ITF2018 Belgium: a resounding success
On May 23 and 24 in Antwerp, imec welcomed 1,800 participants from all over the world for its yearly ITF Belgium conference. With this year’s theme ‘New Perspectives – make the impossible possible’, the research center invited the participants to explore tomorrow’s life-improving technologies.
Many of these perspectives and technologies were presented by the conference speakers – top experts from industry and academia – and in the 50 demo booths showcasing imec’s newest innovations. Also at ITF, imec’s 2018 Lifetime of Innovation Award was granted to Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Founding Chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm.
Look here to see the highlights of this year’s presentations! Interested in joining us next year? TF2019 Belgium will take place on May 15 and 16. Save the date!
Imec demonstrates innovative eye tracking technology
At ITF, imec demonstrated a new wireless eye-tracking technology that improves the augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) experience. This innovation is enabled through electro-oculography (EOG), an ophthalmology technique used to examine eyes and to record eye movements. The new EOG technology was developed by imec researchers in Holst Centre (the Netherlands).
Current AR/VR headsets are expensive and bulky and they often cannot keep up with the wearer, which impedes a fluent AR/VR experience. Imec’s EOG technology, in contrast, makes use of dry-contact electrodes mounted on standard eyeglasses, an ergonomic design that gives the wearer a comfortable feeling. Moreover, users can navigate interfaces and menus quickly through eye gestures, eliminating the need for hand controllers. Want to know more? Read the full press release here.
An innovative and cost-effective cooling solution for high performance chips
In May, imec also demonstrated a new low-cost solution to cool chips at the package level. This is the first effective impingement-based solution, using a 3D-printed showerhead that sprays the cooling liquid directly onto the bare chip, ensuring that all the liquid on the chip surface has the same temperature and reducing the contact time between coolant and chip. This is an important innovation in view of the ever-increasing cooling demands of high-performance 3D chips and systems. Here is the full press release.
Imec sets new benchmark for secure localization based on Bluetooth
Also at ITF, imec announced that its researchers have developed a new secure proximity technology with an accuracy down to 30 centimeters. This new IoT technology was developed by imec researchers in Holst Centre (the Netherlands) and researchers from COSIC, an imec lab at the KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium). It sets a new benchmark in localization accuracy using a standard Bluetooth radio and paves the way for increased data security in intuitive smart environments such as buildings, cars and cities.
Want to know the details? Read the full press release here.
Imec and Unisantis unveil ultra-scaled EUV-enabled Surrounding Gate Transistor SRAM cell
And lastly at ITF, imec and Unisantis Electronics Singapore Pte Ltd, a leading developer of Surrounding Gate Transistor (SGT) semiconductor technology, announce the results of their joint development of a process flow targeting an SGT 6T-SRAM cell with areas between 0.0184 and 0.0205 square micrometer, meeting or exceeding the dense cell area for a N5 technology node. Studies show that the vertical gate-all-around SGT-based cells have a 20-30% reduced area compared to horizontal gate-all-around FETs, while also outperforming these in terms of operating voltage, standby leakage and stability. Read the press release here.
Published on:
30 May 2018
