CSIC joins the Spanish Semiconductor Industry Association

This incorporation is an important milestone for the association and the sector due to the importance of the figure of CSIC at national and international level. In the words of Álvaro Pineda, President of AESEMI, "having an institution with the recognition and relevance of the CSIC in AESEMI is for us a real privilege, and is another example of how public-private collaboration is essential in our sector. I would especially like to thank the CSIC for the trust it has placed in us by wishing to participate, through its three microelectronics centers, in our association, thereby reinforcing the commitment of our country's institutions to the sector". For his part, Luis Fonseca, director of the Barcelona Microelectronics Institute, emphasizes that "the three institutes of the National Microelectronics Center are delighted that the CSIC has joined AESEMI and, based on their complementarity, hope to contribute the experience of their staff and the potential of their infrastructures to cover the needs of the national semiconductor ecosystem that AESEMI helps to identify".

The CSIC is the largest public institution in Spain dedicated to scientific and technical research and one of the most prominent in the European Research Area. The mission of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas is the promotion, coordination, development and dissemination of multidisciplinary scientific and technological research, with the aim of contributing to the advancement of knowledge and to economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the training of personnel and advice to public and private entities. It also has three institutions specialized in microelectronics: the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM), the Institute of of Micro and Nanotechnology (IMN-CNM), and the Institute of Microelectronics of Seville (IMSE-CNM).

IMB-CNM is a technology research center focused on the use of micro and nanotechnologies for the development of electronic devices. It combines expertise in microelectronic design (digital, analog and mixed) and micro- and nano-device manufacturing. It houses the Integrated Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room, which is the largest in the country in this field and constitutes the main node of the distributed Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) MICRONANOFABS. It uses silicon as its main material, as well as other related or complementary materials such as wide bandgap semiconductors or graphene. Its developments have applications in Health, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Security and Frontiers of Physics.

The IMN-CNM, whose research activity is focused on the advancement of fundamental and applied research in various topics within the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, has extensive experience in advanced techniques for the fabrication, characterization and manipulation of nanostructures, such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), electron and ion beam lithography, or techniques based on near-field microscopy (SPM).

The IMSE-CNM, a joint research center of the CSIC and the University of Seville, has more than 100 employees specialized in the design of advanced microelectronic circuits and systems. It houses 1,000 m2 of laboratories equipped with advanced instrumentation for the encapsulation, assembly and characterization of electronic circuits and complex systems. It also participates in various activities of technology and knowledge transfer to companies in the microelectronics sector, both national and foreign.

AESEMI (Asociación Española de la Industria de Semiconductores), for its part, was founded in 2021 and represents the main Spanish companies dedicated to microelectronic design and semiconductor manufacturing. With the incorporation of CSIC, AESEMI advances in its goal of achieving national and international presence to demonstrate the value and importance of the sector, and gain recognition in Spain and Europe.