STMicroelectronics, Philips and Motorola open leading-edge R&D and process center
semiconductors.philips.com
Today, Mr. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, inaugurated the Crolles2 Alliance facility in Crolles near Grenoble, France, in a ceremony attended by local authorities and senior management of Philips, Motorola and STMicroelectronics. The joint R&D center will pioneer CMOS technology from 90nm processes to 32nm over the next five years and also includes a 300mm wafer semiconductor manufacturing pilot line, which is now beginning operation.
The Crolles2 Alliance was created in April 2002 when Motorola joined the existing alliance between Philips and STMicroelectronics. TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, also participates for process development and alignment. The main building and infrastructure of the Crolles2 Alliance facility is now in place and equipment is being installed. The three partners will have invested US$ 1.4 billion in the facility by 2005.
"This unprecedented alliance, which builds on a ten-year history of successful technological cooperation between ST and Philips and which has now been further enriched by the addition of Motorola, means that three of the semiconductor industry's most innovative suppliers are working together to develop the leading-edge technology platforms that will propel the growth of the electronics industry in the coming years," said Pasquale Pistorio, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics. "ST has an unequaled track record in forging productive partnerships and we have no doubt that the Crolles2 Alliance, which we believe represents the new business model for advanced R&D, will play a key role in the future growth of all three partners."
"Crolles2 is a superb example of a European center of excellence in R&D due to this French region’s knowledge and skill base in current and future technologies. The opening of Crolles2 reflects the Alliance’s commitment to investing in growth, meeting customer demands for state of the art systems-on-chip solutions and developing a new standard of pre-competitive co-operation within the semiconductor industry," said Gerard Kleisterlee, Chairman and CEO of Royal Philips Electronics. "We believe the leading-edge technology platforms being developed by the Alliance today will drive the emerging convergence of tomorrow’s technologies for multimedia and wireless applications."
"This year, Motorola celebrates 75 years of bringing to market innovations that improve people's lives, with 36 years of ongoing presence in France. Today we are very excited to be celebrating, together with Philips and STMicroelectronics, the official inauguration of the Crolles2 site in one of France’s most creative regions for research and technology," said Christopher B. Galvin, Motorola’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Already 50 Motorola experts from around the world are at work with those of our partners in the Alliance. The contribution of key technologies in which Motorola is a leader, accelerates the Alliance’s move to become the global driver in its domain. With the open pooling of our respective research and development strengths, the Crolles2 Alliance is truly inventing a new business model for the future of the semiconductor industry by sharing costs and accelerating the development and availability of advanced technology."
Extreme miniaturization of Systems-on-Chip (SoC) is being driven by the consumer, communications and automotive industries. The 90nm and next generations of process technologies will generate substantial improvements in speed, power reduction, integration and density compared with today’s 0.13-micron technology. These advances will cut costs and accelerate the arrival on the mass market of new products and features: for instance in DVD players, set-top boxes, personal video recorders, PC peripherals and 3G/4G mobile handsets.
Prior to the opening of the Crolles2 Alliance facility, the Grenoble area already was one of the world’s most advanced hubs of high-tech and microelectronic research – thanks to more than two decades of consistent policy by the French central and local authorities’ to encourage public-private partnerships in the sector. The Alliance will benefit from an outstanding pool of competence in the region through close cooperation with leading engineering schools and labs, including CEA-LETI, IMEC, France Telecom R&D and other cutting-edge centers in France, Belgium and the USA.
The Crolles2 Alliance already harnesses the brainpower of 450 engineers and researchers coming from the three companies. By the end of 2005, the Alliance plans to create more than 1,200 direct jobs on the site and 4,500 indirect jobs in the region. (more)
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