In a move to strengthen the industrial research capabilities of the III-V Lab, Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, Thales and CEA-Leti have announced that CEA-Leti will join the center. The public-private partnership will combine III-V semiconductor and silicon technologies, opening up new research perspectives and dynamics. The enlarged lab will include more than 130 researchers, technicians and doctoral candidates. In addition, the new partnership, which leverages the silicon, microelectronics and heterogeneous integration of the three companies, will have multiple benefits. These include the integration of the III-V components on silicon CMOS integrated circuits; the development of smarter, smaller components with features by heterogeneously integrating active III-V components with silicon circuits and microsystems; and the production of III-V components on silicon substrates and in silicon microelectronic manufacturing lines to reduce costs. The III-V Lab, which was established in 2004 by Alcatel and Thales, will focus on four primary areas of research and markets. These include: • Integrated photonic circuits that combine the active and passive functions of III-V and silicon for high-speed telecommunications and data transfer. • High-power and microwave GaN-based microelectronics to increase the power density, robustness, energy efficiency and compactness of telecommunication, avionics, satellite, defense, energy and transport systems. • A new generation of cost-effective, compact, ultrasensitive, highly selective gas sensors for use in security, industrial process control and environmental monitoring. • Thermal and near-infrared imagery for security and defense applications. The lab will develop new types of detectors with increased resolution while reducing overall cost and speeding their adoption in the industrial-quality control, transportation and environmental markets. The joint venture will allow the partners to accomplish things they could not do alone by bringing to the table complementary expertise in the pursuit of a common goal. The lab will be a strong source of creation, they said. Alcatel-Lucent, which includes Bell Labs, partners with service providers, enterprises, strategic industries and governments to provide mobile, fixed, IP and optics technologies. Thales is a global technology leader for the defense and security, and aerospace and transport markets. A French research and technology organization, CEA-Leti focuses its efforts in four main areas: energy, information technologies, health care technologies, and defense and security. For more information, visit: www.leti.fr