Everything from smartphones and electric cars to artificial intelligence and advanced medical equipment relies on microchips – the brains of modern technology. They are strategically important in almost all industries and play a key role in our technological development.
The uncertain global situation threatens the supply of this technology, and Norway and Europe must produce more of it themselves.
The EU is now strongly committing to microchips through investments and facilitation of design and pilot production through the establishment of 30 European competence centers for such technology.
One of these is CC-NorChip, a Norwegian competence center for semiconductor, microchip, and sensor technologies.
Strengthening competitiveness
CC-NorChip is a collaboration between the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), the SINTEF research institute, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the University of Oslo (UiO), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and the Electronic Coast electronics cluster.
The center will assist research communities and small and medium-sized enterprises in gaining access to advanced technology development and facilities in Norway and across Europe.
CC-NorChip offers expertise and services in microchip design, materials technology, microfabrication, and packaging technology, and assists with everything from idea to production. The center will also offer technical expertise, development support, access to networks and information, and advice on financing opportunities.
CC-NorChip will
- strengthen competitiveness, innovation, commercialization, and technology leadership for Norwegian and European companies
- contribute to the security of supply of chip technologies and applications
- lower the threshold for Norwegian stakeholders to use semiconductor and sensor technologies
- support the green and digital transition in society
Read more about CC-NorChip's services
USN's role
CC-NorChip is organized into different work packages, with responsibility divided among the partners in the center.
USN leads the work package “Access to networks,” which aims to ensure that Norwegian stakeholders receive both information about and access to networks, expertise, and pilot lines in Norway and Europe.
USN also has a special responsibility for disseminating information about and access to one of the four high-tech pilot lines for microchips in Europe. This is in the field of advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration, which complements the laboratory facilities at USN well. USN is particularly a leader in the development of sensors and packaging technology for microsystems.
CC-NorChip also works to raise the level of expertise in Norway in microfabrication and microchips, and USN plays a central role through its technology education programs.
ALSO READ: USN making it easier to go for microchips
Access to laboratories
In Norway, CC-NorChip offers access to the national infrastructure for micro- and nanofabrication, NorFab, which has four nodes:
- USN MST-Lab
- NTNU NanoLab
- UiO MiNaLab
- SINTEF MiNaLab
USN's MST-Lab includes several advanced laboratories in the Research Park at USN campus Vestfold:
- a flexible cleanroom for micro- and nanoscale fabrication and processing
- BioMEMS laboratories for research on biological microsystems
- laboratories for material processing and characterization and for electrical and optical measurements on microsystems
In addition, MST-Lab has equipment for performing environmental tests on materials, microchips, and electronics.
Read more about our laboratories: MST-Lab
Companies and research communities can contact: info@ccnorchip.no
Norwegian capacities: NorFab
European capacities: European pilot lines
Design platform: EU Chips Design Platform
