in many fields of R&D including: electron microscopy, x-ray analysis, magnetic semiconductors, lithography, etching, process integration.
He joined the Semiconductor Group of Siemens in 1984 where he became responsible for managing the cleanrooms for R&D and pilot production. He was appointed Director in 1976 and Senior Director in 1985. Mr. Tischer was closely involved in MEDEA+'s forerunner programmes JESSI and MEDEA, and in the IST programme of the European Commission, as responsible for the co-ordination of the participation of Siemens Semiconductors, later Infineon Technologies.
Ben Waumans is appointed Vice-Chairman for Applications of MEDEA+. Ben Waumans, with a degree in Electrical Engineering started his career at the Philips' Research labs (Nat.Lab.) in the field of computer system design and micro-programming. In 1980 he became plant manager and department head of the Philips Project Centre. As a member of the management team of Business Communication Systems, Mr. Waumans was from 1982 responsible for development-coordination and product management. Three years later he returned as director to the Nat.Lab. He was Chief Technology Officer of the Philips Consumer Electronics product division from 1992 till 1998 when he started an independent consultancy in technology management.
Mr. Waumans also chaired an international committee that evaluated the quality of the curriculae in Electrical Engineering at various European universities.
The MEDEA+ Office is directed by Gérard Matheron who already led the MEDEA Office since April 1998. Before being appointed to this responsibility, he had been involved in JESSI preparation as representative of the French authorities and had since worked for ST Microelectronics in research programmes monitoring and external co-operation.
MEDEA FORUM 2000 ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF MEDEA PROGRAMME AND FOCUS AND STRUCTURE FOR NEW EUROPEAN R&D PROGRAMME IN MICROELECTRONICS, MEDEA+ "System Innovation on Silicon" will further enhance Europe's position in the global microelectronics market
Paris, 29 November, 2000 - The MEDEA Forum, which is taking place in Paris today and tomorrow, presented the major achievements of the co-operative microelectronics research projects that have been enabled by MEDEA: Microelectronics Development for European Applications. MEDEA is, an industry-initiated R&D programme, supported by national governments that started in January 1997 and closes at the end of 2000.
Over the four years of the programme, MEDEA has executed 55 projects involving more than 150 partners in 12 countries at a cost of around €2 billion. The work done in these projects has accounted for roughly 9,400 man-years of highly skilled employment in Europe over a four-year period. During that period, 7 start-up companies were created based on the results of MEDEA projects.
At the annual MEDEA Forum, MEDEA partners including leaders of the microelectronics industry and representatives of government, universities and institutes from across Europe, have been discussing the results and conclusions drawn from the projects.
"The central objective of the MEDEA programme has been to make Europe a key player in the global microelectronics industry through installing a structure for transborder co-operation in Technology and Applications between all the companies and institutes that have joined this European funded programme since 1997," said Jürgen Knorr, MEDEA Chairman.
Over the course of the programme, MEDEA has seen Europe's top three semiconductor companies, Infineon, Philips and STMicroelectronics, enter "the world top 10" and Europe take a commanding lead in many key technology areas such as communications and system-on-chip design.
The 23 MEDEA Technology projects enabled MEDEA partners to create state of the art technologies to manufacture globally competitive chips for all kinds of applications. MEDEA projects have also successfully followed the globally supported International Technology Roadmap (ITRS).
The 32 MEDEA Application projects have intensively contributed to and successfully influenced international standards setting in multimedia and communications technologies. MEDEA partners also developed the 'MEDEA Design Automation Roadmap', first published in 1999 and constantly updated since.
"By involving industry, public authorities, universities and institutes and hooking the goals of the projects to market requirements, we have more than succeeded in our goal to put Europe among the leaders in the global microelectronics market," Jürgen Knorr added. "I think we can certainly say that MEDEA has made a significant contribution to Europe's global competitiveness by strengthening our capabilities in system innovations. This is clearly illustrated by the enthusiasm shown by both the industry and European governments to continue the model into the new MEDEA+ programme."
MEDEA+
The market continues its rapid development, guided by the ITRS well into the next decade, so at the successful end of the present MEDEA Programme, the Forum 2000 welcomed the beginning of a new programme, MEDEA+, that will carry on MEDEA's crucial role in enabling co-operative R&D in Europe. MEDEA+ will focus on "system innovation on silicon for the e-economy".
The central objective of the MEDEA+ programme is to stimulate innovation and provide the technology platform that will allow the European microelectronics industry to stay in the group of worldwide leaders that will move our economies into the Information Age.
The eight-year MEDEA+ programme in two phases of four years will focus its technology projects in line with the ITRS to prepare the basis for advanced applications worldwide.
Focus of the applications projects will be:
Telecom - advanced mobile and fixed line access technologies and systems
Consumer - high speed and mobile systems with multimedia and Internet capabilities
Automotive - in-car and extra-car communications, advanced engine control and environmental management.
MEDEA FORUM REVIEWS FOUR YEARS OF EUROPEAN SUCCESS IN MICROELECTRONICS AND PREPARES FOR NEW FOCUS ON INFORMATION SOCIETY The MEDEA Forum meeting of European microelectronics actors takes place in Paris on November 29-30 to review MEDEA and plan MEDEA+
Paris, 21 November, 2000 - The MEDEA Forum, the annual meeting of key actors from across the European microelectronics sector including Semiconductor companies, Electronics Systems Houses, Equipment and Materials suppliers, and Universities and Institutes, takes place in Paris on November 29-30 this year. Following four successful years in the development of the European microelectronics industry as a key world player, the MEDEA programme will come to an end on December 31 2000 and will make way for a new co-operative microelectronics R&D programme called MEDEA+.
The aim of the Forum is to review the progress achieved by the European microelectronics sector in key sectors such as communications, automotive, manufacturing processes, EDA tools and process technologies, during what have been four turbulent years in the history of microelectronics technology, one of the defining sectors in the development of the global information society.
Over the four years of the programme the top 3 European semiconductor manufacturers, Infineon, Philips and STMicroelectronics, have moved into the global top 10, and European companies such as Alcatel, Ericsson and Nokia have taken lead roles in the development of information and communications technology systems.
The co-operative, pre-competitive model adopted by MEDEA has been key in bringing together competing companies with centres of expertise in Universities, Institutes and the small business sector to realise the full potential of European R&D resources in the microelectronics sector.
MEDEA acts as a co-ordinating centre for public funding and R&D resources to focus Europe's expertise on the areas most beneficial to the industry and, as a consequence, employment and the European economy as a whole.
The Forum will also discuss the role of the microelectronics industry in the European economy and its importance to Europe's position on the world stage.
That position is being highligted by the focus of Europe's new microelectronics R&D programme, MEDEA+, on technologies and applications to enable the development of the information society.
"The microelectronics industry is of such importance today, and is set to see even greater growth in the years to come, that the R&D efforts of the European industry must be supported through cooperation between state and industry to remain competitive with the US, Asia and Japan," said Dr Jürgen Knorr, Chairman of MEDEA. "It is the MEDEA+ mission to enable pre-competitive co-operation in research and development that will keep the European industry at the leading-edge of this vital sector."
There are 80,000 direct employees in the semiconductor sector in Europe today. This industry forms the foundation that supports over 4.3 million jobs in technology and communications across the region.
31 NEW PROJECTS RETAINED IN FIRST CALL FOR PROPOSALS FROM MEDEA+ MEDEA+ call for proposals results in wide range of projects with a focus on enabling technologies for next generation ICs and the Information Society
Paris, 20 October, 2000 - MEDEA+ (EUREKA S!2365), the Microelectronics R&D funding programme following on from MEDEA in January 2001, has made an excellent start with an enthusiastic response to the first call for project proposals from large and small companies, design houses and institutes across the European microelectronics sector.
From the 46 project outlines received by the September 8, 2000 deadline, 31 have been selected for the second step of the evaluation process, giving a 65% hit rate. Nine projects were rejected and 6 delayed until the second call, the deadline for which is January 30, 2001. The total estimated manpower required by the 31 initially selected projects in 2001 is about 2,300 man-years.
"We are very pleased with the response," said Gerard Matheron, Head of the MEDEA+ Office. "This is an excellent beginning for MEDEA+ and the quality and focus of the proposals shows that the industry has really understood and supports the aims of the MEDEA+ programme. The fact that MEDEA+ is an industry driven programme has certainly given us the credibility necessary to take on such innovative projects."
The project proposals include several projects on both wireline and wireless network access, automotive electronics, smart cards and security, entertainment and multimedia systems. Design methodologies for highly complex chips are also covered. Almost all projects also intend to influence standards and offer platforms for wide distribution of the expected results.
From a semiconductor manufacturing perspective, the focus is on system-on-chip development and technologies needed for 0.1 micron production, together with the necessary process equipment and materials.
The selected projects also involve new partners and new participating countries, demonstrating the openness and attractiveness of the MEDEA+ programme to all active microelectronics players in Europe: SMEs as well as Institutes and large firms.
EUREKA RATIFIES MEDEA+ PROGRAMME TO PROMOTE EUROPEAN COMPETITIVENESS IN THE GLOBAL MICROELECTRONICS MARKET New co-operative R&D program builds on work of JESSI and MEDEA with new focus on System Innovation-on-Silicon for the e-Economy
Hanover, 23 June, 2000 - The EUREKA Ministerial Conference in Hanover today officially labelled and announced the new European microelectronics R&D initiative MEDEA+ (S!2365). In line with EUREKA's mission of "Bringing European Innovation to a World Market", the industry-driven MEDEA+ programme aims to stimulate system innovation on silicon for the e-economy among large and small players in the European microelectronics sector, accelerating Europe's transformation into an Information Society and further improving Europe's competitive position in this global market.
"The microelectronics industry has acquired a leading position in the group of industrial nations as it provides the basis for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that are driving the information evolution," said Jürgen Knorr, Chairman of MEDEA. "With far above average growth, ICT industries create a larger added value and more employment than other industries and are therefore highly important for all economies. JESSI, MEDEA and now MEDEA+ are the tools Europe is using to engineer its competitiveness in this vital world market."
EUREKA is an initiative of the European nations that want to stimulate their high-tech industries to engage in trans-border co-operation, sharing R&D resources and expertise to increase their global competitiveness. MEDEA (1997-2000) has been a prime example of a strategic EUREKA project and has succeeded in facilitating the rise of Europe's top 3 microelectronics companies into the ranks of the world's top 10. A position they have now maintained for two consecutive years.
The objective to strengthen the competitiveness of Europe will also underlie the MEDEA+ programme, focussing on System innovation on silicon for the global e-economy.
MEDEA+ is an initiative of the European electronics industry. It is politically and financially supported by the national governments of the participating EUREKA member states and most likely also by the European Union.
The MEDEA+ projects will center on the following work areas:
Developing standards and platforms for the most important future markets with a focus on Internet applications and personal mobility. High-speed networks are one key success factor, not only in wide area networks, but also on the last mile for access to the Internet.
Another essential work area of MEDEA+ is integrated terminals for information, communication and entertainment. For this sector, wireless access to the Internet will become extremely important. (more)
The deployment of e-commerce and e-currency shall be accelerated through further development of high security standards, available e.g. in smart card technology.
Last not least, MEDEA+ will also meet the requirements of automotive electronics to defend Europe's strong position in this market. Key challenges are in-car communication, personal safety and environmental protection.
On the technology side, MEDEA+ will focus on the development of key technology steps (e.g. lithography). This is in line with the requirements of the ITRS that have been accepted by all semiconductor companies worldwide. MEDEA+ will center on design methodologies and software tools for "Systems-on-chip", and on chip technologies for application-specific building blocks of strategic importance for the European semiconductor industry.
Through low-power chip designs, as well as environmentally safer technologies and manufacturing processes, MEDEA+ will also help building a better world for the next generations.
Based on experience with the JESSI and the MEDEA programmes, it is expected that over 100 electronics companies will participate in the MEDEA+ initiative. The calls for projects will stress that SMEs as well as divisions of larger companies and research institutes and university labs are encouraged to participate in the new programme.
Finally, MEDEA+ will also contribute to the integration of the multitude of European institutes into a co-ordinated research effort in microelectronics ., Many of these institutes currently operate isolated and with sub-critical resources. Such "Networks for Excellence" will be particularly interesting for those countries that do not have highly specialised microelectronics companies, but whose research institutes are truly advanced in this domain.
The ambitious MEDEA+ programme will run for 8 years (2001-2008) in two successive periods of four years. The resources required to achieve the programme's objectives are about 2,500 researchers per year, representing an annual capital spending of roughly €500 million.