As part of the call for projects “Industry Stimulus Plan – Strategic Sectors,” launched by the French Ministry of Industry, RIBER, a global market leader for molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) equipment serving the semiconductor industry, has been awarded public funding to finance its 300mm pilot line.
ROSIE is a unique platform that enables epitaxy for perovskite materials and specifically BTO/STO on silicon. This configuration makes it possible to address the core component of several emerging applications, including electro-optic modulators, electric vehicles, beyond CMOS and quantum computing.
The French State’s €1.1m subsidy has further strengthened RIBER’s dedicated resources to implement the ROSIE pilot line, which aims to provide the material and human resources needed for industry stakeholders to carry out small series, demonstrators and proofs of concept.
Based on the ultra-vacuum deposition technique and compatible with semiconductor industry standards (300 millimeters), ROSIE will be focused on depositing very thin films of materials with an epitaxy process on silicon and will offer monoatomic precision capabilities in terms of control on a 300mm wafer.
ROSIE represents a total industrial investment of €3m over three years. Driving the development of silicon photonics, it will help meet the current challenges concerning the integration and convergence of semiconductor sectors (silicon, III-V) to design new microprocessors that go beyond the current technological limitations and offer extremely high-performance switching speed properties with virtually zero optical losses. The ROSIE pilot line, which is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2023, has already received several expressions of interest from clients in Europe and the United States.
ROSIE clearly illustrates how the industry is a source of solutions to meet tomorrow’s strategic challenges. It is also a concrete example of the French government’s support for the most buoyant fields from the manufacturing sector in France.
Mrs Fiona Lazaar, Member of the French national assembly for Val-d’Oise, and Mr Adrien Allard, Deputy Prefect for the Stimulus Program in Val-d’Oise, visited RIBER’s Bezons site last Wednesday, and were able to observe that the Company’s technological advances and robust development have enabled it to create a global hub for excellence that employs more than 100 people in France.
Adrien Allard, Deputy Prefect for the Stimulus Program in Val-d’Oise says: “Through the call for projects “(Re)locations in critical sectors”, the government has taken concrete measures to support productive investment and strengthen the resilience of our industry. Laureate in the electronics sector – in a context of unprecedented tension on our production capacities for such components, the project carried out by the company RIBER will fully contribute to these challenges.”
Fiona Lazaar, Member of the French national assembly for Val-d’Oise, adds: “The significant support for the RIBER company in Bezons is a concrete illustration of our desire to relocate strategic sectors in France with a double challenge: the reconquest of our industrial sovereignty and the reindustrialization of the country. Our territory is full of know-how and innovation capacities in cutting-edge technologies, such as the ROSIE project. The France Relance stimulus plan makes it possible to support them by massively reinvesting in the tomorrow’s industrial tool.”
Philippe Ley, Chairman of RIBER’s Executive Board, concludes: “Thanks to the French State’s support, RIBER is setting out its position as a vital industrial partner to further strengthen the semiconductor industry’s competitiveness in Europe. This public support will help optimize and secure the industrial development of our highly strategic ROSIE pilot line. RIBER is moving forward with its ambition to work on innovative and disruptive technologies supporting the silicon industry.”
