Imec plans semicon R&D centre in Taiwan

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Imec Taiwan, a researcher in nano-electronics, announced on Wednesday that it would set up new centre devoted to researching semiconductors and other electronic components in Taiwan.

The organization said it has signed the co-funding contract with the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) for its R&D activity, Imec Taiwan Innovation Centre (ITIC). ITIC's goal is to expedite applied research projects with industry and academia that will result in electronic designs, components and technology solutions, said a press release.

The new R&D centre of Imec will focus on a variety of innovative applications in bioelectronics, MEMS and "green" electronics that are enabled through 3D system-package co-design and system-level evaluation.

The worldwide impact of the Taiwanese semiconductor and consumer electronics industry is unequivocal, and there is an increasing intention of the stakeholders to move up the value chain by entering key innovation areas, said Imec.

“The creation of ITIC, two years after having established a representation office in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is essential in our continued efforts to create value for our current and future partners in Taiwan, to leverage our global partnerships, and to actively interact with the Taiwanese ecosystem,” said Luc Van den hove, CEO and president of Imec and member of the Board of Imec Taiwan.

“An R&D initiative such as ITIC will intensify imec's interaction with the local semiconductor and system-level companies and academia,” he added.

“As a semiconductor innovative applications centre, ITIC will support the upward shift in Taiwan's technology value chain and contribute to the realization of Taiwan's strategic Innovation Plan. It will accelerate open innovation that will result in locally owned IP in the area of intelligent electronics,” said Jung-Chiou Hwang, vice minister of Economic Affairs.