The Chips JU approves the MicroNanoSpain centre of excellence, in which the IUMA is a partner.
Chips JU (Chips Joint Undertaking) has approved the funding of the network of competence centres with Spanish chip design capabilities. MicroNanoSpain, of which the Institute for Applied Microelectronics (IUMA) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) is a member. associated centre. This initiative has been presented by a consortium made up of universities, business associations and Spanish research centers to the recent public call for proposals Competence Centers for Chip Design in Europe which ended last October.
The program Chips for Europe defines Centers of Competence as a key actor to give visibility to the semiconductor industry and facilitate access to existing capabilities. This access, which must be provided in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory manner, is crucial to overcome barriers to entry into the sector. In addition, the Competence Centers also represent a focal point for the development of higher education and vocational training networks, and to connect to and be part of the European network of Semiconductor Competence Centers and act as an access point to other nodes in the network.
The Chip Technology Competence Centers (CCCs), of the European Union's Chips JU and Chips Act, are new entities that will provide access to technical expertise and experimentation and prototyping in the semiconductor field, helping companies, particularly SMEs, to approach and improve their design and skills development capabilities to create semiconductor-based products.
The Chip Competency Centers (CCCs), will provide the following services to semiconductor stakeholders, including start-ups and SMEs:
- Facilitate access to the EU Design Platform EUDP and to the EUPL, JU Chips and Chips Act advanced manufacturing “European pilot lines”.
- Support agents interested in developing semiconductor solutions (technology transfer).
- Provide access to training in competencies.
- Facilitate access to the European Network of Chip Competence Centers UECCCN (in which MicroNanoSpain is a member for Spain).
- Promote the “Chips Fund”, approved in the Chips Act to avoid collapse in the supply chain, and facilitate access to venture capital for the industry.
- Awareness raising, promotion of services, promotion of success stories.
In this context, MicroNanoSpain is the consortium created to compete for this European call in which it has been awarded on November 15. It should be noted that there is only one successful bidder per country, for the 24 EU countries. MicroNanoSpain is recognized as a Chip Competence Center (CCC) for Spain. MicroNanoSpain has the following entities as members of the consortium: AESEMI, CNM (Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica), CNS (Centro Nacional de Supercomputación) and MICRONANOFABS (Red de Salas Blancas de Micro y Nano Fabricación). And it has 25 universities affiliated to the consortium, among them the ULPGC with the IUMA.
MicroNanoSpain proposes the creation of a node in Spain that brings together and leverages national and EU capabilities and knowledge from entities of different nature (Research and Design Centers, Universities, and a representative association of the ecosystem) with unique and complementary capabilities and accessible infrastructures. All the entities that make it up are national and international references in their field, and unite for the first time at this level to offer a unique space, with the necessary tools, which allows cohesion, development and growth of the ecosystem necessary for the development of Chips in Europe. The Competence Center is born with the vocation to expand and to integrate as many players as possible in its implementation.
As for the economic endowment, Europe pays 4 million euros and Spain another four million, 8 million in total, to MicroNanoSpain for 4 years, renewable. The funds are allocated to member entities and affiliated entities as they provide services to centers and companies.
IUMA, Associated Centre.
The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) is a public university based in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and with several facilities on the islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. The Institute for Applied Microelectronics (IUMA) is currently composed of 7 divisions, 45 PhDs and a total of 115 members. The IUMA's Common Services comprise a set of interrelated infrastructures that provide services not only to the Institute but also to Spanish and international industrial companies.
The IUMA has qualified in MicroNanoSpain the following capabilities and services:
- Chip design in digital, analog, RF, sensor, mixed and MEMS technologies.
- Digital design based on Open Hardware and RISC-V.
- Chip design in FPGA technologies.
- Chip characterization and measurement.
- Prototyping and integration of microelectronic systems.
- Thermoelectric semiconductor fabrication for cooling devices.
- Submillimeter microextrusion fabrication of electronic devices.
The transfer of knowledge is carried out as a consulting office in advanced engineering and as a manufacturing line of advanced prototypes for companies, according to the orders received. The companies that use these services are from the Canary Islands, national and international, since there are no relevant transportation costs and they are looking for the know-how of human resources.
Los sectores de esas empresas son: Control en industrias manufactureras, Electrónica y sistemas espaciales embarcados en satélites, Equipos de electromedicina e ingeniería biomédica, Equipos de redes de telecomunicación, Biotecnología, Microdispositivos para implantes médicos, entre otros.
In the Canary Islands, IUMA leads the CANARYCHIP Ecosystem in which “Cluster Chip Canarias” is integrated with the following companies: Aerolaser, Agnos PCB, Alternative Circuits, Arquimea RC, Arquimea, eSignus, LBT, SoCe-LP, Sensorlab, SSM, WiMMIC-TST (Celestia) and Wooptix.
Chips JU
Chips JU is a European tripartite partnership involving the European Commission, Member States and European industry for the development and adoption of advanced nanoelectronic chip technologies and systems manufactured in Europe. It proposes several pilot lines of action in the field of nanoelectronics, advanced chip design, improvement in the value chain through the call for projects oriented towards mobility, energy, health, robotics and chip manufacturing and the creation of competence centers to facilitate the access of start-ups, SMEs, universities and large companies to the technologies developed.
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