A well-balanced cluster of enterprises and institutions
ZeroAMP is an industry-led project with partners covering the entire research and commercial supply chain across four European countries, including a large enterprise from UK (MICROCHIP), a semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing partner from Germany (XFAB), two specialised SMEs from Germany (AMO) and from Switzerland (SCIPROM), a research institute from Switzerland (CSEM) and two world-class university groups from Sweden (KTH) and UK (UNIVBRIS).

The industry partners are crucial for ensuring the industrial relevance of the technology development and for the commercial exploitation of the project results, while the research and academic partners will target breakthrough innovations and demonstrate the viability of the ZeroAMP technology. This well-balanced cluster of enterprises and institutions works together to achieve the project objectives, i.e. to bring the new NEM switch technology to Technology Readiness Level 4 (TRL4).

Microchip Technology

As a global electronic component company with 20 microelectronics design and manufacturing facilities in Europe, Microchip Technology Caldicot Limited (MICROCHIP) is a leading provider of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions. As the ZeroAMP project coordinator, MICROCHIP will apply its expertise to ensuring that the technology and demonstrators are fit for commercial purpose through a feasibility study of a sensor platform. MICROCHIP will also lead the high-temperature resistant packaging activities.

X-FAB MEMS Foundry GmbH

X-FAB MEMS Foundry GmbH (XFAB) is the world’s largest analogue and mixed-signal foundry group, manufacturing silicon wafers for mixed-signal integrated circuits. These technologies are targeted for analogue applications that can be integrated with high voltage, non-volatile memory or even sensors. XFAB also displays specialized expertise in MEMS process technologies. In ZeroAMP, XFAB will contribute their expertise to the definition of foundry-compatible NEM switch design, fabrication, 3D integration and packaging processes, as well as with circuit design support and fabrication of the CMOS wafers.
  • Dr. Christian Reich
  • Dr. Gabriel Kittler

AMO GmbH

Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mikro- und Optoelektronik mbH (AMO), a German non-profit high-tech-SME, is a research foundry specialized in applied R&D for nano- and opto-electronics to help bridge the gap between basic research and applications. AMO has extensive experience in the field of carbon-based materials and their application in electrical and electrooptical devices as well as in their thorough electromechanical testing at a wide frequency and temperature range. In ZeroAMP, AMO will provide crucial input on the high-reliability carbon-based nano-contacts of the NEM switches and on the scale-up of the process for the manufacturing of the demonstrator. AMO will also address questions of manufacturability and technology transfer to European industry.

University of Bristol

University of Bristol (UNIVBRIS) is one of the leading Universities in the UK, associated with 13 Nobel laureates throughout its history. The Microelectronics group and the Photonics group at Bristol carry out research in diverse topics related to the design of next generation processors and electronic systems, with a special emphasis on disruptive technologies. UNIVBRIS will contribute critical expertise to the system architecture of the demonstrator prototypes for ZeroAMP, the NEM circuit design framework, as well as the modelling, design and fabrication of the NEM switches using 3-T, 4-T and non-volatile relays.

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) is the largest technical university in Sweden. The Division of Micro and Nanosystems at KTH is one of the leading micro and nanoelectromechanical system (MEMS & NEMS) research labs in Europe, with cutting-edge work on wafer-scale bonding, heterogeneous 3D integration and packaging technologies for NEMS. In ZeroAMP, KTH expertise will be critical for the 3D integration and wafer-level packaging activities, the design and fabrication of the NEM switches and the demonstrator implementation.

CSEM

The Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology SA (CSEM), founded in 1984, is a R&D centre specialized in microtechnology, nanotechnology, microelectronics, system engineering and photovoltaics. CSEM is a national innovation accelerator – a catalyst for the transfer of technologies and know-how from fundamental research to industry – with a broad range of markets (space, aerospace, automotive, medical, machine tools, …). The “Additive Manufacturing and Component Reliability” sector of CSEM will contribute critical expertise to the functional testing reliability assessment and stress-testing, life-time assessment testing and failure mode analysis (FMEA) of the NEM switches, circuits and demonstrators of ZeroAMP.

SCIPROM

Founded in 2005, SCIPROM is an SME specialised in the management and communication of large research projects. SCIPROM supports coordinators from the first project idea to the final report, in project set-up, negotiation, management and communication.
  • Dr. Clara Roujeau » personal Interview
  • Dr. Kirsten Leufgen
  • Dominique Stücker
  • Filippo Gander
  • Dr. Peter Ulrich
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871740 (ZeroAMP).
© 2020 ZeroAMP Project
Created by SCIPROM