Annual report 2009 - Imec

ASPIRE
INVENT
ACHIEVE
ANNUAL REPORT 2009

09
ANNUAL REPORT

2009 was
a year of
celebration.
A year in
which imec
lighted 25
birthday
candles.

On January 16, 1984, imec’s memorandum of association was signed. Now, 25 years later, imec
has developed into a world-renowned research institute. This is due largely to the perseverance
of its founders, the leadership of Professor Baron Roger Van Overstraeten, who would look back
with pride on the achievement of his life’s dream, the continuity of the cooperation with the
government of Flanders, governmental institutes and Flemish universities, and most of all … the
enthusiasm of its employees. The perfect combination of people who have built up years of
knowledge and experience at imec and the continuous inflow of young talent from all over the
world, was and still is a prerequisite for world-class research. Also the continued support of our
industrial and university partners was indispensable for our evolution and growth. Together, we
succeeded in putting Flanders on the world map of micro- and nanoelectronics.
But we haven’t limited ourselves to growing in Flanders. In 2005, we founded Holst Centre in
Eindhoven (Netherlands), together with the Dutch research institute TNO and with support from
the Dutch and Flemish governments. Holst Centre is an open-innovation initiative that helps us
tackle new research challenges. Since 2005, Holst Centre has grown into a success story, with 20
research partners and a research staff of 185 people from 25 countries. And recently, in 2008, we
also established imec Taiwan, with the aim of boosting our collaboration with the local companies
and research institutes. At imec, we look forward with confidence to a future where open
innovation and global collaboration will be the key for further innovation.
3

Table of contents
06
LUC VAN DEN HOVE
Imec: many experts,
one vision
08
GILbERT DECLERCk
2009, a year of transitions
10
VISION AND MISSION
11
ACTIVITIES
12
RESEARCH STRATEGy
14
IMEC IN fIGURES
4
IMEC CORE CMOS
22
kURT RONSE
Pushing lithography to its limits
24
HIGHLIGHTS
Imec Core CMOS
IMEC CMORE
28
INGRID DE WOLf
Reliability: forecasting the future
30
HIGHLIGHTS
Imec CMORE
HUMAN++
34
kRIS VERSTREkEN
Bio-nano: powerful healthcare
diagnostics and therapies
36
CHRIS VAN HOOf
Medicine goes digital
38
HIGHLIGHTS
Human++
IMEC ENERGy
44
MARIANNE GERMAIN
Extreme materials
for power electronics
and lighting
46
JEf POORTMANS
Solar energy for sustainable
energy generation
48
HIGHLIGHTS
Imec Energy

IMEC SMART SySTEMS
54
LIESbET VAN DER PERRE
Wireless communication
gets a green touch
56
HIGHLIGHTS
Imec Smart Systems
COLLAbORATION
60
DIRk VANDERZANDE
Breakthroughs with fundamental
and applied research
62
HIGHLIGHTS
Imec’s associated lab at Hasselt University
64
PAUL LAGASSE
Cross-disciplinary collaboration
for a better world
66
HIGHLIGHTS
Imec’s associated lab at the
University of Ghent
68
HERMAN MAES
Training and services
for the IC design community
70
HIGHLIGHTS
Imec Training and Services
72
JO DECUyPER
Bring science to life, your life!
74
HIGHLIGHTS
RVO-Society and imec outreach
76
LUDO DEfERM
New research domains call
for new business strategies
78
HIGHLIGHTS
Business Development
fACTS
AND fIGURES
80
WALTER fLUIT
Building for
imec’s future
82
HIGHLIGHTS
Infrastructure
84
2009 ANNUAL
ACCOUNTS
86
ORGANIZATION
87
ADDRESSES
5

Luc
Van den
hoVe,
President and
Chief Executive
Officer

ImEC:
mANy ExPERTS,
ONE VISION
July 2009, I was appointed as the new CEO of imec. I
am honored and humbled by the confidence placed
in me. And I’m lucky and grateful to work with such
a passionate and smart staff. But foremost, I wish to
thank all companies and institutions that partner with
us for their continued support and valuable input.
Innovative organizations develop and change continuously,
and imec is no exception. So in 2009, we
consolidated our strengths and prepared to tackle tomorrow’s
challenges. Technology challenges, certainly;
but also economic and organizational challenges.
Despite the ongoing industry slowdown, imec now
has a staff of more than 1,750 people, and a budget of
275 million euro.
This annual report, imec’s 25 th , presents some of
our key people and teams, with the path they are
following and with the research highlights for 2009.
The fact and figures that we report are those of imec
international, consolidating imec Belgium (IMEC vzw
supported by the Flemish Government), imec the
Netherlands (Stichting IMEC Nederland, part of Holst
Centre, supported by the Dutch Government) and
imec Taiwan (IMEC Taiwan Co.).
2009 was a year of challenges, but also a year of
spectacular results. We got excellent feedback during
our many partner visits, during the core partner review,
and recently during the first review of our photovoltaics
program. 2009 was clearly the year during which
our photovoltaics program took off. Also in our Green
Radio and Human++ programs we could show great
results. And in our fab, our people managed to attain
world-class cycle times and quality!
I’d like to point to two specific accomplishments of
2009. They illustrate both the strengths of imec, and
the future research that we will pursue.
One highlight, part of our core CMOS research, is the
progress we made on EUV lithography. 2009 was the
year in which the industry’s belief in the feasibility of
EUV grew strongly – a belief underpinned by our results.
Using EUV lithography, we fabricated the world’s
first functional 22nm SRAM cell. An extremely small
memory cell, but representing a huge technical and
logistical challenge. That we could make it work, and
that we were the first, is a testimony to the scientific
expertise and operational excellence of our people,
but also to our world-class equipment. Of course, this
result is a stepping stone for more; expect to see new
results in 2010.
A second accomplishment was the start of NERF –
Neuroelectronics Research Flanders. The mission of
INTERVIEW WITh Luc VaN dEN hoVE
IMEC
NERF is to do world-class brain research, bringing
together top researchers from various domains. It is
an initiative that will be housed at imec, and that we
have initiated with 2 important research partners, the
Catholic University of Leuven and the VIB (Flanders
Biotech Institute).
That we take on this type of research, again on a
world-class level, points to the fact that we have also
become a research powerhouse in heterogeneous
technology. For some years now, we have consistently
built expertise and shown excellent results in photovoltaics,
bioelectronics, photonics, wireless technology,
low-power technology, and power electronics.
Imec’s cross-disciplinarity, together with its highly
qualified personnel, world-class infrastructure, global
partnerships and renowned track record in CMOS
scaling makes it an interesting partner for companies
to do their R&D in all these new domains.
For me, it is truly inspiring to be part of an organization
that continuously looks to innovate. This is my promise:
2010, we’ll continue to implement our vision. With
our global research partners, we will lead the development
of nano-enabled solutions that allow people to
have a better life in a sustainable society.
7

GiLbert
decLerck,
Executive Officer – member
of the Board of Directors

2009 wAS A yEAR
OF TRANSITIONS,
TRANSITIONS FOR THE SEmICONDUCTOR INDUSTRy,
FOR ImEC, AND ALSO FOR mE PERSONALLy.
IIn the industry, of course, we saw the crisis and its
aftermath. A crisis that has changed the landscape
– speeding up some of the evolutions and delaying
others. One notable transition is the move towards
fab-lite, asset-lite companies, balanced by a growing
consolidation of the IC fabrication. All in all, these
changes will have a positive effect on imec, because
in the future, cross-company precompetitive research
will become even more important.
Imec mirrors the developments in the electronics industry.
Scaling is still the driver of many of the industry’s
preoccupations. But scaling has also made electronics
suitable for a whole range of applications that were
out of reach only a few years ago. Today’s electronics,
for example, enable interfaces to the human body. To
illustrate this, at imec, we have made an IC that interacts
with brain and nerve cells. And those new possibilities
drive the demand for combining technology
in heterogeneous microsystems – a domain in which
imec has extensive expertise.
2009, imec also appointed a new CEO. I congratulate
Luc Van den hove with this position and wish him lots
of success; he’s the right captain to lead our valued research
institute through the coming phases of growth
and change. For I am convinced imec will further grow:
the new cleanroom extension will be ready mid 2010,
and we also plan to start building new offices to accommodate
more researchers that will come aboard.
We see a growing collaboration in the industry; and
we have been successful in channeling a lot of that
collaboration through imec.
International collaboration, of course is the cornerstone
of imec’s business model. In 2009, we closed
new agreements with global companies, bringing more
research to imec. Research into CMOS scaling, but also
on wireless communication technology, medical electronics,
and photovoltaics.
Then there is the European collaboration. Imec is a
centre of excellence in Europe; it aspires to be part of
the research consortia that shape the future of electronics.
Therefore, we are involved in a host of projects
in the EU’s Framework Program 7, and we are helping to
prepare Framework Program 8.
INTERVIEW WITh GILbERT dEcLERck
IMEC
Important in this respect will be the future role of
smaller countries in the EU research programs. Today,
we see that the topic of cross-border funding is put
on more and more meeting agendas, so we are optimistic
for imec’s European future. European cross-border
funding is important as it provides financial resources
for collaboration between centers of excellence and
companies from various European countries or regions.
Last, but always important for us, is the collaboration
with the companies in our home region – Flanders. Imec
is at the heart of the electronics industry in Flanders.
Companies rely on us for a whole range of services,
such as access to expertise, quality design, prototype
production, and even large-volume IC production
through the agreements with our global partners.
I am convinced that collaboration in research is es sential
to come to valuable and stimulating breakthroughs.
I’m also convinced that this will remain the basis of
imec’s success.
9

VIsIoN aNd MIssIoN
IMEC
VISION AND mISSION
VISION
Imec aims to shape the future. With our global
research partners, we will lead the development
of nano-enabled solutions that allow people
to have a better life in a sustainable society.
MISSION
Imec performs world-leading research in nanoelectronics.
We leverage our scientific knowledge
with the innovative power of our global
partnerships in ICT, healthcare and energy. We
deliver industry-relevant technology solutions.
In a unique high-tech environment, our international
top-talent is committed to providing the
building blocks for a better life in a sustainable
society.
10
this mission is backed
by 4 trends in the eLectronics industry:
1. Scaling electronic devices and circuits will continue for another decade. It will be driven by Moore’s law,
following the technologies described in the international technology roadmap for semiconductors (ITRS).
Imec has the infrastructure and expertise to keep its top position as a research center in scaling, both for
logic and memory technology. And imec is preparing to start R&D on 450mm wafers, should the semiconductor
market set these as a new standard.
2. CMOS processes can be used to develop new micro- and nanodevices with extended functionality such
as sensors, MEMS, or NEMS. These applications promise to be the driver of a new industry with strong
business growth and exciting R&D opportunities. The technologies include heterogeneous integration,
photonics, advanced packaging, such as 3D integration, flexible integration, ... They can be applied in biomedical
electronics and autonomous embedded appliances.
3. In the future, there will be a growing need to combine higher performance with complex and extended
functionalities. This convergence will impact IC design, processing, integration, and packaging.
Further scaling will also create new opportunities for heterogeneous integration – think of the nano-bio
convergence. Imec is well positioned to follow this trend because of its broad expertise in many domains.
Combining these will result in a unique innovative leverage.
4. Last, there is photovoltaics. We leverage our expertise in materials and processes to create more efficient
and cost-effective solar cells. Imec has been doing photovoltaics research for 25 years; we have made the
generation of sustainable energy one of the cornerstones of our strategy.

ACTIVITIES
research
and deVeLop
Imec combines fundamental and applied research in a wide range of domains. In this annual report, we
present some of imec’s key experts for the various research domains. Each portrait comes with a short vision
followed by the highlights of 2009 for the domain.
A complete and detailed list of topics and results can be found in imec’s scientific report, included with this
report.
educate
and inform
Imec forms a bridge between universities and industry. The imec training center offers continuous education
in nanoelectronics. It organizes introductory and advanced technical courses for imec staff, industry, universities,
and polytechnic high schools. Imec also supports PhD students. Highlights from the education program
can be found on page 70.
coLLaborate
and partner
Imec shares its expertise as a leading nanoelectronics institute with industrial partners, universities, and
research centers. For highlights of the collaboration programs, see page 79.
acTIVITIEs
IMEC
Quality and iSO 9001 certificatiOn
Quality at imec is important. Not just the quality of
the research results we deliver to our customers and
partners, but also the way we reach these results.
Apart from the standard monitoring of the operational
processes, our quality assurance process also
looks at key performance indicators, customer satisfaction,
and continuous improvement.
Since 1997, imec Belgium has been certified to comply
with the ISO 9001 specifications. During a recent
successful re-certification audit in may 2009, this certification
has been reconfirmed.
The ISO 9001 certificate covers imec’s activities in
research, development, training, consulting, design,
integration and characterization of processes, systems
and software for nanoelectronics and nanotechnology.
The audits have been done by the
Belgian certification organization KIwA Belgium NV
(http://www.kiwa.be).
11

REsEaRch sTRaTEGy
IMEC
RESEARCH STRATEgy
ASPIRE INVENT
ACHIEVE
Imec’s research strategy is based on finding
solutions – with nanoelectronics – for the
challenges faced by society in the coming decennium.
These challenges include generating
sustainable energy, better and more efficient
healthcare, and ubiquitous communication.
Imec focuses on those domains where it sees
a growth potential, and where it can differentiate
itself from other research institutes. A
cornerstone of imec’s strategy is creating innovative
leverage between its research domains,
optimally using its extensive infrastructure and
expertise.
12
imec’s research is Grouped into fiVe business Lines:
In the business line imec core cmos, we work on all aspects of further increasing the density and
power of logic and memory ICs. Currently, the focus is on (sub-)22nm technology nodes. The work includes
exploring new device architectures, new materials, and new process steps for logic, DRAM, and non-volatile
memory (such as Flash).
With imec cmos-based heteroGeneous inteGration (cmore), imec focuses on integration,
advanced packaging, silicon nanophotonics, and power electronics. This business line also offers a
design, prototyping, and small-volume service for heterogeneous ICs.
The business line human++ works on innovative solutions in the healthcare domain. Within Human++,
imec and Holst Centre develop technologies for wearable and implantable body area networks, with
low-power components, radios and sensors. A second topic is life sciences, where R&D focuses on finding
better diagnostics and cures.
With its business line imec enerGy, imec works on finding solutions for a more sustainable generation
and use of energy. This includes R&D on photovoltaics and power electronics.
Last, the imec smart systems business line is concerned with power-efficient green radios, large-area
electronics, wireless autonomous transducer systems, systems-in-foil, and innovative visualization systems.
For the business lines Human++ and imec Smart Systems, imec collaborates with Holst Centre on wireless
autonomous systems, sensor networks, and systems-in-foil.

imec core cmos
Lithography
Logic DRAm devices
Interconnects
human++
wearable and implantable body
area networks (with Holst Centre)
imec enerGy
Photovoltaics
imec smart systems
Power-efficient green radios
Vision systems
3D integration
Flash memories
imec cmos-based heteroGeneous inteGration (cmore)
Sige mEmS
Silicon photonics
Vision systems
Power devices and
mixed-signal technologies
Life sciences
gaN power electronics and LEDs
Large-area electronics and
systems-in-foil (with Holst Centre)
Emerging devices
INSITE - connecting technology
and system design
gaN power electronics and LEDs
wireless autonomous transducer
solutions (with Holst Centre)
13

ImEC IN FIgURES
14
36.5
is the
average age of
imec’s staff
185
people worked at Holst Centre end of 2009.
Holst Centre is an open-innovation initiative
of imec and TNO, founded in 2005 with the
support from the Dutch government.

1,751
scientific articles and
conference contributions
were published in 2009
IMEc IN fIGuREs
IMEC
1,783
people worked at imec end of 2009,
including 1,012 researchers and
285 residents from the academic
and industrial world
15

16
194
PhD students
contribute to imec’s
long-term research
62
nationalities
are represented
at imec

600
companies worldwide
partner with imec
IMEc IN fIGuREs
IMEC
31
is the number of
imec spin-offs since
imec’s start in 1984
17

18
25
prizes were awarded to
imec’s researchers for their
research, poster, or article
44.7
million euro is the grant that imec
received in 2009 from the Flemish
government; it also received 8 million
from the Dutch government

175
universities
worldwide collaborate
with imec
IMEc IN fIGuREs
IMEC
122
patents were
submitted in 2009;
97 patents were
granted
19

imec
core cmos
Boosting chip performance

kurt
ronse,
Director
Lithography

PUSHINg
LITHOgRAPHy
TO ITS LImITS
Tomorrow’s smart systems will require extreme
computation and storage capabilities, orders of
magnitude above what the processors and memories
of today can deliver. Thus there is a need to
keep on scaling. But because we are closing in on the
physical limits of IC scaling, we have to push the technology
to its extreme. That’s why imec is looking into
the innovative use of new materials, transistor architectures
and lithography techniques.
Imec’s programs are geared towards solving the remaining
challenges for volume manufacturing of the next
tech nology node. Further out, we work on scaling
CMOS technology to the (sub-)22 nanometer node.
We focus on logic and memory, interconnect challenges,
and using the 3 rd dimension.
For lithography we pursue three paths. First, we explore
the limits of 193nm lithography. Second, most of our
efforts go into EUV lithography. And last, we also explore
alternative lithography techniques.
At imec, 193nm lithography is pushed to its limits,
looking for techniques to produce the next technology
node on time. That is necessary because alternatives –
most notably EUV lithography – are still some time out.
One technique that allows 193nm lithography to print
finer details is double patterning. With double patterning,
you expose the silicon twice, with two masks
that each print half of the lines. Because this process is
expensive, we have set up a program to compare and
evaluate chemicals and techniques for resist freezing, a
technique to reduce its costs. In the course of this program,
we have seen important progress, making double
patterning a viable process, especially for designs with
a repeated, regular geometry, such as memory ICs.
Another promising technique to push 193nm lithography
is source mask optimization. Here, imec started
work on diffractive optical elements and flexible
illuminators. With source mask optimization, it is for
example possible to tailor the illumination shape to the
specific layout to be printed, improving to some extent
the resolution and process margins.
During 2009, more and more of imec’s lithography efforts
have shifted towards developing EUV lithography.
EUV lithography uses extreme UV light (13.5nm wavelength),
which allows a much finer print, but which also
requires new tools and techniques. Currently, imec is
illuminating wafers and refining the EUV technique with
the help of ASML’s EUV alpha demo tool. Its successor,
the EUV preproduction tool (NXE:3100), is scheduled
for installation at imec at the end of 2010.
The main issue to solve with EUV has always been the
power of the light source. This power, long the major
obstacle, has been gradually improved, and the industry
now has a roadmap to arrive at a stable high-
INTERVIEW WITh kuRT RoNsE
IMEC CORE CMOS
power source needed for cost-effective industrial IC
production. Finding suitable EUV resists is the second
issue. Also here, in the two years that we have been
working on EUV, there has been a lot of progress. We
now have resists to pattern 27nm features on the alpha
demo tool, and I am confident that with effort and
time, suitable resists for 22nm and later on for 16nm
are within reach on future exposure tools. One of the
strong points of the EUV technology is that it can be
extended, even towards 11nm technology.
By far the most pressing issue for EUV is formed by the
masks. On the wafers that we have exposed with EUV,
we see a lot of defects that originate from the masks.
Imec has been one of the first to look into this issue,
and we have collected and published the most relevant
data. The IC industry is keenly interested in our research,
because if the mask issue is not tackled, it could
turn out to be a showstopper for EUV lithography.
Finally, in 2009, we also started a program on alternative
lithography techniques: maskless e-beam lithography
and imprint. We started out with surveying the IC industry,
which showed that there is an interest in these
techniques, mainly as a backup to EUV lithography.
Now we are following the players in this area. As part
of our effort, we have illuminated wafers at some of
these companies, allowing us to compare the results of
alternative litho techniques and optical lithography on
our metrology tools.
23

hIGhLIGhTs
IMEC CORE CMOS
HIgHLIgHTS - IC scaling today involves solving important challenges; the physical limits
of what is possible are nearing. Imec works to overcome these challenges, looking into
the use of new materials, new transistor types and new lithography techniques.
01
Source mask
optimization for 193nm
lithography
2009, imec started a project to look into source
mask optimization for the most advanced immersion
scanner available today, the ASML XT:1900i with a
numerical aperture of 1.35. A first such optimization
was with diffractive optical elements (DOE) to shape
the illumination source. Using DOEs, imec demonstrated
promising process window improvements on the
contact and metal1 layers of the 22nm SRAM layouts.
Imec also obtained first results with a flexible illuminator,
developed by ASML as an alternative to DOEs.
Such a flexible illuminator can shape any illumination
source in a computer-controlled way.
24
02
First 22nm SRAM
cell with
EUV lithography
2009, imec has fabricated the world’s first functioning
22nm CMOS SRAM cell. The 0.099µm² SRAM cells
have both the contact and metal1 layer printed using
EUV lithography. Compared to imec’s 32nm cell, the
area of the cells has been shrunk by 47%. For the frontend-of-line
process, imec used its high-k/metal-gate
FinFET platform. The front-end layers were printed
using immersion lithography.
03
Mask inspection
and cleaning for EUV
lithography
One of the obstacles for EUV lithography is that there
are no inspection tools for EUV masks. Currently the
most reliable way to inspect a mask is to illuminate a
batch of wafers and use these to look for repeating
defects, which will most probably originate from the
mask. As a shortcut to building new tools, we are studying
if existing inspection tools can be modified for
this purpose.

04
22nm interconnect
technology – a significant
step forward
At the 2009 SEMICON WEST show, imec has presented
innovations in dielectrics and metallization technology
as well as in integration approaches. There was a major
progress in the metallization of 22nm interconnects,
in Cu/low-k reliability assessment and in the suppression
of low-k integration damage. These results are a
definite step forward in delivering the interconnect
performance needed for the (sub-)22nm technology
nodes.
3D stacked ICs
connected through TSVs
05
Imec sets major step
towards 3D integration
of DRAM on logic
2009, imec and its 3D integration partners have tapedout
Etna, a 3D chip demonstrator that integrates a
commercial DRAM IC on top of a logic IC. The logic
IC is thinned down to 25µm, and is connected to the
DRAM IC using through-silicon vias (TSVs) and microbumps.
The 3D demonstrator mimics all aspects of
the 3D stacking approach. As an example, heaters are
integrated to test the impact of hotspots on DRAM
refresh times. And the chip contains test structures to
monitor, for example, the thermo-mechanical stress in
a 3D stack, electro-static discharge phenomena, or the
electrical characteristics of TSVs and micro-bumps.
25

imec
cmore
Building chips
with sensational
functions

inGrid
de WoLf,
group Leader
Reliability and
modeling

RELIABILITy:
FORECASTINg
THE FUTURE
A
crucial requirement of micro- and nanoelectronic
systems is that they work perfectly, as they
were designed. But also that they remain doing
so during their lifetime, and under all circumstances,
such as with high and low temperatures, high humidity,
after voltage peaks, or during a rough mechanical treatment.
They have to be, in sum, reliable.
Until a few years ago, reliability research in microelectronics
was relatively simple: most components could
be tested as separate building blocks. And by testing
the reliability of the separate building blocks, you could
get a fairly good view on the reliability of the integrated
system. First test the silicon, then the package. If both
are ok, then there is a good chance that the packaged
IC will be reliable. There were almost no failures caused
by the influence of the package on the silicon chip. And
the tests of the separate chips and packages were fairly
straightforward, consisting of standardized test suites.
This has changed. The relentless miniaturization and the
use of new materials bring about new testing challenges.
And new technologies are more and more based on the
heterogeneous integration of components. These integrated
components can no longer be viewed as independent
building blocks that can be tested separately.
Examples are 3D stacks of thinned Si-chips, SiGe-MEMS
(micromechanical systems) integrated with CMOS, or
biosensors. The package can, for example, influence the
functionality of the MEMS, it can damage the fragile
thinned silicon, or it can change the characteristics of
the porous materials that are used in innovative processes.
And if the connections between the chips in a 3D
stack fail, then the complete 3D system fails.
Now everything is connected to everything. This calls
for an integrated vision on reliability. A 3D vision, in
which the influence of the components on each other
is taken into account. As a consequence, we have to
stop looking at individual components and study the
system as a whole. But if we do so, our tools and
standardized test recipes no longer serve us in the way
they used to.
To solve this, we increasingly work with models to predict
the behavior of the systems. Modeling allows us
to set up virtual reliability tests. These can pinpoint the
weakest spots in the system and show a way to optimize
the system’s design. Of course, these models still
have to be verified experimentally and the actual system
still has to be tested. Research into materials also
plays a major role with these new systems. How reliable
are the materials that you are using? It’s not because the
optimal process calls for a certain material, that this will
be the best choice from the point of view of reliability.
Worldwide, a lot of research is done on very innovative
MEMS. However, not many of these ideas ever become
INTERVIEW WITh INGRId dE WoLf
IMEC CMORE
commercially available. One reason is that researchers
don’t always realize that companies will want to use
their R&D in real products. So they don’t take reliability
into account when they design and process the MEMS.
Their devices may show a first promising behavior, but
they often are not reliable. Turning them into a reliable
product may require a lot of extra funding and time. In
many cases this could have been avoided by including
reliability issues from the start, for example through a
better upfront choice of materials and designs.
The growing integration also results in a growing number
of failure mechanisms. But to predict if and when these
will cause failures, or how you can test for them, you
must know the underlying physics. Take for example
MEMS or NEMS, which have moving micro- or nanoparts.
These mechanical parts can suffer from failure
mechanisms such as creep, stiction, fatigue, cracking
etc. which are not an issue in conventional ICs. Moreover,
these systems must function under circumstances
that are not the same as for standard ICs. A MEMS resonator
for example must function in a vacuum. To study
the behavior under these circumstances, we have to set
up new optical, thermal, mechanical and electrical tests.
Reliability research is more and more application-
oriented. A failure of an accelerometer in a step counter
is not life-threatening. However, if the accelerometer is
used to decide when to deploy airbags in a car, it’s
29

inGrid de WoLf
RELIABILITy: FORECASTINg
THE FUTURE
a whole different story. So every specific
application of a component or system calls
for a specific reliability study. Therefore, we
have to set up system-dedicated test methods.
But of course, you cannot set-up a
dedicated test for each sample. The test methods
should remain as generic as possible so
that they can be applied to a broad family
of systems.
The growing integration requires that reliability
researchers have a broad knowledge of a
large range of application domains: heterogeneous
integration, scaling, solar cell technology,
biomedical technology, 3D technology,
etc. And it also calls for collaboration
between reliability specialists and experts in
design, processing, materials, and systems.
We see this evolution happening at imec:
there is an increasing collaboration between
the research units. One of imec’s strong
points is that we have all the necessary expertise
in-house and that we can form multidisciplinary
teams with experts in electronics
and mechanics, designers, chemists, material
scientists, physicists, modeling specialists,
etc. Such collaboration really is the only way
to make the reliable systems of the future.
30
HIgHLIgHTS - The business line CmOS-based heterogeneous integration (CmORE)
incorporates all imec’s activities on strongly integrated IC systems with added
functionality. These include mEmS (micro-electromechanical systems), sensors, power
electronics, silicon photonics, and advanced interconnection and packaging technology.
01
Testing the reliability
of MEMS
In 2009, for MEMS testing and reliability, imec set up
an improved automatic wafer-level test system. This
system allows measuring the functionality and reliability
of MEMS in various environments (with varying
temperature, pressure, gasses), using both electrical
and optical measurement signals.
In addition, we built and demonstrated a test environment
for testing the electrostatic discharge (ESD)
sensitivity of MEMS in various environments, with
in-situ motion monitoring of the MEMS movements
during the ESD zap.
02
Record piezoelectric
energy harvester
In 2009, imec and Holst Centre presented a MEMS
piezoelectric energy harvester. This device generates
a record 85µW from vibration energy. To ensure the
robustness of the MEMS device, it was packaged in a
wafer-level process. The harvester generates enough
power to drive a sensor that intermittently measures
the temperature and sends it wirelessly to a base
station.
3D stacked ICs after die-to-wafer bonding process

03
Testing for 22nm
IC technology
For back-end-of-line dielectrical reliability, imec found
that the E and root-E models are too conservative to
describe the real physics of failure. Imec also obtained
very encouraging first electromigration data for 30nm
half-pitch copper lines. Furthermore, we successfully
used finite element modeling to study residual
stress and vacancy gradients in copper structures.
Imec started first experiments to study in-situ
electromigration and time-dependent breakdown in a
SEM with nanoprobes. We also optimized the material
characterization of thin films using nano-indentation.
Imec’s ultralow-power electrostatic actuator
04
Reliability
of 3D structures
In the 3D program, imec demonstrated a high-reliability
performance of Cu-Sn intermetallic interconnects. We
optimized electromigration tests through an in-situ
temperature monitoring during testing. Important
finite element modeling results were obtained on Cu
pumping, crack reduction at metal/organic dielectric
inter faces, and thermal modeling of 3D stacks with
hot spots. We also optimized the thermal transient
measurement system, allowing automatic measurements
on test chips with active hot spots. Various
metrology systems were assessed for application in
the 3D program.
Imec and Holst Centre’s piezoelectric harvester packaged on a wireless temperature sensor
hIGhLIGhTs
IMEC CMORE
05
Micro-actuator for in-vivo
biomedical applications
2009, imec fabricated a watertight ultralow-power
micro-actuator with an integrated micro-needle. This
innovative combination of characteristics makes the
actuator especially suited for use in in-vivo biomedical
applications, such as implants and long-term patient
treatment. The actuator could be used, for example,
to accurately control the position of micro-needles
used in brain applications.
The new actuator is fabricated using SOI-based (siliconon-insulator)
micromachining. It combines a large range
(±50µm) with sufficient force (±195µN) to position for
example in-vivo brain electrodes. The actuator works
at 11V, which is three times lower than the operating
voltages of the current available actuators. Moreover,
the actuator consumes below 100nW and can therefore
be used in applications that require a long battery
life.
31

human++
Pioneering efficient
healthcare

IMEC
JAARVERSLAG 2009

kris
Verstreken,
Director Life Sciences,
Human++

BIO-NANO:
POwERFUL HEALTHCARE DIAgNOSTICS AND THERAPIES
Developing therapies for the ageing population
and its diseases will cost society, both in terms
of effort and capital. We are faced with the
challenge to offer high-quality healthcare that is universally
accessible and that has an acceptable cost.
At imec, we want to take part in this development.
We work on innovative instruments to support the
research into diseases. Second, we look into technologies
that can diagnose diseases at an early stage. And
last, we want to help the pharmaceutical industry with
instruments to develop therapies more efficiently, for
example through screening and selecting candidate
medicines at an earlier stage.
Imec focuses on fundamental research that will be
relevant for society and industry in a somewhat longer
term. Our research is situated in between the developments
in the companies and the research that is done
at universities. This is a position we’ve also taken – with
great success – in the development of IC technology.
The labs at universities are small, flexible and not
standardized, while the labs at pharmaceutical companies
are standardized, less flexible, and geared towards
mass production. Imec, taking the best of both sides,
will establish a flexible research lab with an industrial
infrastructure. Such an industrial lab will boost our re-
search, and it will enable us to test new technologies
for their viability in mass-produced applications. It also
enables us to prove to the industry that our inno vative
technologies are on a par with commercially available
solutions.
Imec develops lab-op-chip systems and biosensor
technology. Its in-house developed coatings form an
interface between electronics and biology. And its
functional nanoparticles bind specifically to certain
types of cells. That way, they can be used for the
diagnosis of specific diseases. Or, going a step further,
they can help treat diseases, for example by destroying
the diseased cells that the nanoparticles bind to. Or
the nanoparticles can be coated or filled with medicines
and brought in the bloodstream, or via fagocytose
even in the cells.
Plasmonic waveguides are ultrasmall guides that
can transport light. Eventually, they could be used to
replace the electrical interconnections on an IC. And
we can think of exciting applications in the medical
domain too, for example in fundamental brain research.
We could use plasmonic waveguides to stimulate
brain cells with light and to measure their reaction.
In this way, we come a step closer to mimicking the
natural chemical communication between brain cells
INTERVIEW WITh kRIs VERsTREkEN
HUMAN++
(with neurotransmitters). But that is still some time
off; today the research into cell communication is
done through electrical stimulation. To that end, imec
has developed micronail chips that allow neurons to
grow on the chip’s surface. That is an alternative to the
instruments that are commercially available and that
are either not precise enough or very labor intensive.
In the end, we hope to get an understanding of the
communication between the millions of neurons
in our brain. This would allow us to develop better
therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s,
or even to repair connections in the brain after a
trauma.
Deep brain stimulation – stimulation of a bundle of
brain cells with an electrical current – is already used
today to treat, for example, Parkinson’s disease or
severe depressions. But the current technology is not
very precise; it has a lot of negative side effects. Imec
develops innovative electrodes that allow a more
precise and focused stimulation. The goal is to be able
to listen to the effect of our stimulation – a closedloop
system. That way, we can adapt the stimulation
to what is really needed at a certain moment. That
closes the circle: providing a precise therapy, only
when needed, with a higher comfort for the user, and
using cost-effective, mass-producible instruments.
35

chris
Van hoof,
Director Integrated Systems,
Human++

mEDICINE
gOES DIgITAL
April 2009, The Economist issued a special edition
titled “Medicine Goes Digital”. According
to the magazine, the convergence of biology
and engineering is turning healthcare into an information
industry, a change that will be disruptive, but also
hugely beneficial for patients. This article is only one
of many examples showing that the idea of leveraging
IC technology for healthcare is garnering worldwide
attention. There is a growing hope that, with the help
of electronics, we will be able to treat more people
than we can today, at a lower price per person, and
for a wider range of conditions, even including preventive
healthcare.
I believe that electronics will be able to materialize
that hope, for a number of reasons. First, we more and
more succeed in creating technology that fits the human
body: ultrasmall, ultraflexible, intelligent systems.
Second, it is relevant technology that can help people
lead a healthier life. And last, we have proven production
processes to cost-effectively mass-produce such
IC-based devices.
At imec and Holst Centre, we work on two application
domains.
One is body area networks, where you carry microsensors
comfortably on you body or in your clothes.
Microsensors that monitor body parameters and that
transmit results wirelessly. That is a technology that is
currently gaining acceptance in the medical and the
consumer electronics community; technology that
is beginning to appear on future product roadmaps.
Based on what is being developed, e.g. by imec,
the industry sees a road to relevant, profitable, massproduced
applications. And to grow that interest
further, that’s why we go to great lengths to fabricate
prototypes, and to have them used and validated at
universities and hospitals.
A second application domain concerns implantables,
electronics that function inside the body. Also here,
we have made progress, but it will definitely take
more time before commercial applications are fabricated
that build on this research of ours. The inside of
a human body is altogether a more challenging environment
to develop technology for. And given the
stringent regulations and long approval procedures for
this type of applications, the industry is more cautious
before it embarks on product development. Never-
theless, the benefits of such implantable solutions,
which can be based on our out-of-the-box and very advan
ced technology solutions, are obviously important.
For body area networks, what are the technolo gi cal
challenges? You want integrated systems that are as
INTERVIEW WITh chRIs VaN hoof
HUMAN++
small and comfortable as possible. And you want
them to be extremely reliable and easy to use,
requiring no maintenance. That calls for inno va tive
break throughs in sensing, packaging (e.g. flexible,
stretch able packages), wireless communication, and
energy technology (e.g. battery technology and
en er gy scavenging). For many of these areas, imec
has achie ved breakthroughs and has come up with
solutions.
An obvious issue is: how do you design, optimize, and
integrate these systems? This is also an area of innovation,
because it calls for combining various technologies
(e.g. MEMS sensors, wireless radios, intelligence)
in one package. A traditional approach would be to
optimize all subsystems, and then combine them in a
package. But for these types of applications, this will
lead to solutions that are suboptimal by several orders
of magnitude. Therefore, we started the path of
heterogeneous system co-optimization. One example
is an optimization where the wireless sensor only
sends relevant information (for example heart beat
rhythm analysis). To do that, you need on-board intelligence
to compute and extract the relevant data.
But you also need a radio that can be switched off
and on on-the-fly, almost without using energy. This
way, you could reduce the system power consumption
by a factor of up to 100.
37

hIGhLIGhTs
HUMAN++
HIgHLIgHTS - Imec and Holst Centre, an open innovation initiative of imec and TNO, work
on solutions for a cost-efficient and reliable healthcare. Imec’s focus is on heterogeneous
systems for diagnosis and therapy, such as lab-on-chips or nanoparticles. Imec and Holst
Centre collaborate on technology for wearable and implantable body area networks with
sensors that continuously register and interpret health parameters.
01
Breakthrough lab-on-chip
for early cancer detection
and therapy
Imec and IMM (Institut für Mikrotechnik Mainz) – one
of Europe’s leading research centers in microfluidics –
and their partners in the FP6 MASCOT project have developed
an innovative lab-on-chip. This is a poten tial
breakthrough in the detection and therapy of breast
cancer. It is the first lab-on-chip device that combines
various complex probing and detection techniques. All
modules for probing, processing and detection were
finalized in 2009; they will now be validated clinically
during a study on the effects of breast cancer therapy.
38
microfluidic chip
with biosensor
02
Design
strategy for
brain probes
Imec is working on a new design methodology for electronics
that have to function in a fluidic environment.
As a concrete example, imec developed a prototype
probe for deep brain stimulation.
A precise stimulation calls for electrodes
that have the same dimensions as the
cells they stimulate. Such electrodes
can be made by combining silicon
IC processes, heterogeneous system
design, and advanced signal
processing. Imec’s new design
methodology enables fabricating
such functioning
micro-electrodes.
Packaged multielectrode probe
for neural recording and stimulation

03
NERF – top-notch
fundamental brain research
In 2009, NERF – Neuroelectronics Research Flanders – was launched. NERF is a research initiative of imec, the
University of Leuven and the Flemish Institute of Biotechnology (VIB). Its aim is to bring together top researchers
to unravel the workings of the brain. Because this is such a challenging and new research domain, NERF actively
seeks to involve researchers and expertise from various domains: imec’s expertise in nanoelectronics, VIB’s expertise
in biotechnology, and the University’s expertise in medicine.
NERf will be the first multidisciplinary research center to study the interaction between brain cells in such detail
with the help of electronics. dedicated Ics will be used to read and interpret the signals of brain cells, and
to decode the signals with which they communicate. once this code is cracked, we can have the Ics and cells
communicate. In that way we hope to gain a better understanding of the functioning of the human brain. In the
longer term, this should lead to new therapies for people with brain damage or disorders.
Dissolved nanoparticles
made from noble metals
and metal oxides
39

hIGhLIGhTs
HUMAN++
40
04
Sleep monitoring
clinically validated
A prototype headset combining wireless and low-power electronics was validated for sleep
staging in the sleep laboratory at the University Hospital Center in Charleroi, (Belgium), against a
commercially available reference system.
Imec and Holst Centre’s headset is lightweight, wearable and miniaturized. It has three sensors
measuring only 20 x 60 x 8 mm³. Each of them includes two ultra-low power biopotential read-out
ASICs that amplify and filter the captured signals and a wireless radio to send the data to a recording
computer. The nodes consume only 5mA, allowing the 12 hours autonomy that are needed for
comfortable sleep monitoring.
The validation proves that wireless headsets could replace current systems for monitoring sleep
stages. It also shows that this particular prototype is mature and ready for product development.

05
Arousal monitoring:
medical pilot studies
Imec and Holst Centre have further developed their wireless emotion
monitoring technology and prototype setup. The emotion monitor
is a body area network that measures the activity of the para sympathetic
and sympathetic nervous systems, for example the heart rate
varia bility, galvanic skin conductance and muscle tension. These parameters
are markers of emotion and stress.
In 2009, the wireless emotion monitor featured in two pilot studies.
One, with the Leuven University hospital and PRD - Janssen
Pharma ceutica, monitored people diagnosed with stress-related psychia
tric disorders, comparing them to a control group of healthy
individuals. The results of that study indicate that our monitoring
system is able to delineate the two groups, showing that the two
groups have a different median stress profile. The results also show
classification accuracy up to 75%.
A second pilot study explored back muscle tension in relation to
work-induced stress. The measurements combined several parameters
including an electromyogram (EMG) of the trapezius muscle. The
results affirm that our emotion monitor can pick up this type of stress
as an increase in the amplitude of the EMG signals and a decrease in
the frequency of EMG gaps.
06
ECG necklace:
comfortable and powerful
Imec and Holst Centre have made a prototype ECG
necklace (electrocardiogram). This technology enables
long-term monitoring of cardiac performance and allows
patients to continue their daily activities while
under observation.
The ECG necklace contains imec’s ultralow-power bio-
potential readout ASIC, which enables a low-noise
amplification of the signals at a very low power budget.
A wavelet-based algorithm for heart beat detection,
embedded in a second low-power IC, computes the
instantaneous heart rate. It is accurate even under
a high level of noise, which is inherent in ambulatory
monitoring. A third low-power IC wirelessly transmits
the ECG data to a receiving computer that may be up
to 10m away. The ultralow-power electronics ensure
7 days of autonomy.
41

imec
enerGy
Powering a sustainable
world

marianne
Germain,
Program manager gaN IIAP

ExTREmE
mATERIALS
FOR POwER ELECTRONICS AND LIgHTINg
At imec, we explore the use of III-nitride
materials – of which GaN (gallium-nitride) is
best known – for use in two technologies:
power electronics and solid-state lighting. Both are of
key importance for a more sustainable use of energy.
Consequently, we see a growing interest in GaN and in
our R&D in this domain.
Power electronics convert electric power through
solid-state components. Such converters can be found
wherever there is a need to modify the form of electricity,
i.e. its voltage, current, or frequency. Take for
example solar cell panels, which generate a DC current
that must be converted to AC before it can be used
in the grid or in home appliances. The market for such
power-converting components is destined to grow
considerably, because of the drive to use more hybrid
electrical vehicles in transport, more solar installations,
more wind farms, and the smart grids to connect it all.
The key driver for power conversion is efficiency:
ideally, there should be no loss when converting
energy. Furthermore, you want components that are
cheap, reliable and small, and that can work under
high-voltage and high-temperature. These are the
main challenges for improving power electronics.
The current components for power electronics are
based on Si. But R&D is reaching the limits of what can
be done with Si. New materials are needed, typically
wide-bandgap semiconductors. Intrinsically, these are
more robust at high voltages. GaN is a good candidate:
it has an electrical breakdown voltage that is 10 times
higher than that of Si, and it has excellent transport
properties.
For our first generation of GaN components, we have
already gained an order of magnitude in loss reduction
for 600V-class breakdown voltage, just by switching
to GaN. We expect that we can improve this further:
the theoretical limit shows we could gain another 2
orders of magnitude. This will enable the high-voltage,
high-power, and high-temperature circuits needed by
tomorrow’s applications. Moreover, GaN has other advantages,
notable a very high speed, and the possibility
for further miniaturization by switching to a higher
frequency, thus reducing the sizes of passive components.
This of course requires a parallel development
of passive components for high power applications.
But before the use of GaN becomes widespread,
and cheap GaN components can be fabricated, a few
issues have to be tackled.
First, to reduce the cost, you need processing on largearea
wafers. To make such wafers, imec is proposing
an approach where GaN is deposited on a Si wafer.
Currently, we’re using 4inch and 6inch wafers, and
INTERVIEW WITh MaRIaNNE GERMaIN
IMEC ENERGY
we‘ve succeeded in making a first demo 200mm GaNon-Si
wafer, together with our equipment supplier.
Imec is one of the few labs in the world that has the
expertise to control the stresses that originate when
GaN is deposited on Si.
A second issue we’re working on is to make the
GaN processing compatible with CMOS processing
(Au-free). If we succeed, the uptake of GaN technology
by the industry will be easier. There are many
existing 6inch and 200mm fabs that are looking for
new business.
Solid-state lighting, with light-emitting diodes (LEDs),
is our second area of interest. Currently, light bulbs
are phased out, being replaced mainly by fluorescent
lamps. The next generation of lighting, still more efficient,
will be LED lighting. But today, LED technology
is still at least a factor 10 too expensive. Also here
we are looking to introduce GaN, with cheaper,
large-area processing. Next to that, we also look at
improving the light efficiency, getting more light for
the same amount of energy. There is still a lot of
room for im provement, from what is reached today
in the labs and in production to what is theoretically
possible.
45

Jef
poortmans,
Director Photovoltaics

Imec’s research into photovoltaics is one of the cornerstones
of its strategy – looking for solutions for
sustainable energy generation. The research is focussed
onto finding techniques to fabricate cheaper
and more efficient solar cells. We work on a whole
range of technologies, going from silicon solar cells
(the bulk of today’s commercially available cells),
over organic solar cells (not available yet, but a cheap
alternative to today’s cells), to advanced stacks of
super-efficient solar cells (to be used, for example, in
satellites or solar concentrators).
The solar cell market is rapidly expanding, and the
share of electricity generated from solar cells will keep
on growing: scenarios vary from a few percentages to a
full 10% of European electricity generation in 2020. The
focus of the solar industry will shift from the cells to
the modules, from the electricity generation to a total
solution for the customer.
Such a total-solution module might have an integrated
mini aturized inverter – a component that converts DC
to AC and that today is still bulky, expensive, and installed
separately. It could also include local energy storage,
helping to balance the electricity grid and allowing
optimization of the invertor design. And such a mo -
dule could have integrated technology for maximum
power point tracking, which could help overcome the
negative effects of shadowing on the modules.
Because imec has so much expertise in all the relevant
domains, we are confident that we can help implement
such an intelligent solar module. We have been active
in solar cell research for 25 years now. But next to that,
we have built an extensive expertise in new materials
for power electronics. Expertise that is needed to build
the miniaturized inverters, or the components that
balance the future electricity grid. And we have the
knowledge in materials science and nanotechnology to
work on solutions for local energy storage.
The future solar module, as we see it, is a vision, a concept
that we can offer as a package to our industrial
partners, just like we have done so successfully in the
microelectronics domain.
To help speed up innovation, the solar cell industry has
to look for new business models for collaboration in
R&D. Today, the solar cell industry has reached a level
of maturity and stability. But the traditional way of
collaborating based on exclusive bilateral agreements
could slow down the technological evolution and the
transfer from the lab to the fab.
In 2009, Imec took the initiative and launched its industrial
affiliation program (IIAP) on crystalline silicon
solar technology. As with imec’s other successful IIAPs
in IC scaling, we started by defining a generic base for
research. Companies that join our program will start
INTERVIEW WITh JEf PooRTMaNs
IMEC ENERGY
SOLAR ENERgy
FOR SUSTAINABLE
ENERgy gENERATION
from that base and do joint precompetitive research to
reduce the cost of energy production through silicon
solar cells. One way of doing that is finding ways to
reduce the use of silicon in the cells, while at the same
time increasing their conversion efficiency.
By bringing companies together around this program,
we want to create a critical mass, an ecosystem with
solar cell producers, material suppliers, tool suppliers,
and energy companies. The cross-fertilization between
these will advance the research to new levels.
Our model of collaboration of course includes a fair
model for handling intellectual property, safeguarding
the interests of all partners alike. And these partners
always keep the possibility to develop their own intellectual
property in parallel with the program.
This way of collaborating, which we have applied for
25 years in the domain of IC scaling, was until recently
unheard of in the solar cell industry. But our initiative
has already generated a lot of interest, both from industrial
players and from official bodies. We believe
this is the result of our longstanding expertise in open
innovation, of our multi-disciplinarity, and of course of
the successful research we have already done in solar
cell technology.
47

hIGhLIGhTs
IMEC ENERGY
HIgHLIgHTS - Imec’s photovoltaic research focuses on improving the conversion
efficiency and lowering the price of silicon solar cells. Imec also works on organic
solar cells and on high-efficiency cells based on III-V materials. Another focus of
the energy research is gaN for power electronics and LED lighting.
01
Imec signs
collaboration agreements
2009, imec signed a collaboration agreement with
Total and GDF-Suez (two major energy companies),
Photovoltech (solar cell producer), and Schott Solar
(solar cell producer). The goal of the agreement is
to reduce the cost of solar energy with crystalline
silicon cells by reducing the use of silicon as base
material and by increasing the efficiency of the cells.
This research is done in the frame of imec’s IIAP on
crystalline silicon solar technology. Other partners in
this program are material and tool suppliers MEMC
Electronic Materials Inc., Leybold Optics Dresden
GmbH, Roth & Rau AG, and Mallinckrodt Baker B.V.
Next to the IIAP, imec has bilateral collaboration
agreements in solar technology with important
players such as BP Solar and Kaneka.
48
02
GaN IIAP
launched
In 2009, imec has launched a new industrial affiliation
program (IIAP) on GaN. In this program, imec and its
partners work on GaN technology for both power
conversion and solid-state lighting.
For power electronics, the IIAP aims at developing
high-voltage, low-loss, high-power switching devices.
Potential applications include high-power switching
in solar converters, motor drives, hybrid electrical
vehicles or switch mode power supplies. An important
goal of the program is to lower the cost of GaN
processing by using large-diameter GaN-on-Si.
The program also exploits GaN-on-Si for high-efficiency
high-power LEDs. A key issue that is addressed is
the enhancement of external and internal quantum
efficiencies for enabling high-power LEDs.
SiN/AlgaN/gaN field effect transistor

03
Imec presents
a large-area solar cell
with a conversion
efficiency of 18.4%
At the 2009 European Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Conference (Hamburg, Germany), imec has presented
a solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 18.4%.
In power handling, such normally-off devices are
needed for safety reasons.
The shallow emitter results in an enhanced blue
response, and thus in a higher conversion efficiency
than with standard emitters. Using copper instead
of silver adds to the sustainability of solar cell production.
The results were obtained on large-area
cells (125cm²), proving the industrial viability of the
process.
49

50
Imec’s mechanically
stacked gaAs/ge cell
04
Promising mechanicallystacked
GaAs/Ge
multijunction solar cell
Also in 2009, imec unveiled a mechanically-stacked
GaAs/Ge multijunction solar cell. This is the first promising
demonstrator of imec’s novel technology to
produce mechanically stacked, high-efficiency multijunction
solar cells, aiming at efficiencies above 40%.
At the top of the stack is a one-side contacted GaAs
top cell that has an efficiency of 23.4%, and that is only
4µm thick and transparent for infrared light. This GaAs
top cell was transferred onto a Ge bottom cell, creating
a mechanical stack. The Ge bottom cell is separately
contacted and has a potential of 3-3.5%, which is
higher than Ge bottom cells in state-of-the-art monolithically
stacked InGaP/(In)GaAs/Ge cells. Looking
forward, imec expects to show a first working triplejunction
cell in 2010.
05
Innovative
GaN-on-Si double
heterostructure FET
At the 2009 IEDM conference, imec has shown an
innovative, simple, and robust architecture for GaNon-Si
enhancement-mode power switching devices. In
power handling, such normally-off devices are needed
for safety reasons.
This GaN-on-Si double heterostructure field effect
transistor (FET) has a high breakdown voltage of 980V,
an excellent uniformity, and a low dynamic specific
on-resistance of 3.5m�.cm 2 .
These excellent characteristics make this architecture
suited to replace the technology in high-power switching
applications, reducing the power losses incurred
with current components.

06
Organic solar
cells with efficiencies
above 5%
Conventional organic solar cells are produced through
spin coating, a fast and cheap process to test new active
layers for solar cells. In 2009, imec optimized the
spin coating technique, the commercially available
inks, and the electrodes. This resulted in a conversion
efficiency of 5.4%.
Imec’s flexible organic solar cells (5x5cm²)
hIGhLIGhTs
IMEC ENERGY
51

imec
smart
systems
Building a flexible
interactive world

Liesbet
Van der
perre,
Program Director
wireless Communication

wIRELESS COmmUNICATION
gETS A gREEN
TOUCH
With every new generation of mobile
phones, we expect to get a better user
experience. We want to communicate
anytime and everywhere, and we want to send and
retrieve any amount of information. We want more
functions, and we want a better quality: larger screens,
faster applications, more memory, lighter weight. And
we want this extra quality and performance combined,
of course, with a longer autonomy and less battery
recharges.
Current wireless devices need lots of energy to run.
The result: bulky batteries, frequent recharges, and
a low autonomy. This seriously impacts the user
experience. Moreover, it doesn’t fit in with the present
call for a sustainable energy use. Another reason to
seriously restrict the energy budget: for some of the
future applications, a small volume and a long autonomy
are essential, think of wireless portable devices
for medical applications, implants or sensors that
measure heat and brain activity.
So the new generation of devices has to use energy
sparingly. Their batteries should be smaller, or they
should run on energy harvesters, devices that capture
energy from the environment and turn it into electricity.
With efficient energy harvesters, devices could
even become completely autonomous.
At the same time, there is a need for more flexible
devices with more intelligence. Devices that can negotiate
and switch between frequencies, for example.
The current spectrum used by wireless devices is overloaded,
while other parts of the frequency spectrum
are still underused. Future devices should be able
to use the spectrum availability more flexibly. Another
area for improvement are the communication
standards. Future devices should be able to switch
between standards, choosing the best option depending
on the location and user environment, the available
frequency bands, and the requirements of the user
or application.
Imec works on these issues, developing technology
for the next generation of mobile communication.
These devices have to be as smart, cheap, and simple
as possible. And they should provide an answer to the
following three challenges. First, we look at ways to
improve the performance of mobile phones. At the
same time, our technology will be ultra-low power and
INTERVIEW WITh LIEsbET VaN dER PERRE
IMEC SMART SYSTEMS
as small as possible. And third, we develop flexible and
intelligent radios that communicate using the optimal
standard depending on the circumstances of use and
the user’s requirements.
Recently, we took on a fourth challenge: we want to
restrict the electromagnetic radiation that wireless
radios emit. Today, a lot of energy and radiation is
being wasted. So the question is how to develop devices
that restrict the radiation to where it is needed,
without using more energy or lowering the performance.
One solution is to have technology that restricts the
wireless communication to short ranges. That way, a
major part of the radiation and the wasted energy can
be avoided. We could combine that with a technology
that whenever possible switches to 60GHz communication.
If we succeed in coupling such technology
with the intelligence and flexibility that we also work
on, we could restrict both the energy use and the
electromagnetic radiation to the maximum. And that
will improve the quality and user experience of wireless
communication.
55

hIGhLIGhTs
IMEC SMART SYSTEMS
HIgHLIgHTS - Imec develops smart radio systems for the mobile phone of the future:
flexible radio chips that switch between standards, 60gHz radio chips for fast wireless
transmission of data, wireless autonomous systems, and advanced multimedia systems.
Imec also works on smart systems with organic electronics such as intelligent clothing,
RFID labels, rollable displays, organic memories, plastic signage and lighting.
01
Imec improves technology
for flexible radio ICs
Future mobile phones will work with flexible digital radio chips. Such chips will support various communication
standards; they will automatically switch to the one that is most suited. In contrast to analog components, they
will also be much smaller, cheaper to fabricate, use less energy, and enable integrating more functionality.
In 2010, imec has presented a reconfigurable transceiver in 40nm IC technology. This small transceiver is low-cost
and can work at a low power budget because it maximally profits from the scaling of the IC technology. Imec has
also developed several innovative analog-to-digital converters (ADC), such as an RF-ADC in 40nm IC technology,
with a frequency range from 60MHz to 2,4GHz. The innovative architecture of this ADC is a significant step towards
building fully digital radios.
56
wafer with organic RFIDs
02
Record
RFID tags
Imec, Holst Centre and TNO are working on organic
RFID-tags (Radio Frequency Identification Tags). These
are a first step towards making really intelligent packages.
They can be tagged onto product packages in shops.
When you select the product and walk past the RFID
reader at the intelligent cash register, your bill is automatically
made.
At the recent ISSCC 2010 conference, imec presented
a dual-gate-based organic RFID chip with record data
rate and lowest reported operating voltage. The chip
includes a 64-bit transponder circuit at 4.3kb/s, which
doubles the performance of imec’s RFID solution in
one year. Moreover, the RFID starts operating at lower
voltages (down to 10V), making them suited for capacitive
and inductive coupling with a readout station.
Flexible multistandard transceiver in 40nm CmOS technology

Test PCB with imec and Holst Centre’s wake-up receiver IC
03
Wake-up receiver IC
enables energy-friendly
wireless communication
Current systems for wireless communication use much
energy, even at times when the radio doesn’t have to
transmit or receive data. This is one of the reasons why
such devices drain their batteries so fast. To overcome
this problem, imec and Holst Centre are working on
the ultralow-power technology for wireless communication.
In 2009, imec and Holst Centre developed a wake-up
chip that can switch the radio chip on or off, so that
it is only active when it is needed. The new wake-up
chip works at 2.4GHz/915MHz and uses only 51µW of
power during continuous use. This IC brings applications
closer that work without battery and that harvest
their energy from the environment. Sample application
domains are wireless sensor networks in healthcare,
smart implants, long-range RFID, or wireless sensors for
smart buildings and logistics.
04
Second generation of
imec’s ADRES processor
architecture
ADRES (architecture for dynamically reconfigurable
embedded systems) is imec’s innovative processor architecture
for wireless communication and multimedia
applications. An XML template allows generating the
ADRES processor best adapted to the target application.
An ADRES processor is programmed in a high-
level programming language (C), with the help of imec’s
DRESC translation program. This guarantees a short
time-to-market for applications using ADRES.
In 2009, imec developed a second generation of
ADRES. Processors derived from this architecture are
twice as performing, use half of the energy, and support
multithreading. Such ADRES processors are suited
as building blocks for future 4G devices. Imec offers
ADRES as a licensing package.
Imec’s 45nm 60gHz RF front-end
05
Imec develops costeffective
solutions for
wireless high-definition
television (HD tv)
Applications for which lots of data have to be transmitted,
such as wireless HD tv, call for a large bandwidth.
A possibility is to use the spectrum around
60GHz, but the current ICs that operate at that frequency
are expensive and use too much energy. Imec
aims to develop small, integrated, energy-efficient solutions
for future consumer applications. The ultimate
goal is to develop 60GHz radios completely in 45nm
digital chip technology.
In 2009, imec presented its prototype 60GHz module
for multi-gigabit per second wireless communication.
This module combines imec’s antenna technology
and antenna interface with 45nm RF front-end ICs. It
deploys several antennas in an innovative way, using
beamforming to arrive at a more powerful signal.
57

facts
and fiGures
coLLaboration

dirk
Vanderzande,
Professor Hasselt University,
Vice-Director ImOmEC

Because I work both at Hasselt University and at
IMOMEC, the university lab that is associated
with imec, I have a good view on the whole
spectrum of research, a spectrum going from funda -
men tal, long-term research to more application-driven
research and development. Not so long ago, fundamental
research and R&D were seen as irreconcilable: they
were done at different labs, in different places, and by
people who didn’t collaborate. The reigning idea was
that you couldn’t touch upon fundamental issues when
you did R&D; or that fundamental results couldn’t lead
to innovative solutions.
This view has radically changed, also thanks to imec. At
the university labs, at IMOMEC, we pursue fundamental
research, mainly through PhDs, we do applicationdriven
R&D, and we do everything in between. We are
now looking for opportunities to leverage our fundamental
work in R&D and vice-versa. And we have learned
that putting people who think about fundamental
issues together with people who work on solutions and
applications can lead to interesting ideas, sometimes
even to breakthroughs. It is very rewarding to see that
happening.
The public sector has understood and followed that
evolution. It asks us to think about the industrial valorization
of our ideas, in exchange for the public money
they give us to do fundamental research. So we can
pursue long-term goals, at the same time keeping an
eye on today, on solutions for today’s issues. We very
much appreciate that open-mindedness, and the chances
that we get.
At the same time, I also have to express my concerns
about the public funding of research. We see that, resulting
from the current economic difficulties, there is
a pressure to work with smaller budgets, budgets that
are not always at a par with the ambitious research goals
that have been set in Flanders. At this moment, our
researchers can still make those ambitions true, thanks
to their excellent education, enthusiasm, and innovativeness.
I want to stress that they are doing a
wonderful job, and we shouldn’t endanger their work
and results.
In the industry, we see a move away from corporate
R&D towards collaborative research. Imec, for one, has
a strong track-record in channeling that collaboration.
INTERVIEW WITh dIRk VaNdERzaNdE
ASSOCIATED LAB AT HASSELT UNIVERSITY
BREAKTHROUgHS wITH
FUNDAmENTAL AND
APPLIED RESEARCH
And there are other initiatives in which we are involved,
and that aim at world-class research and results. One
is SIM (Strategic Initiative on Materials), a collaborative
effort, partly publicly funded, to work towards
breakthroughs in materials sciences, and to leverage all
the existing expertise in our region. Materials sciences
are IMOMEC’s forte; and our results in the domain of
materials lend support to the work done at imec, for
example in the race towards sub-22 nm devices, or for
the research done on organic electronics and photovoltaics.
We valorize our research, for example, through spinoffs,
of which we had a remarkable example in 2009.
Remarkable because it didn’t originate from inside our
lab, from an idea that grew into an application, but from
the outside, with an entrepreneur, a printing professional,
who contacted us to talk about what was possible
with electroluminescent materials. This worked out
to be a very good match, as it combined the business
knowledge of the printing sector with our experience
on materials. For us, it was rewarding to see that technology
grow, and I hope we will be able to repeat that
story a few times more in the coming years.
61

hIGhLIGhTs
ASSOCIATED LAB AT HASSELT UNIVERSITY
HIgHLIgHTS - ImOmEC is imec’s associated lab at Hasselt University (Belgium). ImOmEC
is a materials research lab. Examples of our expertise are wide-bandgap materials, organic
synthesis, organic materials for electronic applications, precursors for nanomaterials,
biosensors, nanophysics, and electrical, physical and chemical characterization.
01
Nature paper – unraveling
organic solar cells
Starting from very practical questions about how organic
solar cells function, we started unraveling the fundaments
of this mechanism. As a result of the research, we
now know which properties a polymer should have to
optimally convert the sunlight to electrical energy. This
knowledge could lead to an increase of the efficiency
of polymer solar cells by one percent/year. Now around
4-6%, it is assumed that an efficiency of 10% is needed to
make polymer solar cells commercially profitable.
This research has been recognized worldwide, and it was
published in the prestigious magazine Nature Materials.
It’s another example of a breakthrough realized thanks
to the cross-fertilization between R&D and fundamental
research.
62
Organic solar cells on glass

02
Diamond-based
DNA- and immunosensors
Conductive, nanocrystalline diamond films can be used
in label-free, real-time biosensors that can detect and
characterize proteins and DNA fragments. In 2009, we
further explored this principle. We have, for example,
developed a novel concept of patterning synthetic diamond
layers on glass substrates into an array of (sub-)
millimeter-sized working electrodes. These electrode
spots can be functionalized individually with specific
immunoglobins or probe-DNA sequences. This would
enable screening patient samples for various marker
molecules on a single lab-on-chip.
03
Lumoza off
to a lightning start
2009 saw the start of Lumoza, a spinoff from imec,
Hasselt University, and Artist Screen, a Belgian screenprinting
company.
Lumoza’s technology for large-area screen-printed
electronics combines electroluminescent ink with a
driver that controls the sequence and timing of animations.
The result is an electroluminescent computer
animation that can be printed, just like ink, on all
kinds of surfaces, for example on a thin plastic foil. And
afterwards, the animation can be folded, rolled up,
bended or wrapped.
04
Improved lifetime
for organic solar cells
To make organic solar cells viable, their efficiency and
lifetime has to be improved. For bulk heterojunction
cells, both characteristics are strongly related with
the morphology of the active layer of such solar cells,
which is an intimate mixture of an electron donor and
an electron acceptor material. In 2009, we developed
two approaches to stabilize the nanomorphology of
this mixture. These could lead to an improvement of
the cell lifetime with about an order of magnitude.
One of the approaches makes use of a process of
cross-linking which boils down to glueing together
the polymer chains and organic components. For both
fundamental approaches, we filed a patent application.
Electroluminescent flexible advertisement printed by Lumoza
63

pauL
LaGasse,
Professor imec’s associated lab
at the University of ghent

The path the IC industry has followed, driven
by Moore’s law, has been an immense success.
Clever engineering, top-notch research, and
collaboration between various disciplines have been
tantamount in reaching that result.
Other sectors have not followed the same speed of
efficiency improvement. And for some, getting on
track for a fast change and breakthrough results is getting
rather urgent. Think of healthcare, for example.
Organizing a cost-effective healthcare for an ageing
and growing population will be a formidable challenge.
Another challenge is organizing the use of energy and
resources so that we no longer deplete the earth. Here
we talk about, for example, organizing cost-effective,
sustainable energy generation, smart grids, or sustainable
and safe mobility.
These challenges have a common denominator: they
are extremely complex, and they call for solutions that
are mass-produceable, cost-effective, and sustainable.
One obvious solution is to leverage the expertise and
engineering model of the electronics industry, which
has over four decades of experience with exactly that
kind of solutions.
For our researchers and engineers, there is a chance
here, a chance to make a difference, even in this globalizing,
flattening world. We have a very good education
and bright, versatile, well-trained people. We have the
knowledge centers and R&D institutes that compete
with the best in the world. We have our universities,
of course. And there’s imec focusing on nanoelectronics;
the VIB, which is building a world reputation in
biotechnology; the IBBT, working on telecom and software
technology, and last SIM, our youngest initiative
grouping expertise in materials technology.
So we have a unique research environment, situated
in the heart of Europe. We can make a difference if
we leverage that environment and have experts from
various disciplines and centers cooperate.
INTERVIEW WITh PauL LaGassE
ASSOCIATED LAB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHENT
CROSS-DISCIPLINARy
COLLABORATION
FOR A BETTER wORLD
For 25 years now, imec is showing how it can be
done. It started out as a collaboration effort in microelectronics,
taking in people from various disciplines
and working with various labs and experts, among
which were the microelectronics labs at the University
of Ghent. And from the start, the ambition was to
be a world-player, and to offer solutions that were
relevant for the industry. Imec even went as far as
to organize collaborative, precompetitive innovation
with companies, sharing the risks and rewards.
But it doesn’t stop there: imec also leverages its
exper tise in other domains, for example healthcare
and energy. One notable example is of course the
NERF initiative, a collaboration with the VIB and the
Catholic University of Leuven. The ambition of NERF
is to do world-leading research, unraveling the neuro nal
circuitry of the human brain. Over time, this research
could lead to relevant solutions for brain patho lo -
gies.
65

hIGhLIGhTs
ASSOCIATED LAB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHENT
HIgHLIgHTS - The main expertise of imec’s associated lab at the University of ghent
is photonics, systems integration, and communication technology. In photonics, the
lab presented breakthrough results, working towards silicon-based photonic ICs for
high-speed computation and communication. Another domain – where the ghent
lab captures the public imagination – is stretchable, washable, biocompatible
electronics, electronics that can be integrated in clothing, for example.
Flexible ultrathin chip package
66
01
Breakthrough for
silicon-based all-optical ICs
The April 2009 issue of the premier scientific magazine Nature
Photonics published the first experimental proof of all-optical
ultra-fast communication signal processing with silicon-based
devices for transmission speeds above 100Gbit/s. The paper
results from the collaboration between imec and its associated
laboratory at the University of Ghent, the University of
Karlsruhe (Germany), Lehigh University (USA), and ETH Zürich
(Switzerland). The achievements are a key step towards
developing complex silicon-based photonic ICs.

Stretchable LED matrix
02
Ultra-thin chip embedding
for wearable electronics
2009, imec and its associated laboratory at the University
of Ghent presented a new 3D integration process
enabling flexible electronic systems with a thickness
of less than 60 micrometer. This ultra-thin chip package
(UTCP) technology allows integrating complete
systems in a conventional low-cost flex substrate. This
paves the way for low-cost, unobtrusive wearable
electronics for e.g. wearable health and comfort monitoring.
For the integration, the chip is first thinned down to
25µm and embedded in a flexible ultra-thin chip package.
Next, the package is embedded in a standard
double-layer flex printed circuit board (PCB) using
standard flex PCB production techniques. After embedding,
other components can be mounted above
and below the embedded chip, leading to high-
density integration.
03
Ten gigabit per second
internet access for all
imec’s associated lab at the University of Ghent is also
active in designing high-speed electronics for future
optical fiber networks. Such passive optical networks
(PONs) will replace copper telephone or cable television
wiring, and bring gigabit-per-second (Gbps)
broadband access to residential subscribers.
In 2009, the Ghent lab designed a burst-mode 10Gbps
chipset for an ultra-high capacity integrated access
and metro network. This next-generation PON can
reach 100km, and can serve up to 16,384 subscribers
at 10Gbps. The network was successfully demonstrated
within the EU-funded FP6 IST project PIEMAN and
the chipset was presented in an invited ECOC 2009
paper. Large-scale deployment of broadband fiber access
networks will stimulate the economy by offering
new business opportunities, and will contribute to a
sustainable economy by promoting home working and
by allowing the transportation of data rather than data
carriers or people.
04
Optical forces
revealed
Imec and the University of Ghent have demonstrated
nanophotonic repulsive forces. Using advanced fabrication
technologies, including deep ultraviolet lithography
and critical-point-drying, the researchers created
two parallel waveguides on a silicon-on-insulator
chip. These waveguides are freestanding, acting as movable
strings. By sending laser light through both waveguides
they generated optical forces. Depending on
the spatial distribution of the light (both in amplitude
and phase) the strings exerted attracting or repulsing
forces on each other.
The repulsive force – never before demonstrated
– makes this experiment of fundamental scientific
importance. The detailed experimental results were
published in the August issue of the premier scientific
journal Nature Nanotechnology.
67

herman
maes,
Senior
Vice-President
Industrialization
and Training

TRAININg
AND SERVICES
FOR THE IC DESIgN COmmUNITy
Imec’s expertise is highly sought after in today’s IC
community, where IC technology, design methods
and tools evolve fast. An environment also with
shortening time-to-market cycles and the move to
more complex heterogeneous systems. With our services,
we target universities and polytechnic schools,
companies worldwide, and imec’s own programs and
projects. Because of the scale of today’s IC industry,
universities and starting companies no longer have access
to all the leading tools, technologies, and players.
We close that gap, pooling resources and offering
state-of-the-art services.
Our training center offers a well-balanced portfolio
of advanced training programs, complementary to
the academic offering. We continuously adapt to the
evolution of the state-of-the-art, teaching the latest
in IC design methodologies and technology. More and
more, we also offer web-based training, complementing
the traditional delivery formats.
But sometimes, training alone isn’t enough for companies
or academia to design their own ICs. Advanced
design can be so specialized and time-intensive that
they would rather outsource part of the job. That’s
where imec’s design and ASIC services come into play.
Through our design services, research groups get access
to a team of highly specialized IC designers, using
the most advanced EDA tools for the design of deep
sub-micron ICs and complex heterogeneous systems.
And with our ASIC services (application-specific integrated
circuit), we fill in the last block from design to
IC fabrication: we provide a prototyping and smallvolume
production service. We have agreements with
major foundries, where we can participate in multiproject
wafer (MPW) runs. These combine designs
from several customers (universities or private companies)
on a single mask set, offering them a cost-effective
way to fabricate high-quality, low-volume ICs. This
can also include a place & route service when needed.
And as an extra service, before we add our customer’s
designs to the runs, we check the designs for errors.
With our state-of-the-art-tools, we can verify designs
up to a level where we can target a first-time-right
fabrication.
INTERVIEW WITh hERMaN MaEs
IMEC TRAINING AND SERVICES
Mini@sic is an ASIC service where we go one step
further. With the help of the EU (FP7 program Europractice
4), we offer this service to European universities
and research institutes, as a way to stimulate
them to make advanced designs and prototypes.
What we do is subdivide the normal minimum area for
prototypes into smaller blocks that, with the help
of Europractice, are affordable for our academic customers.
Our second mission is to stimulate innovation in our
home region Flanders. One way to do that is to help
set up consortia and communities around multidisciplinary
research topics. We have, for example, successful
communities focused on multimedia, wireless
communication, and heterogeneous systems design
and integration. These communities enable networking,
knowledge dissemination, collaborative projects,
and – in a longer run – technology transfer from imec
to the local industry and research centers.
69

hIGhLIGhTs
IMEC TRAINING AND SERVICES
HIgHLIgHTS - Imec’s unit Industrialization and Training has a double mission. First, we
organize and coordinate a broad range of services and training programs in IC design.
And second, we introduce and transfer imec’s expertise to the local Flemish industry.
01
Mini@sic designs
In the frame of mini@asic, in 2009, 545 prototype ICs
were processed. Of these, 305 belonged to European
universities, 87 to European research institutes, and 153
to non-European universities and research labs.
Through the mini@sic principle, and with the financial
help of the EU (project Europractice IC4), the price of
a prototype IC fitting in one small wafer block is in the
order of 2,000 euro in 0.18µm technology, and 7,000
euro in 90nm technology.
02
MEMS designs
In 2009, the first 13 MEMS designs were submitted for
prototyping.
70
03
Imec training center:
Highlights from the 2009
training program:
- Analysis Techniques, a detailed overview covering
electron techniques (SEM, EPMA, TEM, AES, XPS), ion
techniques (RBS and SIMS), and atomic force microscopy.
- Analog Design Essentials, covering switched capacitor
filters, distortion in elementary transistor circuits, continuous
time filters, comparators.
The imec training center has two platforms for on-line
knowledge exchange. One is for imec employees, available
through imec’s intranet; a second platform targets
a broader audience and is available through www.mtconline.be.
This website contains course material for Flemish
high schools and universities, for regional groups
and technology projects (such as the Flemish multimedia
community and the NanoSoc project), for European projects
(such as Europractice, CarbOnChip, and IDESA), and
for the Xilinx university program. The imec training center
is also offering e-learning through streaming video:
more than 500 seminars and courses have been recorded
and are now available on-line. Also, more than 100
hours of web-based training are available. Most of the
web-based material was translated into Chinese and was
transferred to a Chinese training center.

Europractice multiproject wafer, processed
by On Semiconductor on 0.5µm technology
04
Some notable events and collaborations for 2009
- Solar cell event – During this event, imec presented its solar cell research and the impact on the Flemish industry.
This was also an occasion for all players involved to network and to exchange information.
- Biomedical electronics event – This event included an overview of imec’s biomedical research programs and interactive
sessions centered around 20 technology demonstrators, from a lab-on-chip to a sleep monitoring system.
- Wireless community – imec, in cooperation with IBBT (Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology), coordinates
a community of companies, research centers and universities that share and discuss public technical information
in the domain of wireless communication (www.wireless-community.be).
- Electronic Design & Manufacturing (EDM) program – imec and Sirris (Flemish research center for the technology
industry) offer an independent knowledge- and network forum to the industry. In collaboration with industrial
EDM partners, design- and qualification guidelines as well as matching tools will be developed and made available.
05
ASIC manufacturing and design services
With its imec ASIC services, imec offers an ASIC design, prototyping and small-volume production service. First, the
design services team helps customers to make their ASIC production-ready. For more than 550 European universities
and 100 research institutes, and with support of the FP7 project Europractice IC4, imec provides technical support.
Next, the designs of several customers – universities or private companies – are collected on a single mask set and
manufactured on a small volume of wafers. These multi-project wafer (MPW) runs allow sharing the expensive mask
costs. In 2009, customers submitted around 550 designs to MPW runs through imec.
71

Jo
decuyper,
Director of
RVO-Society
VZw

BRINg SCIENCE TO LIFE,
yOUR LIFE!
RVO-Society wants to bring young people into
contact with science and technology. We do
this in a way that brings the living world into
the classrooms, and that allows kids and youngsters
to discover and foster their talents. Our vision is
that this discovery will allow them to make positive
choices, and learn them to take up technical challenges
with lots of enthusiasm, throughout their professional
and private lives.
RVO-Society was set up in 2000 in memory of imec’s
founder Professor Baron Roger Van Overstraeten. We
have kept this strong link with imec: we are housed
at imec, welcoming scores of pupils and teachers and
showing them around on the imec campus. And because
our vision – bringing science and technology to
young people – is so broad, we have focused it down
to the subjects that are also studied at imec: most notably
micro- and nano-electronics.
We are a team of 10 enthusiasts. A visionary and dedicated
team, but a small team nonetheless. We can only
make a difference if we can influence what is taught in
the schools, and how it is taught. So when the previous
Flemish government drew up the education plans
for teaching technology in the 21 st century, imec and
RVO-Society participated. We helped shaping those
plans, based on the idea that youngsters should be
able to use and understand technology with ease, and
to fit it in the bigger picture of science.
But we didn’t only draw up plans; we also helped implementing
them. The trick here is to involve everyone:
the young people, but also their teachers, and the
people responsible for managing the schools. For the
youngsters, we develop educational packages; we call
them technology treasure chests. We go to great lengths
to make these as user-friendly as possible, and to
incorporate the latest didactic insights.
But to get these packages in the classrooms, we also
have to make the teachers enthusiastic. Almost none
of our teachers have received formal training to work
with technology in the classroom. Our strategy then
INTERVIEW WITh Jo dEcuyPER
RVO-SOCIETY VZW
is to offer the packages to the school, with a teacher
training included. This way, we can make the teachers
comfortable with the packages, giving them time to
try things out and to come back to us with questions
and feedback.
Now if the kids and the teachers like using the packages,
then they are likely to give positive feedback to
the school’s management. These directors, who may
have had their doubts about putting technology on
the school’s agenda, are now convinced by their pupils
and teachers to add more technology to the school
program!
For us, young people are incredibly valuable. We want
to help them foster and develop their talents, their
individual “treasure within”. Not necessarily to direct
them towards engineering, but to make them stronger,
happier and more creative people. We do this by
bringing technology into their classrooms; technology
as a way to engage these young people actively and
individually.
73

hIGhLIGhTs
RVO-SOCIETY AND IMEC OUTREACH
HIgHLIgHTS - Scientific literacy and popular scientific involvement are essential to solve many
of the challenges in today’s society. Therefore, imec’s outreach group and RVO-Society aim
to improve the interaction between the scientific community and the society at large. They
do so by setting up projects and interdisciplinary collaborations, many in collaboration with
RVO-Society.
01
Solar greetings
from Olin College
February 2009, RVO-Society, imec and Franklin W. Olin
College of Engineering (Boston, US) signed a longterm
agreement. Olin’s educational approach is based
on triggering interest and fascination in technology
through hands-on experience; interest that will lead
their students to become engineers that help create a
more responsible, sustainable society.
As part of this agreement, imec welcomed three
students from Olin College for an internship. The
students spent their summer designing an educational
demonstrator for solar energy generation. The
result illustrates the photovoltaic effect through an
appealing mechanical analogue. It was developed in
collaboration with students of industrial design at
Howest (Polytechnic high school in West-Flanders,
Belgium).
74
02
At school,
building a village
RVO-Society, imec, and CEGO (centre for experiencebased
education) bring entrepreneurship and technology
to schools.
One class of the participating school takes the initiative
to build a functioning model of a village. First the
kids work out the concept: how will the village look
like? Then they plan, make a budget, and engage partners
(other classes, teachers, parents, companies). Next
they start building, which involves discussions, project
oversight, managing many changes … And last, they
have to present their project.
This type of project engages young people individually.
It fosters their creativity in a lot of domains. And
it learns them invaluable skills, such as collaborating,
compromising, presenting, planning …
NANO VIEw exhibition - Leuven Academy of Art (SLAC)
03
Cera-foundation
awards
The Cera-foundation awards are an initiative of the
finan cial group Cera and RVO-Society. The goal is to stimulate
engineering students to use their expertise for
the benefit of non-profit organizations. Joost Roels and
Pieterjan De Putter, two students of electro mechanical
engineering at the Group T polytechnic, received the
2009 prize; they designed a safe and user-friendly system
for fastening wheelchairs inside vehicles.

04
Peter
and the Wolf
In collaboration with the orchestra of the Belgian armed
forces, RVO-Society has set up a project around
Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. We have developed
a package introducing the story and highlighting
the technology of sound. A few simple building blocks,
for example, with which the kids can make their own
speakers for an mp3 player. And as an apotheosis to
the project, they go to the theatre, where they get to
see a live performance of Peter and the Wolf.
07
Imec outreach
- Imec evening tour around the imec campus.
05
2010 – 10 years
of RVO Society
As part of our 10 th anniversary, RVO-society organizes
a host of activities. Activities in the schools, but also
outside the classroom. This is because we also want to
engage the parents of our young people. We want to
convince them of the value of technology and science.
The value that it may have in the lives of their kids,
and the prospects that it will offer them once they go
out looking for jobs.
- Collaboration with Howest (Polytechnic high school in West-Flanders, Belgium); students from Howest build
prototype designs based on imec’s technology.
- The exhibition NANO VIEW, set up by the students of Leuven’s Academy of Art (SLAC). The exhibition shows
the world of nanotechnology through the eyes of 800 youngsters.
06
RVO-Society and your
corporate responsibility
You have a corporate social responsibility program
focusing on reaching youngsters in their classrooms?
RVO-Society is ready to be your partner. We bring our
expertise to the table to help implement your valuable
educational project.
75

Ludo
deferm,
Executive
Vice-President
Business
Development

NEw RESEARCH DOmAINS CALL FOR
NEw BUSINESS
STRATEgIES
Since its start, now 25 years ago, imec has grown into
a world player in R&D for ICT. We have built a strong
expertise through our unique infrastructure, our extensive
expertise, our top researchers, and of course
our collaboration with important industrial players. But
these last years saw an important shift in the microelectronics
industry. A consolidation has caused companies
to change their business model. Some stopped
investing in their own fabs and went fablite; others
have chosen a fabless model. We at imec have extended
our program offering and made it also attractive
for the fablite and fabless companies. The net result is
that through these changes, our collaboration with the
IC industry has further strengthened.
In addition, we have broadened our research activities
to new domains, such as healthcare. And we have
started additional programs on energy. We know, of
course, that the reputation we have built in ICT will
not automatically follow us to those new domains. If
we want to make a difference in these domains, we
will have to come up with excellent results in biomedical
electronics and energy technology. And we will
have to communicate these to the right channels, gearing
our external communication to the new domains,
and putting excellent and scientifically underpinned
results in the news. This in turn will stimulate our
scientists to keep reaching for ever higher goals and
ever better results.
Our aim is to close more R&D collaboration agreements
with medical, pharmaceutical, and energy companies.
To do this effectively we have to gain insight in
the strategy of those companies, which will allow us
to adapt our collaboration models to their needs. We
know that what these companies expect to gain from
an R&D collaboration can strongly differ from what ICT
companies expect.
For research into chip scaling, an important differentiator
is our extensive and expensive state-of-the-art infrastructure.
In the medical and energy sectors, a good
infrastructure is still important, but not so important
that it sets us apart from other R&D centers. The investment
budgets to build the infrastructure needed
for R&D in these sectors are not so high.
Our biggest differentiator will be the combination of
the knowledge we have gained, our excellent scientific
results, and the patents that we have filed. That’s
INTERVIEW WITh Ludo dEfERM
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
where we can differentiate ourselves from other R&D
centers, and where we can convince companies that
are active on a world-scale to collaborate with us.
Another difference with the ICT world is that the companies
from the energy and life sciences are not used
to working in a model of open innovation. We have to
look how we can adapt our model, which is accepted
worldwide as a good way to do cost-efficient R&D in
ICT, to a model that is interesting for those sectors
where IP sharing is not a common practice. For those
companies, the protection of IP carries more weight,
and the research involved is closer to industrial applications
and products. So for them, our strategy on IP
and patents will be more important.
Next to our work in R&D programs, we also want to be
a solution provider, using our expertise and network
to look for solutions for medium-term needs of companies.
To do this successfully, the fact that we have
an extensive patent portfolio is an important plus.
Growing that portfolio even further is a cornerstone
of our strategy, next to aligning it with imec’s business
lines and programs. For the new domains that we are
engaged in - energy and life sciences - we have to aim
77

Ludo deferm
NEw RESEARCH DOmAINS
CALL FOR NEw BUSINESS
STRATEgIES
for a broad and deep portfolio of patents that are
economically relevant.
Imec is a breeding ground for spin-off companies. Our
31 spin-offs to date make for a successful ecosystem
with a lot of collaboration with Flemish companies,
and with an important economic return to Flanders.
For new start-ups, especially those in a pre-seed phase
that still have to find financing, the current economical
situation is challenging. Investment companies are
more critical for start-ups; they look very thoroughly
at the proposed budgets before deciding to invest.
Also, they expect more return from start-ups, and they
more and more shy away from the ICT sector. The
combination of these factors makes that people with
valuable ideas have a difficult time starting companies,
and that valuable ideas are left on the drawing board.
Imec has taken initiatives to stimulate the public interest
in start-ups. It would, for example, be interesting
to organize additional help for start-ups in a pre-seed
phase. For this, imec and other Flemish players push
for establishing a new incubation organization in Flanders.
This would be an agency connected to a fund, an
agency that can tap into the knowledge of all research
centers, and that would be available for pre-seed financing
of technology-oriented start-ups that are not
mature enough to convince venture capital or business
angels. This will give a better chance to those start-ups
that are promising but that cannot yet prove a returnon-investment.
78

HIgHLIgHTS - Only by joining forces, we will be able to find solutions for today’s
technological challenges and for the growing R&D costs. Imec collaborates with companies,
research institutes, and universities from around the world. Through various collaboration
schemas, imec’s partners have access to imec’s expertise.
01
International success
for imec’s research into
solar cell technology
The launch, in 2009, of imec’s industrial affiliation
program (IIAP) on crystalline silicon solar cells proved a
great success. The program was joined by energy powerhouses
GDF-Suez and Total, solar cell producers
Schott Solar and Photovoltech, and tool and material
suppliers such as MEMC Electronic Materials Inc.,
Leybold Optics Dresden GmbH, Roth & Rau AG, and
Mallinckrodt Baker B.V. Next to the IIAP, imec also
signed bilateral agreements, for example with Kaneka
Corporation, an important Japanese producer of chemicals
and solar cells, and with BPSolar. Imec has 25
years of experience in solar cell research, experience
which it now leverages to commercialize its photovoltaics
research on a larger scale.
02
Imec celebrates 25 years
of research with CEOs and
experts of top companies
For its 25 th anniversary, imec organized an academic
colloquium. Speakers from over the world presented
their vision on the social, scientific, technological, and
industrial changes in the 21 th century. In 2009, imec also
organized a festive edition of the yearly Imec Technology
Forum (ITF). At the ITF, industrial experts and CEOs
from world-leading ICT companies convened to discuss
innovation in nanoelectronics. They expressed their
appre ciation for the results that imec has reached in
25 years of R&D.
ITF visited by Prince Filip of Belgium
hIGhLIGhTs
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
03
Imec
launches Pepric
and Lumoza
Pepric officially started in April 2009. The new company
develops systems for molecular visualization based on
magnetic nanoparticles. By having these particles selectively
bind to certain molecules in the human body, and
then visualizing the pattern, it is possible to follow the
biological processes involving those molecules. That way,
for example, the effect of particular medicines can be
followed and visualized directly. Pepric’s aim is to further
develop this technology and commercialize it for pharmaceutical
applications such as drug development and
preclinical studies.
2009 also saw the start of Lumoza, a new spin-off
company launched by the institute of materials research
of Hasselt University (IMO), imec, and screen-printing
company Artist Screen. Lumoza prints electroluminescent
computer animations on all kinds of sur faces, for
example on a thin plastic foil. The new company starts
out by targeting the advertising and packaging markets,
both on the lookout for new technologies. Further out,
many other applications are possible, for example in
the domain of sustainable building (luminous ceilings,
furniture, signs ...).
79

WaLter
fLuit,
Senior Vice-President
Safety, Buildings and
Quality

BUILDINg FOR
ImEC’S FUTURE
In its 25 years, imec has built a research campus that
can stand the comparison with any, worldwide. Our
researchers and partners have all the infrastructure
and equipment they need to do advanced research in
their domain.
We now have 24,400m² of office space, laboratories,
training facilities, and technical support rooms. Our
showpieces are the two cleanrooms that run a semiindustrial
operation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all
year round.
There is our 300mm cleanroom, in which we do research
and development on (sub-)22nm process technology.
In 2009, we made a functional 22nm SRAM
cell – the world’s smallest – making use of the most
advanced process steps such as EUV lithography, and
the commitment and accuracy of our cleanroom personnel.
Then there is the 200mm cleanroom, used for research
and development on heterogeneous integration. It sup-
ports semiconductor manufacturing processes with
added functionality, such as sensors, actuators, and
MEMS and NEMS. Imec’s CMORE services are run from
this cleanroom, where we are capable of producing
industry-compatible, highly integrated prototypes and
small-volume products.
In February 2009, we started building an extension, an
extra 1,200m², for our 300mm cleanroom. This project
is on schedule and will be ready mid-2010. The extension
will support heavier and larger equipment; it is
designed to be ready for 450mm equipment when it
becomes available.
The first equipment for this extension is scheduled to
arrive in May. And by the end of 2010, the preproduction
EUV tool from ASML will be installed; it is planned
to fully function in Q1 of 2011.
In parallel, we are also building new lab space to facilitate
and extend imec’s research on silicon and organic
solar cells and on biomedical electronics. These labs
will take up another 1,600m², including space for the
new NERF initiative on brain research.
INTERVIEW WITh WaLTER fLuIT
INFRASTRUCTURE
If you visit imec, you’ll notice that we have refurnished
our entrance hall. We’ve taken care to make it
an agreeable space where visitors feel welcome and
where they get a glimpse of imec’s research aspirations
and domains.
But the story doesn’t end there, we have further
expansion plans. 2009, we organized an architecture
competition to design a new office building. A jury,
including Flanders’ official building master, has se -
lec ted the entry of the Austrian architect’s firm
Baumschlager-Eberle. The new building will house up
to 450 people, and will have space for an auditorium
and labs with light equipment. The final decision
whether and when to construct the office building
will be taken mid-2010.
All these plans and decisions fit in a master plan for
the future of imec and the nearby science campus of
the Catholic University of Leuven. This master plan
guarantees us that we can keep growing our research
facility to match our aspirations for worldwide excellence.
81

hIGhLIGhTs
INFRASTRUCTURE
HIgHLIgHTS - Imec offers its employees and resident partners all the infrastructure and
equipment they need for advanced research in their domain. In this way, imec creates
an environment in which researchers can focus on what really drives them: scientific
exploration.
01
300mm-compatible
cleanroom
A key enabler for our advanced scaling R&D remains
materials research. Therefore, in 2009, we continued
extending our capabilities with advanced deposition
tools (metal PVD, metal CVD, III-V MoCVD, direct
plating) as well as upgrading several dry etch chambers.
82
- Ballroom type of cleanroom, 3,200m²
class 1,000 area, of which 2,200m² rests on
a vibration-controlled waffle table.
- Silicon pilot line for (sub-)32nm.
- CmOS processing on 300mm wafers.
- Semi-industrial operation – 24/24 and 7/7,
process monitoring, short cycle time.
- Unique lithography cluster centered around
ASmL equipment (including ASmL’s EUV
alpha tool).
- Advanced equipment and preproduction tools.
02
200mm-compatible
cleanroom
In 2009, we integrated all processes for heterogeneous
integration in the 200mm line. This includes bonding,
grinding, thick Cu plating, deep Si etch, and litho with
back-to-front alignment. In 2010 the focus will be on
integrating the assembly activities including die-to-die,
die-to-wafer, and wafer-to-wafer bonding.
Also in 2009, we extended the GaN-on-Si capabilities
for power devices and LEDs. In 2010 we plan to install
a new MoCVD deposition tool for depositing GaN
layers on 200 mm Si substrate.
- Bay and chase type of cleanroom, totaling
5,200m² of which 1,750m² is a class 1 area.
- Silicon pilot line with a 130nm TLm CmOS baseline
process and with mEmS process modules
on 200mm wafers.
- Processing on Si and on alternative substrates
such as III-V materials, organic semiconductors,
Sige …
- 3D-IC and 3D-wLP stacking IC baseline flows.
- Processes for thermophotovoltaic cells and
high-efficiency solar stacks
- Semi-industrial operation – 24/24 and 7/7,
process monitoring, short cycle time.

Process step in imec’s O-line
03
Unique expertise and
tools for GaN processing
For its R&D, imec can rely on state-of-the-art GaN epiwafers
that are fabricated in-house. We have unique
in-situ growth monitoring, extended material characterization,
and can evaluate materials through device
per formance assessments.
State-Of-the-art labOratOrieS
- Ultralarge-scale-integration design
methodology lab
- microsystems lab
- Ultra-clean processing lab
- Lab for material and device characterization
- Lab for physico-chemical-analysis
- Lab for automatic device and circuit
measurement
- Organic electronics lab
- Packaging and testing-equipment lab
- Reliability lab
- RF lab
- Lab for the development of biosensors
- Lab for the development of neuro-electronic
hybrid systems
04
Organic
photovoltaics line
2009, imec has set up an integrated processing facility
for organic photovoltaics, the O-line. The facility is
equipped with all processing steps needed for the
fabrication and characterization of state-of-the-art
organic solar cells. This will allow imec to scale up
its device size to 15x15 cm², and to have a pre-pilot
enviro n ment to develop a complete inline production
process for organic photovoltaics.
In addition, in 2009, imec further extended its pilot line
for silicon solar cells.
83

2009 aNNuaL accouNTs
IMEC
01
bALANCE SHEET 2009
assets
fIxED ASSETS 189,814,609
Tangible fixed assets 178,809,579
Land and buildings 58,039,108
Plant, machinery and equipment 94,226,153
Furniture and vehicles 792,815
Leased assets
Assets under construction 25,751,501
financial fixed assets 11,005,030
Investments accounted
for using the equity method 5,067,769
Other enterprises 5,937,261
Shares held, participations 5,143,054
Accounts receivable 794,207
CURRENT ASSETS 109,319,498
accounts receivable after one year 77,138,154
Accounts receivable, trade debtors 73,271,096
Other accounts receivable 3,867,058
Investments 15,081,013
Other investments 15,081,013
cash 12,958,331
deferred charges 4,142,001
totaL assets 299,134,107
84
LiabiLities
in euro
CAPITAL AND RESERVES 146,132,133
consolidated reserves 115,210,370
Negative consolidated differences 596,193
Translation differences -51,741
Investment grants 30,377,311
PROVISIONS AND DEfERRED TAxES 5,305,192
Provisions for liabilities and charges 5,305,192
Major repairs and maintenance 2,500,000
Other liabilities and charges 2,805,192
ACCOUNTS PAyAbLE 147,696,782
accounts payable after one year 34,405,220
Leasing debts
Credit institutions 34,405,220
Trade debts
accounts payable within one year 87,834,801
Current portion of long term debt
Short term financial debts – credit institutions 4,315,596
Trade debts 33,234,282
Suppliers 33,234,282
Advances received on contracts in progress 10,461,619
Taxes, remunerations and social security 16,766,987
Taxes 2,616,425
Remunerations and social security 14,150,561
Other liabilities 23,056,317
deferred income 25,456,762
totaL LiabiLities 299,134,107

02
INCOME STATEMENT 2009
in euro
OPERATING INCOME 274,750,181
Revenue from contract research 212,129,712
Miscellaneous income (charged-on costs, contribution in kind, conferences, ...) 9,914,323
subsidies from the flemish Region 44,730,000
subsidies from the dutch Government 7,976,146
OPERATING CHARGES -262,416,954
Goods for resale, raw materials and consumables 44,324,470
services and other goods 53,384,736
Remunerations, social security and pension costs 98,795,816
depreciation, write-offs and provisions 64,891,161
other operating costs 1,020,772
OPERATING RESULT 12,333,227
Interest charges -1,820,182
other financial charges and income 1,588,927
Exceptional charges and income 726,717
Taxes -121,868
PROfIT Of THE yEAR 12,706,821
INVESTMENTS 38,123,527
85

oRGaNIzaTIoN
IMEC
ORgANIZATION
01
bOARD Of DIRECTORS*
DIRECTORS
A. De Proft - CHAIRmAN
A. Oosterlinck - VICE-CHAIRmAN
G. Van Acker, B. Boone, P. Schelkens,
K. Maex, L. Moens, P. Stoffels, T. Leysen,
G. Declerck
SECRETARy
A. Vinck
INVITED
L. Van den hove
J. Cornelis, A. Soete
02
AUDIT COMMITTEE*
DIRECTORS
A. Oosterlinck - CHAIRmAN
A. De Proft, G. Van Acker, B. Boone
INVITED
L. Van den hove, A. Vinck, A. Soete
03
REMUNERATION
COMMITTEE*
DIRECTORS
A. De Proft - CHAIRmAN
A. Oosterlinck, G. Van Acker, L. Moens
INVITED
L. Van den hove, H. De Neve
* status Q1 2010
86
04
ExECUTIVE bOARD*
L. Van den hove - PRESIDENT & CHIEF ExECUTIVE OFFICER
L. Deferm - ExECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
H. De Neve - ExECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
A. Vinck - ExECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
G. Declerck - ExECUTIVE OFFICER AND mEmBER OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS OF ImEC INTERNATIONAL - INVITED
05
MANAGEMENT TEAM*
S. Biesemans - VICE-PRESIDENT PROCESS TECHNOLOgy
R. Cartuyvels - VICE-PRESIDENT PROCESS TECHNOLOgy
J. De Boeck - SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT SmART SySTEmS
AND ENERgy TECHNOLOgy
R. De Keersmaecker - SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT STRATEgIC
RELATIONS & CEO ImEC TAIwAN CO.
H. De Neve - ExECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT HUmAN RESOURCES
L. Deferm - ExECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT BUSINESS DEVELOPmENT
W. Fluit - SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT SAFETy, BUILDINgS AND QUALITy
B. Gyselinckx - gENERAL mANAgER ImEC NEDERLAND
P. Lagasse - PROFESSOR ImEC’S ASSOCIATED LAB AT gHENT UNIVERSITy
R. Lauwereins - VICE-PRESIDENT SmART SySTEmS TECHNOLOgy
OFFICE
H. Lebon - VICE-PRESIDENT FAB AND PROCESS STEP R&D
H. Maes - SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT INDUSTRIALIZATION AND TRAININg
R. Mertens - SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT UNIVERSITy RELATIONS
L. Van den hove - PRESIDENT & CHIEF ExECUTIVE OFFICER
J. Van Helleputte - SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT STRATEgIC DEVELOPmENT
P. Vandeloo - VICE-PRESIDENT ICT
A. Vinck - ExECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT & CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
06
SENIOR fELLOWS*
G. Borghs, H. De Man, R. Mertens
07
fELLOWS*
F. Catthoor, G. Groeseneken, P. Heremans,
M. Heyns, W. Vandervorst
08
MEMbERS Of THE SCIENTIfIC
ADVISORy bOARD*
E.H.L. Aarts - PHILIPS RESEARCH (THE NETHERLANDS)
I. Bolsens - xILINx (U.S.)
J.W. Brands - BARCO (BELgIUm)
A. Cremonesi - STmICROELECTRONICS (FRANCE)
T. Doyle - PHILIPS RESEARCH (THE NETHERLANDS)
P. Gargini - INTEL CORP. (U.S.)
R. Khosla - NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (U.S.)
L. Kindt - LK INVESTmENT (BELgIUm)
J.-T. Kong - SAmSUNg (KOREA)
J.-T. Moon - SAmSUNg (KOREA)
M. Ogura - mATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO (JAPAN)
J. O’Reilly - CRANFIELD UNIVERSITy (U.K.)
R. Pauwels - BIOCARTIS (SwITZERLAND)
J. Plummer - STANFORD UNIVERSITy (U.S.)
C. Quaeyhaegens - UmICORE ELECTRO-OPTIC mATERIALS (BELgIUm)
J. Schmitz - NxP-TSmC RESEARCH CENTER (BELgIUm)
G. Smeyers - KLA-TENCOR (BELgIUm)
J. Stork - TExAS INSTRUmENTS (U.S.)
T. Van Landegem - ALCATEL-LUCENT BELL (BELgIUm)
J. Winnerl - INFINEON TECHNOLOgIES (gERmANy)

ADDRESSES
01
IMEC
Kapeldreef 75
B-3001 Leuven
Belgium
Phone: +32 16 28 18 80
Katrien.marent@imec.be
02
IMEC THE NETHERLANDS – HOLST CENTRE
High Tech Campus 31
5656 AE Eindhoven
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 40 277 4000
Philippe.mattelaer@imec-nl.nl
discLaimer
The contents of this annual report are intended exclusively for the personal
information of the reader to the exclusion of every other interpretation.
Although imec strives to ensure that the information contained herein is
meticulous, correct and complete, it must be stated that it cannot give any
guarantee as regards the accuracy, precision and/or the completeness of the
afore-mentioned information. The information provided in this current annual
report is provided “AS IS” and does not contain a single guarantee, either
explicitly or implied, and this in the broadest sense. Moreover, the information
cannot be considered in any way as an opinion or a recommendation from
imec. Even more specifically, none of the information contained herein can be
used for investment purposes in the broadest sense of the word.
Possible expectations and/or projections concerning future events that imec
might have included in this annual report are based upon the current insights
03
IMEC OffICE U.S.
960 Saratoga Ave, Suite 206
CA 95129 San Jose
California
U.S.
Phone: +1 408 551-4502
Raffaella.Borzi@imec.be
04
IMEC TAIWAN
A6, 1F, No 1, Li-Hsin 1st Rd.
Hsinchu Science Park
Hsinchu City 300
Taiwan
Phone: +886 3 578 1115
Peter.Lemmens@imec.be
and assumptions of the imec management regarding known and unknown risks
and uncertainties. The actual results, performances or other circumstances can
in no small way differ from the stated expectations as a result of modifications
in among other things, but not limited to them, (i) the general economic
conditions in the sector in which imec operates, (ii) the conditions in among
other things the financial markets and sectors and/or in emerging and/or new
markets and sectors, (iii) laws and regulations and (iv) the policy of authorities
and/or regulators.
Imec, as well as its directors, management, employees and appointees in the
broadest sense possible, disclaim any responsibility for any possible damage,
loss, costs or expenses that might result from or could come about from the
use of this annual report and/or information contained in it.
All references contained in this report, pertaining to any kind of publications
addREssEs
IMEC
05
IMEC OffICE CHINA
Suite 4011 Block C
18 Huangyang Road
Pudong
201206 Shanghai
P.R. China
Phone: +86 21 61652747
gao.Teng@imec.be
06
IMEC OffICE JAPAN
c/o Embassy of Belgium
5-4 Nibancho, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0084
Japan
Phone: +81 3 5210 5882 / Akihiko.Ishitani@imec.be
Phone: +81 80 5180 1081 / mitsugu.yoneyama@imec.be
or web sites from third parties, are purely for informative purposes. The
responsibility for their content is the exclusive responsibility of the owner and/
or the person responsible for these publications or websites.
Imec is a registered trademark for the activities of ImEC International (a legal
entity set up under Belgian law as a “stichting van openbaar nut” , registered in
Belgium under the number of legal entities 0817 807 097), imec Belgium (ImEC
vzw supported by the Flemish government and registered in Belgium under the
number of legal entities 0425 260 668 ), imec the Netherlands (Stichting ImEC
Nederland, part of Holst Centre which is supported by the Dutch government
and known in the Dutch Kamer van Koophandel under the number 17179812) and
imec Taiwan (ImEC Taiwan Co.) registered in Taiwan under the business license
number 28112596).
87

Colophon
This annual report is available in English and Dutch.
The accompanying scientific report, in English, con -
tains detailed information about imec’s research
activities and results. Both reports are also available
on imec’s website (www.imec.be) and on the CD
enclosed with this report.
fOR PAPER COPIES,
CONTACT:
Imec
Inge Struys
Kapeldreef 75
B-3001 Leuven
Phone: +32 16 28 89 80
Fax: +32 16 28 16 37
Inge.Struys@imec.be
PUbLISHER
Prof. Luc Van den hove
President and CEO imec
EDITORS
Hanne Degans, Jan Provoost
ExTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Katrien Marent
CONCEPT & DESIGN
Kunstmaan
PHOTOGRAPHy
Fred Loosen, Jan Pollers
REALIZATION
Hanne Degans, Jan Provoost, Olfa Marzouk
The entire content of this publication is protected
by copyright, full details of which are available from
imec. All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise
– without the prior permission of the copyright
owner.
Contact: Katrien Marent (Phone: +32 16 28 18 80)

ASPIRE
INVENT
ACHIEVE
www.imec.be