March 8, 2004 – The European Commission has announced plans to create a consortium to demonstrate the feasibility of 45nm-and-below CMOS logic technologies.

Leading the NanoCMOS project are Europe’s top three chipmakers (Infineon, Philips, and STMicroelectronics) research institutes CEA Leti and IMEC, eight research laboratories across Europe, and several other smaller companies. The first phase of the project is scheduled to last 27 months, receiving 24 million euros in backing from the European Commission in addition to investments from the partners.

By 2006, the consortium will be ready to submit two proposals: one to the European Commission, for a second phase of research to explore development of materials, processes, device architectures, and interconnects for the 32nm and 22nm nodes; and another to MEDEA+, to explore the integration of 45nm technologies and 300mm wafer manufacturing, expected to utilize the Crolles2 facility shared by Motorola, Philips, and STMicro.

“NanoCMOS represents a unique opportunity for Europe to become the leading center for nanoelectronics, while supporting academic research and helping its indigenous industrial players to hone their competitive edge,” said STMicro’s Guillermo Bomchil, the NanoCMOS project leader.