STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, and Politecnico di Milano (PoLiMi) today inaugurated the expansion of semiconductor-manufacturing capabilities at PoliFab, the University’s micro- and nanotechnology R&D center
Building on the long-standing collaboration between the two organizations, the PoliFab’s clean room – a facility where silicon wafers are made into semiconductor chips – has received state-of-the-art equipment from STMicroelectronics to boost joint R&D efforts in Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and motion control, as well as in power electronics and galvanic isolation.
The enlarged clean-room infrastructure will make Politecnico di Milano even more attractive for talented researchers and students and contribute to fuel ST’s advances and development roadmap in semiconductor technologies including MEMS, where the Company is a world leader with over 15 billion devices sold to date. With the core of ST’s global MEMS R&D operations located in Lombardy, close to Milan, the cooperation with PoliFab aims at setting up a center of excellence for studies and research on advanced materials for MEMS in the region.
The ongoing collaboration also encompasses investments in staff and programs, with ST supporting scholarships and the recruitment of professors and researchers, as well as financing joint research projects.
With the new spaces inaugurated today, the total classified area of PoliFab spans 610 sq meters, plus annexed characterization laboratories, thus making it comparable to analogous facilities of the best European research institutions.
“We are pioneering a new model for “fast technology transfer” based on the realization of a joint research and innovation infrastructure where top-class semiconductor equipment, the very same used in a semiconductor fab, is made available to researchers and students,” said Riccardo Bertacco, director of Polifab. “Polifab 2.0 is a physical site where exciting scientific ideas can meet state-of-the-art semiconductor technology, thus speeding-up both fundamental research and its technology transfer.”
“Today’s event marks a significant milestone in building an Italy-unique, world-class semiconductor innovation hub that can contribute to ST’s R&D efforts in multiple areas including MEMS and sensors, one of the most promising technologies that enable digital transformation and the Internet of Things,” said Anton Hofmeister, Group Vice President and General Manager, R&D and Strategy for the Analog and MEMS Sub-Groups, STMicroelectronics. “The successful collaboration with Politecnico is part of our global innovation strategy to foster high-caliber talent and facilitate industry-academia joint research programs as key elements of success in the global semiconductor market.”
About Politecnico di Milano
The Politecnico di Milano is one of the best scientific-technological universities in the world. The Qs World University Rankings 2022 confirms its position in the world’s top 150, ranking 142nd in the world and first in Italy.
Founded in 1863, PoliMi is the largest school of Architecture, Design and Engineering in Italy, with three main campuses located in Milan, and five campuses based around the Lombardy region.
Strategic research mainly concerns the space, digital, H.P.C. & Quantum, fintech, society, life sciences, agritech, green deal and mobility sectors.
Thanks to a strong internationalization policy, several study programmes are taught entirely in English, attracting an ever-increasing number of talented international students from more than 100 countries: in the academic year 2020/2021, 28% of the students enrolled in Master of Science Programmes were international. www.polimi.it
About PoliFab
PoIiFAB is the micro- and nanotechnology center of the Politecnico di Milano created to provide the highest technological standards for a wide range of applications and processes involving the five Key Enabling Technologies: photonics, micro and nanoelectronics, biotechnologies, advanced materials and nanotechnology.