GRENOBLE, France – March 9, 2026 at 4:30pm CET – The FAMES Pilot Line today launched its second Open-Access Call for European semiconductor stakeholders to join the groundbreaking EU initiative focused on new chip architectures to boost European tech sovereignty. An online launch event was held this afternoon to provide researchers, academia, and industry teams with a detailed overview of the technologies currently available and the application process for accessing the pilot line.
Building on the strong interest and early silicon results of the 2025 open-access call, the 2026 program adds four new process design kits (PDKs) and research advances in integrated radio frequency filters and switches and components for power-management integrated circuits (PMIC).
Design houses, fabless companies, foundries, integrated device manufacturers, material & tool suppliers, universities and research centers can submit User Requests by responding to the two-month-long Open-Access Call, starting today, or by submitting a Spontaneous User Request throughout the year. For more information on the Open-Access mechanisms, participants can download the User Guidelines and Procedures document from the FAMES website (https://fames-pilot-line.eu/guidelines-for-open-access/). Open-Access Calls will take place each spring through 2028, with an updated portfolio of available FAMES technologies.
New Process Design Kits
This year’s open-access call PDKs:
- 15 GHz LiNbO3 Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonator (BAW-SMR) Filter PDK and 7-15 GHZ AlN/ScAlN BAW RF Filter PDK, making these state-of-the-art highly miniaturized RF components, having band pass filtering capabilities in the FR3 range, accessible to the chip ecosystem,
- Phase Change Material-based RF switch PDK, allowing users to design their own demonstrators and integrate them for the first time on high-resistivity 300 mm silicon wafers,
- FAMES’ magnetics on silicon MagIC technology R&D samples and subsequent PDK, enabling users to integrate micro-inductors directly on their power management systems-on-chip, closest to the SoC load, and
- The FD-SOI 10nm pathfinding PDK release 1 for testing the capabilities of this advanced low-power technological node.
“The 2026 Open-Access Call supports the European Union’s sovereign technological strengths with enriched technologies thanks to two years of successful R&D results,” said Susana Bonnetier, open-access chairperson. “The radio frequency components PDKs are especially noteworthy this year, because for the first time, participants will be able to access and test sovereign 7-15 GHz acoustic RF filter and PCM switch technologies of their own design.”
Bonnetier explained that users will also be able to test the impact on power-delivery efficiency of integrating micro-inductors directly on their power-management ICs and explore the performance advantages of the FD-SOI 10nm technology node with the Pathfinding PDK that is now ready for licensing and delivery.
Launched in December 2023 by the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) and coordinated by CEA-Leti, FAMES envisions a strategic leap in semiconductor innovation, while reinforcing Europe’s industrial leadership. The FAMES project has two main objectives:
- To offer Europe a domestic semiconductor pilot line for advanced technologies providing:
-
- Two generations of FD-SOI (Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator) technology at the 10nm and 7nm nodes,
- Various non-volatile memory (NVM) options in metallic interconnects above transistors,
- Radiofrequency (RF) components (passives, switches, and radio frequency filters), and
- 3D technological stacking options (3D sequential integration and 3D heterogenous integration),
- Seven application-driven demonstrators for brain computing interface, radar, neuromorphic computing, cybersecurity and optical communication networks.
- To promote FAMES Pilot Line technologies and to give Europe the opportunity to follow the miniaturization evolution of electronics on a wide spectrum of semiconductor markets strengthening European leadership and opening new opportunities.
In addition to the pilot line coordinator, France-based CEA-Leti, the FAMES consortium includes imec (Belgium), Fraunhofer (Germany), Tyndall (Ireland), VTT (Finland), CEZAMAT WUT (Poland), UCLouvain (Belgium), Silicon Austria Labs (Austria), SiNANO Institute (France), Grenoble INP (France) and the University of Granada (Spain).
About FAMES Pilot Line
FAMES (FD-SOI Pilot Line for Applications with embedded non-volatile Memories, RF, 3D Integration & PMIC, to ensure European Sovereignty) gathers leading RTOs and academic partners to develop five key technologies and an eco-innovation program that will enable new chip architectures. The project includes an open access program to enable semiconductor stakeholders to gain access to the Pilot Line and the FAMES technologies, and a comprehensive training program.
Visit https://fames-pilot-line.eu/
