IMEC

The Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum VZW ( IMEC ) is Flanders' independent research centre in microelectronics founded in 1984 by the Flemish Government. IMEC plays an important role in Europe as an independent laboratory, which anticipates the industrial needs in the field of microelectronics. IMEC’s mission is "To perform R&D, ahead of industrial needs by 3 to 10 years, in microelectronics, nanotechnology, design methods and technologies for ICT systems”. IMEC has as objectives to be an "international centre of excellence", to reinforce the local industry, to cooperate intensely with Flemish universities and to provide industrial training in ICT. IMEC’s activities include new chips production processes, microsystems and new electronic components, development of solar cells and plastic electronics, new design methodologies with a focus on embedded systems design for wireless and multimedia tools, and new packaging technologies.

The Centre for Microsystems Technology (CMST) is the research group of IMEC that will be involved in the proposed PHOSFOS project. It covers both design and technology of microsystems. Besides packaging of optoelectronic components also other packaging technologies (laminate, thick and thin films, flex boards) and assembly (flip chip, wire bonding, bumping, SMT, adhesive assembly) on various substrates (silicon, ceramics, PCB, plastics…) are investigated. Design efforts focus on display systems (microdisplays) and mixed signal IC‘s for smart power applications. Over 40 people, all with university degree, are working on the interconnection/assembly/packaging technology and design of microsystems. The group is a multidisciplinary team, bringing together expertise from electronics, mechanics, physics and chemistry.

The IMEC team has been active over many years in research in the fabrication of both rigid and flexible electrical printed circuit boards and interconnections, and integration with optical interconnections. The team has a unique experience in integration of optical layers on printed circuit boards and has recently gained, as one of the first groups worldwide, experience in the integration of optical layers on flexible substrates. The team acts as leader within the EC FP6 Network of Excellence on Micro-Optics (NEMO) on the activities for demonstration of an integrated, multi-channel optical interconnection on printed circuit boards. It has demonstrated such integration in recent years. IMEC has expertise in advanced electronic substrate, assembly, interconnection and packaging technologies. The group is also specialised in flip-chip, adhesive, flexible and stretchable electronic substrates and assembly developments for a wide variety of applications. The group is the co-ordinator of EC FP6-Integrated Project “SHIFT” (on the development of high-integration multilayer flex substrate and assembly technologies) and of the Flemish funded SBO (Strategic Basic Research) project “BioFlex” on the development of biocompatible stretchable electronic circuits.