Belgium --- Alcatel is offering Europractice customers worldwide access to its new high speed 0.35µm SiGe1 BiCMOS technology for prototyping and volume production. This technology is ideally suited for RF products running up to 10GHz.  IMEC, as coordinator of the Europractice IC Service, will offer customers a total solution including cell library distribution and support, deep-submicron netlist-to-layout generation, low-cost prototyping and production of tested and packaged chips.  Customers for the Alcatel technology are typically new start-ups, companies with smaller volume requirements and research groups in universities and research laboratories.

IMEC serves as a classic ASIC vendor through the Europractice IC Service, providing initial technology support and cell library distribution, backend design support, prototypes and volume production with cost-effective design services including multi-project wafers (MPW) for prototypes and volume production runs at Alcatel’s fabs in Belgium. IMEC distributes Alcatel’s libraries and EDA models worldwide, allowing customers to perform front-end design. IMEC performs back-end layout of customer netlists using advanced deep-submicron CAD tools, and submits the layout to Alcatel’s microelectronics division for manufacturing. Customers who prefer to complete their designs down to layout, receive access to Alcatel’s foundry capabilities, as well as low-cost production through IMEC’s MPW service.

"Alcatel’s 0.35µm SiGe1 BiCMOS technology complements the deep-submicron CMOS technologies that IMEC offers as part of the Europractice IC Service portfolio. Now IMEC can offer access to low-cost prototyping and volume production for a wide range of future RF products to IC designers throughout the world," said Dr. Carl Das, Director of Europractice IC Service at IMEC.

“With Ft/Fmax of 50/80GHz at BVCEO higher than 3.6V, our SiGe1 technology is doubling RF performance and this at virtually the same cost of a comparable Si BiCMOS technology. Our 0.35µm SiGe technology comes with a dense and very rich telecom library. It can be used for a broad range of applications such as WLAN and optical networks where good RF performance at low cost is required. By offering SiGe1 to IMEC-Europractice, this RF technology becomes available to a wide range of customers, who can rely on the professional service from the Europractice organisation, and on the established foundry capabilities of Alcatel,” said Dr. Marnix Tack, Director Technology R&D at Alcatel’s microelectronics activities.

IMEC-Europractice and Alcatel have a long lasting and successful collaboration, whereas IMEC is offering a wide portfolio of Alcatel’s mixed-mode and high-voltage technologies to the Europractice community. The present agreement is extending the collaboration also into the area of RF technologies.

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Notes to editors

About Europractice IC Service

Europractice IC Service has been set up in 1995 through a project by the European Commission in order to stimulate European industry and universities to use advanced IC technologies. The Europractice service, run by a consortium headed by IMEC, offers industry and academia a fully supported affordable route to IC design, prototyping and small and medium volume production. Annually about 500 designs are prototyped and 130 small volume projects are being manufactured at leading IC manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.Europractice.imec.be.

About IMEC

IMEC was founded in 1984 and today is Europe’s largest independent research center in the field of microelectronics, nanotechnology, enabling design methods and technologies for ICT systems. IMEC's activities concentrate on the design technology for integrated information and communication systems; silicon process technology; silicon technology and device integration; nanotechnology, microsystems, components and packaging; solar cells; and advanced training in microelectronics. IMEC is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has a staff of more than 1200 people including over 350 industrial residents and guest researchers. IMEC has a sub-0.25µm 200mm pilot line and is ISO9001 certified. Its revenue of more than 120Meuro is derived from agreements and contracts with the Flemish government and companies, the EC, MEDEA, the European Space Agency, equipment and material suppliers, and semiconductor companies worldwide. News from IMEC is located at www.imec.be.

About Alcatel

Alcatel builds next generation networks and the chips that power them, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data communications solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 110,000 employees and sales of EURO 27 billion in 2000, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information on Alcatel’s semiconductor solutions, visit www.alcatel.com/microelectronics

For more information:

Katrien Marent

IMEC
Tel: +32 16 28 18 80

E-mail: katrien.marent@imec.be

Mirella Kimpen                                                                                                                                                             Kevin Kohleriter

Alcatel Europe & Asia                                                                                                                                                        Alcatel USA

Tel : +32 2 718 1840                                                                                                                                           Tel : (972) 477 7611

E-mail: Mirella.Kimpen@mie.alcatel.be                                                            E-mail : Kevin.Kohleriter@usa.alcatel.com