News
MEMPHIS: Shaping the future for our information society and personal well being
Summary:
MEMPHIS is a coherent and visionary project for research and development of a disruptive technology with a major impact on our future society. It brings together the best of electronics and photonics in a converging integration technology for applications in communication, medical devices, consumer infotainment, data processing, machine control, aviation and space markets.
An excellent balance between companies, universities and institutes results in application-focussed fundamental research and development to create novel technology for a multi market future.
Challenge
Most authoritative scenarios for the development of technology show optimistic views on how our life will be changed by personal communication, by an ambient, intelligent, comfortable and safe environment, by continuous health monitoring and by early detection of threats from nature, technical failure and human activities. These areas of interest require new complex miniaturized devices with fast increasing bandwidth against lowest possible cost price which cannot be fulfilled with present micro-electronic technology. The limitations of present electronics require a new massive converging technology based on complementary characteristics of micro- and nano-electronics and micro- and nano-photonics, utilizing the best of both technology worlds.
Micro- and nano-electronics support high computational complexity, intelligence and a rapidly increasing processing speed but is certainly limited by power requirements and performance to frequencies below 100 GHz. A dramatic increase of the frequency range is not to be expected since it results in impossible design and technology problems. Micro- and nano-photonics on the other hand have virtually unlimited frequency opportunities (> 1 THz), but are limited in their computational and technology versatility. A low cost combination of the processing power of classical CMOS IC technology, the high frequency capabilities of modern HF electronics and the large bandwidths offered by broadband integrated photonics creates the technology for novel broadband miniaturized electronic-photonic devices. This would open the way to major new applications for the use of light, in medical diagnostics, telecommunications, tracking and positioning. It will create a wealth of novel applications like Broadband Communication Technologies, Ultra-fast Signal Processing, Terahertz Imaging, Antenna Beam Steering, Automotive Radar and lots of applications in sensor technology, medical devices, display systems, light sources and machine control.
Goal of the program
The goal of the MEMPHIS project is the research and development of an integrated electronic-photonic technology platform (Silicon logic, HF, nano-electronics and photonics) to provide a broad range of multi-function miniaturized electronic-photonic devices.
This technology platform leads to a fundamental cost effective and excellent electronic-photonic technology enabling the development of novel electronic-photonic devices
leading to the optimal integral production processes & equipment including design tools, simulation and fast-nano-photonic prototyping for a broad range of applications in areas like telecommunication, medical diagnostics, healthcare, imaging and light generation. A very important challenging issue is to obtain a complete supply chain solution. Future applications will initiate and guide the R&D route of the project, starting from the definition of applications, deriving the new technology needed, the development of design principles, generating demonstrator products and developing the necessary production processes.
Additional project results are:
Realization of relevant demonstrators & applications in the areas of consumer lifestyle, healthcare telecommunication, imaging, radar ranging and medical diagnostics.
Education of a considerable number of researchers and engineers experienced in multidisciplinary, large scale collaboration relevant to the new technology (from Universities/HBO). Build-up of a world-class knowledge & facility environment at DIMES/Kavli, MESA+/CTIT, COBRA, AMOLF, industrial partners and end-users.