STMicroelectronics and Politecnico di Milano jointly establish advanced sensor R&D center

China, June 22, 2021 – STMicroelectronics (ST), a global semiconductor leader serving multiple electronic applications, and the Politecnico di Milano, a university that trains engineers, architects and industrial designers, announced the signing of a five-year technical cooperation agreement, and invited Italian Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti to attend the signing ceremony. The core of the agreement is to build on the long-term partnership between STMicroelectronics and the Politecnico di Milano to establish a joint research and development center for advanced sensor materials (STEAM), providing Italian professors, researchers and PhDs with valuable research opportunities, that is, all the resources needed to conceive, design and develop MEMS technology and develop new MEMS products.

The cooperation agreement will increase the attractiveness of Politecnico di Milano to talented academics, offering several PhD scholarships and positions for professors and researchers in four areas of mutual interest and related materials fields. The expansion of the existing cooperation will allow the further development of the Lombardy Center of Excellence in Cutting-Edge Sensors.

STMicroelectronics is a global leader in the MEMS and advanced sensor markets, with sales of over 15 billion MEMS products to date. The Lombardy region near Milan is the center of the company's global MEMS R&D activities. According to the agreement, the cooperation teams of both parties will study and understand the future market demand in the fields of advanced MEMS, motion control, power electronics and current isolation, develop related technologies, and cultivate R&D talents, which will help promote STMicroelectronics' R&D planning in advanced sensors, MEMS and analog devices.

The agreement also includes the upgrading of the infrastructure of the Politecnico di Milano. In addition to the renovation of the current PoliFab clean room 150 mm wafer production line, an advanced 200 mm pilot production line will be built specifically for the development of new MEMS technologies and to support scientific research projects, training and thesis defense.

Ferruccio Resta, Rector of Politecnico di Milano, stressed: “The joint R&D center between Politecnico di Milano and STMicroelectronics is the result of an important collaboration in key areas such as sensors and artificial intelligence, an investment also aimed at promoting innovation in the manufacturing industry and boosting the Italian economy. This open-to-business laboratory is part of a major project to create a true Technological Innovation District in Parco dei Gasometri in Bovisa, near Milan, a truly world-class ecosystem able to compete with similar ones abroad. This Center of Excellence embodies the exchange and collaboration between public and private sectors, between universities and companies. This collaboration is a strategic activity for Politecnico di Milano, which is increasingly focusing on advanced technological research and improving regional competitiveness.”

“This agreement between STMicroelectronics and Politecnico di Milano will play an important role in our MEMS and sensor R&D activities,” said Jean Marc Chéry, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics. “It is a great example of industry-university collaboration and demonstrates the significance of ST’s collaborative research framework with universities and research institutes around the world: supporting the development of advanced technologies and engineering ecosystems in ST’s fields, cultivating talents and building the future. We see great value and development opportunities in expanding our collaboration to study and understand future business needs, develop related technologies, cultivate talents and improve skills in areas such as advanced MEMS, motion control, power electronics and galvanic isolation.”

About Politecnico di Milano

The Politecnico di Milano is a university of science and technology that trains engineers, architects and industrial designers. The Politecnico di Milano has always focused on the quality and innovation of teaching and scientific research, and has established fruitful industry-university cooperation with the industry through experimental research and technology transfer.

Scientific research and teaching have always been complementary. Scientific research is a primary mission of the Politecnico di Milano. Therefore, the Politecnico di Milano has achieved high-quality scientific research results at the international level and established close cooperative relations with the business community.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics has 46,000 creators and innovators of semiconductor technology, and controls the semiconductor supply chain and advanced manufacturing equipment. As an independent semiconductor equipment manufacturer, STMicroelectronics develops products and solutions with more than 100,000 customers and thousands of partners, and jointly builds an ecosystem to help them better cope with various challenges and new opportunities and meet the world's higher demand for sustainable development. STMicroelectronics' technology makes people's travel smarter, power and energy management more efficient, and the Internet of Things and 5G technology are more widely used.