imec expands cleanroom to produce even more high tech chips

The cleanroom, imec's research center where new chips are developed, is to be expanded. The laboratory is housed in a building, half of which was commissioned 7 years ago. Now the time has come to occupy the other half. That will happen by the fall of this year.

The chip sector has been booming in recent years, and imec wants to capitalize on that as well. So the clean room is becoming increasingly full for more research. "Of the 4,000-square-meter cleanroom, in 2016 we commissioned about 2,000 square meters and left 2,000 square meters in shell construction," says spokesman Pieter Van Nuffel. "Over the past seven years, however, cleanroom operations have grown tremendously. The first 2,000 square meters are completely full, so we are gradually reaching the limits of the current infrastructure."

imec will therefore also commission the second part of the cleanroom at the end of this year. "This must also be equipped with all kinds of high-tech filter and control systems, so that research and production are completely shielded from dust and vibrations. This is why we are now once again working on the clean room. We are busy getting it ready for use. By the fall, the works should be finished and the clean room will expand."

Source: VRT