TeraTOP- focus on CSEM, Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique

General description

CSEM, Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique, founded in 1984, is a private R&D center specialized in micro- and nanotechnology, system engineering, micro- and optoelectronics, as well as communications technologies. CSEM has more than 400 employees in Switzerland and 54M€ in revenues (2009). In the field of electronic imaging and integrated circuits CSEM is focused on the development of low-power ICs, imaging systems of ultimate performance, and imagers with on chip and pixel-level signal-processing functionality. Specific know-how embraces thorough knowledge of semiconductor physics and devices, analogue and mixed-signal circuit design, analogue and digital control electronics for image sensors, as well as firmware, algorithmic, software, optics and system engineering for photo detector systems.

Role / activity in the project

CSEM is the coordinator of the TeraTOP project. In addition, CSEM will lead the WP4 on the development and characterization of the low-noise readout circuit (ROIC) of the Terahertz imaging detector.

People involved in the project

Nicolas Blanc, received his PhD in Physics in 1992 from the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. He also holds an executive MBA from the RH Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland (USA). He worked in the field of Nanodevices at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory and in MEMS at the Institute of Microtechnology at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. In 1996 he joined the Paul Scherrer Institute in Zürich, Switzerland. His primary responsibilities were in the management of R&D projects in solid-state image sensors. From 1997 to 2004 he worked at CSEM, first as a Project Manager and then as the Section Head of the Image Sensing Group. Since 2004 he is heading CSEM’s Photonics Division in Zurich. Nicolas Blanc and his team won several awards, the most renown being the “EuroCase IST Grand Prize 2004” (€ 200’000) for the development of miniaturized 3D cameras for high performance and mass-market applications. Nicolas Blanc is member of the IEEE and SPIE, and board member of the association sensors.ch. He has co-authored more than 50 papers and 2 book chapters.

Stephan Beer, received his PhD in 2006 from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, for “Real-time photon-noise limited optical coherence tomography based on pixel-level analogue signal processing”, a research project he carried out at the CSEM SA. In 2006 he joined CSEM’s Photonics Division to work as R&D engineer in several projects in the field of image sensing, especially smart-pixel imagers, high-speed, and low-noise imaging. Since 2010 he is the deputy of the head of the image sensing group at CSEM and responsible of the design activities in the field of image sensors.

André Bischof, received his M.S degree in 1996 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland. From 1996 to 1998, he worked with Philips Semiconductors in Zurich as a design engineer responsible for the design of VLSI circuits for telecom applications. In 1998, he joined Conexant Systems in Newport Beach, California, where he focused on the design of key signal processing circuits for personal communication products. From 2000 to 2005, he worked as a project leader at BridgeCo AG in Dübendorf, Switzerland. He was leading the product development of System On Chip (SoC) ASICs for multimedia products with first time success story and followed companion devices. In 2005, he joined G-Lab GmbH in Zurich, Switzerland, where he took the technical lead for the development of the “Geneva Sound System” product family (all-in-one home stereo audio systems), and got promoted to chief technical officer (CTO). Since 2009, he is working at CSEM’s Photonic Division as a R&D engineer and project leader.

Contact

André Bischof Senior R&D Engineer
andre_bischof@csem.ch
T +41 44 497 1454
F +41 44 497 1400