Up Close: Centra Nacional de Microelectrónica

Extract

The Spanish National Microelectronics Center (Centra Nacional de Microelectrónica or CNM), a nonprofit R&D institute, was established in 1985 through the joint efforts of the General Directorate of Science (Ministry of Education) and the General Directorate of Electronics and Computer Science (Ministry of Industry and Energy).

As a scientific research center, the CNM belongs to the Spanish Science Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientifícas, CSIC), but differs from other CSIC centers in two ways. CNM is a direct spinoff of a nationwide scientific and technological research program (Programa Nacional de Microelectrónica), and it has its own board of trustees with representatives from different ministries (Education, Industry and Energy, Defense, and Communications); from the local governments of Catalonia, Andalusia, and Madrid; and from microelectronics-related industries.

CNM's activities are channeled toward promoting microelectronics in Spain through scientific and technological research on the design and fabrication of integrated circuits, electronic devices, and related materials, while providing technological support for industry and university research groups. The global objectives are as follows:

∎ Establishment of stable quasi-industrial technologies in technological niches that permit good interaction between CNM and industry. Among those niches, fixed by Spain's national industrial policy, are application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), power devices, semiconductor sensors, and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technologies and associated devices.

∎ Startup of precise technological processes or new IC design techniques through cooperative research projects with industry and/or university groups that involve carrying out research and technology development tasks, renewing established technologies, and the continuing training of researchers.