Conference Dates
May 19-23, 2019
Abstract
The semiconductor industry and associated microelectronic production began in France in the early 1980s as part of the national microelectronics plan launched by the French government to meet the needs of new economic sectors that are heavy users of microelectronic products. Indeed, microelectronic circuits, devices and systems are the key elements of the information technology field, which includes computer and communications capabilities, and application fields such as aerospace, transport, and energy, mainly. Several new technologies had to be developed, corresponding to the first advent of communication tools such as Minitel (ancestor of the web) or credit cards, which then underwent huge development. This implied a major effort on both integrated silicon technologies and large area electronics technologies oriented flat panel displays on glass substrates (low temperature process). The latter were to replace the cathode ray tube. Let us notice that due to the drastic reduction of dimensions in ULSI technologies, the thermal budget significantly decreased and both technological approaches progressively converged; today, many deposition techniques are common, for example.
In parallel with the major effort towards the microelectronics industry, the French government has decided to improve higher education in this field and to train future engineers, masters and doctors in research and development and manufacturing with the corresponding knowledge and know-how. More recently, a new national plan has been launched by the French “Commissariat aux Grands Investissements” (Future Invest Plan or PIA1) to improve large area and integrated technologies and adapt to the digital society of the future. This focuses on connected objects and the Internet of Things, products that mainly combine the different components of the fields of microelectronics [1] and more particularly integrated technologies, embedded electronics and large area technologies suitable for flat panel displays, sensors and actuators, but also components of other domains linked to their applications. This supposed also multidisciplinarity [2].
As a consequence, the training of graduate students must follow this evolution in order to well meet the needs of companies and research laboratories with a clear orientation towards innovation. A specific French national program was launched in 2011 and entitled IDEFI for Excellence Initiative for Innovative education in order to set-up innovative formations that may correspond to new pedagogical approach and new content of curricula adapted to the new technologies. The French national network in microelectronics, CNFM [4], applied and succeeded with the project entitled FINMINA [5] for Innovative training in microelectronics and nanotechnologies. With the advent of new educational technologies based mainly on online training such as MOOCs, the strategy has focused on the know-how part of learning. The 12 common centers of the French microelectronics network (CNFM), which include numerous design platforms, cleanrooms, and characterization and testing platforms, have engaged in innovative training projects covering all microelectronics sectors, targeting future applications of connected objects and the industry 4.0.
After a presentation of the context of microelectronics and the evolution of ULSI and TFT technologies, both in academic research and industrial environments, the paper highlights the strategy developed by the French academic and microelectronics community around innovation. Examples of the development by students of future integrated components up to the nanoscale, system-on-chip combining integrated and large area technologies will be presented. The ultimate objective is to best meet the societal needs of the 21st century.
References
1.O. Bonnaud, Int. J. Plasma Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 115-120, (2016).
2.O. Bonnaud and L. Fesquet, Proc. of MSE’2015, Publisher IEEE, 4 pages, Pittsburg (MS), USA, (2015).
3.O. Bonnaud, ECS Transaction, 67(1), 147-158 (2015).
4.GIP-CNFM; Public Interest Group - National Coordination for Education in Microelectronics and
nanotechnologies, http://www.cnfm.fr
5.FINMINA: IDEFI project: ANR-11-IDFI-0017 See website of CNFM
Recommended Citation
Olivier Bonnaud, "ULSI and TFT technologies in industry, research and higher education in France: An evolution towards innovation resulting from close and sustainable interaction" in "Semiconductor Technology for Ultra Large Scale Integrated Circuits and Thin Film Transistors VII (ULSIC VS TFT 7)", Yue Kuo, Texas A&M University, USA Junichi Murota, Tohoku University, Japan Yukiharu Uraoka, Nara Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan Yasuhiro Fukunaka, Kyoto University, Japan Eds, ECI Symposium Series, (2019). https://dc.engconfintl.org/ulsic_tft_vii/52