June 14, 2012 — imec and Panasonic Inc. have entered into the next phase of a comprehensive and broadened collaboration agreement for joint R&D on healthcare, wireless communication, flexible electronics and advanced CMOS process technologies. The signing ceremony at the Panasonic Headquarters in Osaka (Japan) today was endorsed by the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium.
imec also signed research agreements with Tohoku University and HiSilicon recently.
Panasonic has been a core partner in imec’s research platform on advanced semiconductor process technologies since 2004. This collaboration has been fundamentally broadened in 2008, expanding the collaboration scope from advanced semiconductor process technology to also include various application areas of semiconductors. Throughout recent years, Panasonic residents have been working closely together with imec’s research teams both in Leuven, Belgium and Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Together, they have achieved breakthrough results in wireless communication, healthcare and next-generation CMOS technologies. The new agreement extends this collaboration for a period of 3 years and further expands to research on flexible electronics.
Luc Van den hove, President and CEO of imec, “I am very pleased that we will continue our strategic collaboration with Panasonic the coming years. The extension and expansion of our research collaboration is a confirmation of the value of our research offering to the industry. Through a collaborative approach of R&D, sharing resources and results, but also strongly protecting the generated IP, imec supports Panasonic already for 8 years to be at the forefront of innovation.”
Yoshiyuki Miyabe, the member of the board, managing director and CTO of Panasonic, “Panasonic continued to keep good relationship with imec for these 8 years. We hope to strengthen our “win-win” relationship for both imec and Panasonic to prosper.”
Imec performs world-leading research in nanoelectronics. Further information on imec can be found at www.imec.be.
Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products in three business fields, consumer, components & devices, and solutions. For more information on Panasonic, visit the company’s website at http://panasonic.net/