(November 14, 2008)OSAKA, Japan and LEUVEN, Belgium — IMEC and Panasonic Corporation have signed a joint research contract that will focus on advanced technologies in the semiconductor, networks, wireless, and biomedical fields. For this purpose, the Panasonic IMEC Center will be established at the IMEC premises in December 2008.
The center’s purpose, according to a statement from IMEC, will be for R&D on network technology such as dynamically reconfigurable software-defined radio, ultra-low power consumption wireless communication technology for healthcare and lifestyle monitoring, and biomedical technology such as next-generation biosensors.
Panasonic has reportedly partnered with IMEC since 2004 to develop advanced semiconductor process technologies, such as volume production for system-on-chip (SoC)technolgies. The company says it intends to expand R&D in networks, healthcare devices, and semiconductor technologies to realize “an environmentally-friendly ubiquitous networked society,” and will therefore accelerate R&D on cutting-edge technologies by expanding the scheme of joint research with IMEC. Research will be carried out at IMEC’s Leuven facilities and its research unit at Holst Centre in Eindhoven (the Netherlands).