Six consortia to receive NXTGEN Hightech Growth Fund grants: €16 million
Researchers from TU/e departments Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Applied Physics and Science Education lead three of the six consortia funded this round.
Published on December 7, 2024
The NanoLabTUe cleanroom offers high-tech research facilities at our university. Photo © Bart van Overbeeke
High-tech systems are the foundation beneath many products we use every day. They are the foundation beneath our semicon industry, smart mobility, and many more advanced technological areas. No wonder the Dutch Scientific Council (NWO) aims to strengthen research with the NXTGEN Growth Fund that will contribute to Dutch and European high-tech industries. The TU/e leads three of the six funded projects. All three projects tie into the Flagship Future Chips, whether they help look inside semiconductors, improve mechatronic systems, or improve dynamic system designs and train more system engineers.
The six consortia selected by the Dutch Scientific Council to receive funds this round will receive more than 11 million euros in grants. The co-funders of the projects will also provide an additional 5 million euros in funding.
These grants were awarded Future-proof high-tech equipment’. research proposals that would maintain and reinforce the Netherlands' current strength in high-tech equipment.
Here are the six projects:
CHiPS: Compact High-Performance Sensors
Main applicant: dr. N. Bhattacharya (Delft University of Technology). Co-applicant(s): Dr. Ir. J. van Heijningen (NIKHEF), Dr. S.H. Hossain Nia Kani (Delft University of Technology), Prof. Dr. J.L. Herder (Delft University of Technology)
The semiconductor industry needs faster more accurate machines. The CHiPS project aims to create advanced sensors to solve vibration problems in semiconductor manufacturing. Our goal is to design highly sensitive sensors that can measure small movements with extreme precision. These sensors will be small, the size of a coffee cup, and much more sensitive than current technology.
A team from Nikhef and TU Delft, with expertise in gravitational wave science and semiconductor technology, is leading this project. Key industrial partners, including ASML, DEMCON, Settels Savenije, IBS-Precision Engineering and IDE, are involved in the development and use of this new technology.
Enhanced bioluminescence for automated microbial contamination detection
Main applicant: Dr. O.S. Ojambati - University of Twente. Co-applicant(s): prof. dr. ir. A.Y. Mersha (Saxion University of Applied Sciences).
This project will develop a rapid, cost-effective and highly sensitive detection system for microbial contamination. By improving ATP bioluminescence with advanced nanotechnology and automation, we aim to improve public health, food safety and pharmaceutical quality control, making advanced microbial testing accessible to all. To achieve this goal, we will use nanophotonic structures to improve bioluminescence intensity and leverage robotics and artificial intelligence to automate the procedure.
Optimized Low-Voltage Multi-Beam Electron Microscope and High Throughput CL detection
Main applicant: dr. ir. J.P. Hoogenboom - Delft University of Technology. Co-applicant(s): Prof. Dr. A Polman (AMOLF).
Electron microscopy allows materials to be viewed at the highest possible resolution. This is crucial both for quality control in the production of computer chips and for research into the origin of brain diseases, for example. Currently, electron microscopes illuminate a specimen with only 1 beam, making them too slow to view specimens larger than about 1 mm. The researchers are going to use a number of innovations to enable illumination with multiple beams simultaneously. In addition, they will make the microscope very sensitive to signals generated specifically by defects.
The three TU Eindhoven-based projects:
Semiconductor quality control with terahertz technology
In the chip industry, ensuring the quality of semiconductor materials is crucial. The project is led by Jaime Goméz Rivas, a professor at the Department of Applied Physics & Science Education, who will be working together with the Department of Electrical Engineering of the TU/e, ARCNL, and Saxion University of Applied Science, and seven industry partners.
The project aims to use terahertz electromagnetic radiation to measure key properties like the electrical conductivity of semiconductors at various depths without damaging the materials. A prototype that can quickly scan entire wafers using terahertz technology will be developed.
This innovation will help Dutch semiconductor companies improve production efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize waste, leading to more sustainable manufacturing processes.
Goméz Rivas: “Terahertz light can be used to ‘see’ properties of semiconductors that are otherwise hidden, without destroying or even touching the wafers. In this project, we will make terahertz light available to the semiconductor industry to improve production yields and device performance.”
Modular design of complex dynamical systems
The project ‘Next-generation High-tech Systems Engineering: Modular design of complex dynamical systems’ addresses two critical challenges facing the Dutch high-tech industry: the increasing complexity of system designs and the shortage of qualified system engineers.
Nathan van de Wouw, a professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, will lead this consortium.
This scalable method promises to revolutionize the development of complex systems by fully embracing modular design principles and automating the design process. The approach will initially be applied to groundbreaking machine design in the semiconductor industry, providing a significant competitive edge and ensuring the Dutch industry's sustained global leadership.
TU/e is the main applicant, and Groningen University is the co-applicant. “We aim to simplify the design of complex high-tech systems through contract-based system engineering with this project,” says Van de Wouw.
AI-driven holistic design and control tools for planar motors
The growing expectations and market demands in the semiconductor industry are driving the design of high-precision mechatronic systems to unprecedented levels of specification and complexity. Traditional iterative design methods for mechanical (ME), electromagnetic (EM), and control (CT) domains are no longer sufficient to meet these challenges.
In the groundbreaking research project ‘AI-driven Holistic Design and Control Tools For Planar Motors’ (AIDEAL) leading research groups from TU/e, TU Delft, and key industry players in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment sector join forces to develop an AI-driven optimization process.
The project, led by Roland Tóth, a professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, focuses on the integrated and optimal co-design of ME topologies, EM layouts, and motion-control algorithms for high-precision planar actuators.
By adopting a holistic and fully automated approach, this research aims to push the boundaries of innovation in system design, ensuring that the industry can meet future demands of cutting-edge precision and efficiency. Tóth says: “AI-driven co-design will lead the way for the semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry to achieve extreme precision and productivity.”