Imec today officially established imec China in the Zhangjiang High-tech Park in Shanghai. Imec China kicked off with the signing of a joint development project on advanced chip process technology with the semiconductor company Huali.
China's economic influence is unequivocal worldwide. With increasing intention and capability to invest into advanced technologies, China is potentially an important market for a nanoelectronics R&D center as imec. Imec China will facilitate collaboration between imec and Chinese semiconductor and system companies, universities and research institutes in the area of technology transfer, licensing, joint development and training. Imec China starts with 5 employees. Dependent on future collaboration agreements, imec China will attract researchers to closely collaborate with the local companies on the joint development projects.
Imec China kicked off with the signing of a significant collaboration agreement on 65nm CMOS chip technology with Huali, an advanced chip manufacturer invested mainly by Shanghai government. A team of Huali and imec researchers will fine-tune imec's 65nm base process at imec's research facilities in Leuven, Belgium, to meet the specifications defined by Huali.
"This collaboration with Huali proves that our technologies are valuable for the Chinese market. We are looking forward to expand our collaborations with the huge high-tech potential of China;" said Luc Van den hove, President and CEO of imec. "I would like to thank the Zhangjiang High-tech Park for their support in establishing imec China."