About the NanoIC pilot line

The next generation of semiconductor technologies promises tremendous opportunities for accelerating innovation within Europe’s strategic markets such as automotive, health and life sciences, industrial automation, network infrastructure, and quantum computing.

Systems-on-chip based on beyond-2nm logic nodes and other breakthroughs will empower solutions that drive economic growth and inspire sustainable answers to society’s biggest questions.

These goals can only be met when there’s low-barrier access to state-of-the-art equipment, and opportunities for advanced research and development of new materials, process steps, and modules.

The European Chips Act fulfills this need by deploying pilot lines for advanced semiconductor technologies. The NanoIC pilot line specifically targets the development of beyond-2nm systems-on-chip (SoC).

This groundbreaking pilot line is the result of remarkable European cross-border collaboration. Hosted by imec (Belgium), its partners include CEA-Leti (France), Fraunhofer (Germany), VTT (Finland), CSSNT (Romania) and Tyndall National Institute (Ireland).

Beyond-2nm technology platform

The term ‘2nm’ refers to a logic technology node soon to be offered by foundries. SoCs based on 2nm technology – also incorporating advanced electrical and optical interconnects, and innovative memory technologies – will be at the heart of many disruptive applications.

Explore the NanoIC pilot line technologies

The NanoIC pilot line is an extension of the pilot line facilities that imec built up over the previous decades. Through improvements in terms of repeatability, variability and defectivity of the process modules, the baseline flows aim for a technology readiness level of 4-6 – bringing breakthrough technologies closer to the market.

It enables equipment and material suppliers to perform R&D at industry-relevant dimensions and on test structures that target future devices. And it allows system prototyping, particularly on top of foundry logic wafers.

The result is a leading technology platform where European and international companies can explore beyond-2nm SoC technologies before they’re introduced into large-scale production.

This will:

• Enable the European supplier ecosystem to enhance its competitiveness while boosting the global chip value chain.
• Offer companies the opportunity to explore the most advanced chip technology solutions for their future applications.

An overarching purpose of all these activities is sustainability. The NanoIC pilot line will operate sustainably, using optimized processes and recyclable materials, and the new cleanroom will have minimal impact on the climate and environment. Most importantly, the NanoIC pilot line will contribute to the sustainability of future devices and applications. It will accelerate research on technologies that use responsible and recyclable materials.

Finally, the NanoIC pilot line will develop a host of initiatives aimed at education and workforce development: courses on beyond-2nm technologies, access to affordable design tools and prototyping services for universities, internships, and training programs, etc.

Boost to innovation and commercialization

The NanoIC pilot line lowers the threshold to innovation by offering early-stage process design kits (PDKs) to companies that want to explore novel solutions.

Start-ups, SMEs, universities, and design and system companies can use:

• design pathfinding PDKs for early design exploration in future IC technologies 
• system exploration PDKs for prototyping of advanced technology components on top of or embedded in the stack of commercially available foundry wafers

Foundries and IDMs can evaluate innovations in process flows and equipment, allowing them to de-risk new features before making internal investments. This is particularly significant for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in sectors such as telecom, high-performance computing, AI, and automotive, where the demand for advanced semiconductor solutions is rapidly increasing.

The NanoIC pilot line supports European OEMs to take leadership in upcoming chiplet-based innovation. Through small-volume manufacturing, companies can scale up from prototype to production. This boosts innovation and commercialization in the European semiconductor industry.