May 1, 2012 -- French research organization CEA will extend its collaboration with chemical company Arkema beyond photovoltaics into microelectronics and organic electronics, setting up two joint public-private research projects in CEA-Leti and CEA-Liten.

The partners will develop ultra-high-performance materials and manufacturing processes to grow the leading-edge electronics sector in France. Arkema will nanostructure polymers to produce new materials that optimize performance and cost of next-generation silicon components. CEA researchers will share expertise in microelectronics development processes. The CEA-Leti (Laboratoire d'Electronique et de Technologie de l'Information) will focus on microelectronics and information technologies. CEA-Liten (Laboratoire d’Innovation pour les Technologies des Energies Nouvelles et les nanomatériaux) will study new energy technologies.

Also read: CEA-Leti Annual Review: The heart of Europe's semiconductor industry challenges

Arkema will bring a group of technical polymers (fluorinated, piezoelectric, nanostructured thermoplastic polymers) to Liten to meet the technological challenges of the large-area printed electronics sector (flexible screens, intelligent packaging and textiles, photovoltaic panels). The aim is to improve system lifetimes, manufacturing costs, and integration of several functions onto a single support. The use of organic materials opens up a new field of printable, transparent and flexible components that can be integrated into large-area printed electronic products.

The partnership will help develop new materials for lithography and organic electronics manufacturing, said Christian Collette, VP of research & development at Arkema. Microelectronics are a new focus of research for Arkema.

Leti is an institute of CEA, a French research-and-technology organization with activities in energy, IT, healthcare, defense and security. Leti specializes in nanotechnologies and their applications, from wireless devices and systems, to biology, healthcare and photonics. NEMS and MEMS are at the core of its activities. For more information, visit www.leti.fr.

Arkema is a global chemical company. Learn more at http://www.arkema.com/.