Lee Maltings
Dyke Parade
Cork
CO
Ireland
Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork is one of Europe’s leading research centres in integrated ICT hardware and systems, and the largest facility of its type in Ireland. We specialise in electronics and photonics - materials, devices and systems. We are globally leading in our core research areas of:
- Nano Materials and Device Processing
- Smart Sensors and Systems
- Mixed Signal and Analog Circuit Design
- Optical Communication Systems
- Microelectronics and Photonic Integration
- Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication
Hosting the only full CMOS, Micro-Electronic-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and III-V Wafer Semiconductor fabrication facilities and services in Ireland, Tyndall is capable of prototyping new product opportunities for its target industries - electronics, medical devices, agri-food, energy and communications.
We employ over 460 researchers, engineers and support staff, with a full-time graduate cohort of 135 students generating over 200 peer-reviewed publications each year. With a network of 200 industry partners and customers worldwide, Tyndall generates 85% of its €30M income each year from competitively won contracts.
We are also a lead partner in European research programmes in smart system integration, electronics and photonics, with applications in health, transport, mobility, agri-food and energy. We partnered with over 420 organisations in 40 countries to deliver scientific and industrial outputs worth €299 million in FP7. We led 27 out of the 90 projects that we were involved, bringing €48 million in investment to Ireland. We continue to deliver value to European research in H2020 with 37 projects funded so far (5 coordinated).
Tyndall National Institute
Tyndall National Institute
Process & Product Development
Tyndall’s extensive fabrication facilities cover:
- Silicon MOS Fabrication
- MEMS Fabrication
- Compound Semiconductor Fabrication
- Training Facility
- E-Beam Lithography
- Flexifab
The flexible fabrication facility enables the heterogeneous integration of materials advanced device development. This enables the type of material integration which is essential for the More than Moore and IoT domains where advanced sensors are made network aware.
The resulting functionalised devices are transferred into the Device Forensics area for packaging, analysis, reliability and test.
Device Forensics
Complementing the ‘front-end’ fabrication capabilities, Tyndall has extensive ‘back-end’ facilities and expertise to be able to take the functionalised devices and package them in a form that enables the customer to use them in their real world systems. Married with this are capabilities in reliability testing, reverse engineering, electron microscopy and analysis which together provide the diagnostic tools that allow for the forensic analysis of materials and devices.
The particular capabilities cover the areas of:
- Electronic Packaging & Reliability analysis – wire/die bond, PCB assembly, µBGA. Environmental testing, package & failure analysis, burn-in, shock & drop, X-ray analysis, scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM).
- Electron Microscopy Analysis Facility (EMAF) – SEM, TEM, FIB, EDAX analysis, cryo-stage enabled SEM for biological sample analysis.
- DTE – IC re-engineering, patent infringement, circuit design analysis, analogue, digital & mixed signal diagnostic measurements.
Our researchers have years of experience working with industry and other academic collaborators worldwide.
Through a range of collaborative and contract research models we deliver technology solutions to industry challenges.
Find out more on:
We conduct collaborative and contract research programs in two primary technologies: photonics and micro & nano systems. Our industry-focused research is applied primarily to challenges in the areas of health, communications, energy and the environment.
Detailed information about our research themes and capability can be found under the Research section.
Our commercial team can quickly connect you to the correct research group so please reach out to the team through the contact below. We can also help identify the appropriate business models for your particular research needs.
The Specialty Products & Services at Tyndall comprises frontend activities encompassing cleanroom fabrication and training facilities as well as back-end Device Forensics activities including analysis, test, reverse engineering, packaging and reliability.
Our flexible fabrication offering - FlexiFab - is in a unique position to allow for greater material exchange between the fabrication areas, whilst maintaining protocols to avoid cross contamination. The flexible exchange of materials and devices on offer here across the functional areas of CMOS, MEMs and Compound Semiconductor is unique in industrially accessible fabrication facilities. This enables the type of material integration essential for the More than Moore and IoT domains, where advanced sensors are made network aware. Our extensive ‘back-end’ facilities and expertise enable us to take the resulting functionalised devices and package them in a form that enables the customer to use them in their real world systems. Coupled with this are capabilities in reliability testing, reverse engineering, electron microscopy and analysis which together provide the diagnostic tools that allow for the forensic analysis of materials and devices.