France rising in nanotech excellence

This was sent to me by the French Technology Press Office in New Delhi. Reproduced here for readers.

More and more companies from the USA and Japan are investing and launching partnerships in France to take advantage of its cutting-edge nanotechnology expertise. France boasts several zones dedicated to advancing nanotechnology excellence, including the SCS cluster in Sophia Antipolis, the Systematic cluster in the Paris region and notably, the global micro-nanotechnology cluster Minalogic in Grenoble.

In 2007, Minalogic will strengthen its leader status by investing €80 million into 8 new collaborative projects focused on micro and nanotechnologies for next-generation semiconductors and new manufacturing processes, and it recently welcomed Hewlett-Packard as its 50th partner. Starting in September, HP will help cluster members save valuable amounts of time and money with access to highly advanced 2-TeraFlop data processors, called Virtual Nodes.

On the research side, France’s world-class nanotech laboratory CEA-Leti and the leading Japanese lithography company Nikon announced a joint effort to examine Double Patterning and Double Exposure technology for 32 nm semiconductor devices. “Leti offers an outstanding, state-of-the-art facility with all of the processes required for Double Patterning,” says Toshikazu Umatate, Executive Officer, Precision Equipment Co., Nikon Corp. Another Japanese leader, Yamatake, is already working with Leti to develop nanotechnologies.

International companies looking to expand in nanotechnology are also choosing France for their European headquarters. The California-based analog semiconductor company Monolithic Power Systems, ranked as one of the fastest growing companies in Silicon Valley by Deloitte, has now opened its headquarters in Bernin-Crolles, and Boc Edwards, part of the Linde Group, has also moved its European semiconductor business headquarters from London to Grenoble to be closer to its electronics customers and to recruit skilled talent in the region.

France’s expertise is expected to grow on the healthcare side of nanotechnologies following the recent announcement of the opening of Clinatec, an experimental nanotechnology-based neurosurgery clinic expected to be set up in the next three years. The clinic will benefit from the work being carried out at Minatec, Europe’s largest research center in micro-nanotechnologies.

Bangalore Nano puts Indian firmly on world nanotechnology map

India is now firmly on the global nanotechnology map, following the announcement of the first Bangalore Nano 2007 Convention, which will be held this December.

The nanotechnology industry is heralding a new world order. It has been estimated that the market will grow to over US $1 trillion by 2015. In the US, nanotechnology projects have attracted more than US$800 million in public funds making it the largest research project since the Apollo moon landing.

The European Union is also committed to ensuring a balanced approach in developing nanotechnology. Japan has been investing in nanoscience since the 1980s and is now behind only to the USA in terms of government investment. South Korea and China have revised and improved their national initiatives over the past year, and Australia and India have announced significant new national investments in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

The first ever such Convention, a two-day event on nanoscience and technology, will be held on December 6-7, in association with Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). It would focus on the integrated roles of technologies, applications and market for the successful commercialization of nanotechnology. The theme of the event is: ‘Bridging the research-industry gap in Nanotechnology’.

My colleague, Radhika, has actually written about Bangalore Nano 2007, and I’m merely borrowing that page link from CIOL Semicon home page.

Bangalore Nano 2007 is the first major event of its kind in the country and is likely to host renowned global scientists and industry veterans in the field of nanotechnology.

C.N.R. Rao, honorary president, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and the Chief Mentor of Bangalore Nano 2007, said: “Nanotechnology, which has a global business potential of nearly $1 trillion, has many valuable societal application for the unprivileged in the country, including the creation of a more efficient filtering systems for producing clean drinking water and the provision of cheap and clean energy.”

This will surely be an event worth the wait