What the facility does
National facility for undertaking leading-edge R&D in micro-nanotechnologies, foundational to all industrial sectors and essential to Canada’s competitiveness.
Areas of expertise
Canada’s National Design Network, managed by CMC Microsystems, supports leading-edge R&D in micro-nano technologies by lowering the barriers to technology adoption. It delivers services to a network of over 10,000 researchers and entrepreneurs in universities, colleges, and companies for designing and making micro-nanotechnology prototypes. The advanced devices and materials that are created are made-in-Canada disruptive developments in the areas of, for example, AI, 5G, optical communications, biomedical sensors, automotive, digital manufacturing, energy management, cybersecurity, and heterogeneous and quantum computing.
Research services
Access to computer-aided design (CAD), fabrication (FAB), and laboratory (LAB) products and services for the design, simulation, prototyping and/or testing of micro-nanotechnologies. This includes microelectronics, photonics, embedded systems and software, materials, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS research).
Offerings include:
- 50 computer-aided design (CAD) tool suites
- 600 development systems
- 40 university-based fabrication laboratories
- 25 multi-project wafer services available through nine foundries worldwide
- 450 design flows, user guides, and application notes
- 80 pieces of test equipment
- Training courses, webinars, workshops, and events
This infrastructure is available at institutions across Canada.
Sectors of application
- Aerospace and satellites
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Automotive
- Clean technology
- Defence and security industries
- Energy
- Environmental technologies and related services
- Financial services and insurance
- Forestry and forest-based industries
- Healthcare and social services
- Information and communication technologies and media
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
- Manufacturing and processing
- Mining, minerals and metals
- Ocean industries
- Transportation
- Utilities
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized facility | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
CAD Services
| Microelectronics CAD: Cadence, Coventor, Keysight, Mentor, softMEMS, Synopsys, Solido | Design, simulation, verification, layout, and analysis of ASIC and PCB designs in microelectronics, MEMS and photonics |
| CAD Services | Photonics CAD: ARM, Design Workshop, Luceda, Lumerical, Siemens Mentor, Optiwave, Photon Design, RSoft | Integrated environments for the design, for the design, capture, layout, and verification of optic components |
| CAD Services | FPGA/Embedded Systems CAD: Altium, ARM, IAR Systems, IntelFPGA, NI Labview, Mentor, Synopsys, VectorBlox, Xilinx | Integrated development environments for FPGA platforms plus design and verification tools and processor technology. |
| CAD Services | Multiphysics CAD Tools: ANSYS, COMSOL, FEI, SolidWorks | Modelling, including 3D visualization, simulation and analysis. |
| CAD Services | Quantum CAD: Ansys, Cadence, Comsol, Keysight, Siemens Mentor, SolidWorks, Synopsys | Design, simulation, verification, layout, and analysis of designs in superconducting, semiconductor and photonics quantum devices |
FAB Services
| CMOS Prototyping (including process design kits - PDKs): GLOBALFOUNDRIES® - 12nm FinFET, 22nm FDSOI, 45nm RFSOI, 90nm BiCMOS SiGe 9hP, 130nm BiCMOS SiGe 8XP; ST 28nm, TSMC – 28nm, 65nm GP, 65nm LP, 130nm, 180nm, 350nm; AMS 350nm (Basic, HV, Opto) | Cost-shared access to multi-project wafer fabrication services targeting commercial sources |
| FAB Services | MEMS Prototyping (including PDKs): TDSI MIDIS, MEMSCAP PolyMUMPS (including post-processing) and PiezoMUMPS | Cost-shared access to multi-project wafer fabrication services |
| FAB Services | III-V epitaxy on InP, GaAs or GE substrates: III-V Labs, Azastra, CPFC, FBH, Fraunhofer, Landmark | Custom epitaxy services sourcing worldwide supply |
| FAB Services | Photonics Prototyping (including PDKs): AMF Silicon Photonics, III-V epitaxy on InP/GaAs/GE substrates (various sources); GF 45SPCLO ) | Cost-shared access to multi-project wafer fabrication services |
| FAB Services | Packaging and Assembly | Standard component wire bond; single or multi-die assembly; custom packaging and assembly services; engineering support |
| LAB Services | Equipment Loan – Test: Centellax, Keysight, Keithley, NoisTech, Rohde & Schwartz, Stanford Research, Tektronics | 3-month loan of analyzers, amplifiers, BERTs, meters, scopes, generators, probe station, pumps, imaging equipment, etc. |
| LAB Services | Equipment Loan - Development Boards and PXI Cards: Xilinx; NI; Keysight; Atlas 200 DK (model 3000) | Xilinx ML605 and ZCU102 boards; NI and Keysight PXI cards (chassis, scopes, SMUs, analyzers, generators, controllers); Atlas DK AI Developer Kit |
| LAB Services | Fabrication, Assembly, Characterization and Test (FACT) | Custom fabrication and characterization services from Canadian university labs |
| LAB Services | Nanofabrication Process Design Environment: CMC, camLine | Cloud-based design environment for nanotechnology researchers including XperiDesk-driven process repository |
| LAB Services | Microfabrication: MNT Financial Assistance | Financial assistance to lower the cost barriers of hands-on, custom microfabrication in university labs in Canada. |
| LAB Services | FPGA and SOC Evaluation and Development Kits (Xilinx and Intel/Terasic) | FPGAs, memory and industry-standard peripherals suitable for a wide range of applications |
| LAB Services | Software Platform: Heterogeneous Computing Middleware Platform (HCMP) | Middle-ware for developing industrial-strength heterogeneous computing software |
| LAB Services | FPGA-based Development Systems | Acceleration, high-performance/heterogeneous/agile computing and/or processing, software-defined radio, Virtex 5 & 6 |
| LAB Services | PXI-based Microsystems Integration Platform | Multi-technology validation of a micro-device in a system context |
| LAB Services | GPU-based Multiprocessor Array Platform | Accelerated processing of algorithms and simulations |
| LAB Services | Software Platform: Heterogeneous Computing Middleware Platform (HCMP) | Middle-ware for developing industrial-strength heterogeneous computing software |
| LAB Services | PXI-based Microsystems Integration Platform | Multi-technology validation of a micro-device in a system context |
| LAB Services | Cloud-based Clusters: Atlas 800 Cluster (model 9000), FPGA/GPU Cluster | Accelerate compute intensive applications, especially AI training and inference. Stack and complete ecosystem of machine learning frameworks. |
| LAB Services | IBM Quantum Computers (65-, 27-, 16- and 7-qubit systems) | Specialized access to IBM Quantum Hub at Institut quantique - training, quantum coding service. |
Private and public sector research partners
- Acadia University
- Algoma University
- Cape Breton University
- Carleton University
- Concordia University
- Dalhousie University
- École de Technologie Supérieure
- Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)
- Lakehead University
- Laurentian University
- McGill University
- McMaster University
- Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Polytechnique Montréal
- Queen's University
- Royal Military College of Canada
- Ryerson University
- Saint Mary's University
- Simon Fraser University
- Trent University
- Université de Montréal
- Université de Moncton
- University of Ottawa
- Université de Sherbrooke
- Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)
- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)
- Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
- Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)
- Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
- Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)
- Université Laval
- University of Alberta
- University of British Columbia
- University of Calgary
- University of Guelph
- University of Lethbridge
- University of Manitoba
- University of New Brunswick
- University of Northern British Columbia
- University of Regina
- University of Saskatchewan
- University of Toronto
- University of Victoria
- University of Waterloo
- University of Windsor
- Western University
- Wilfrid Laurier University
- York University
- Algonquin College
- Assiniboine Community College
- Cégep de l'Outaouais
- Cégep Trois-Rivières
- Centennial College
- Collège Lionel-Groulx
- Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
- Georgian College
- Humber College
- Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology
- Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)
- St. Lawrence College
Additional information
| Title | URL |
|---|---|
| Success Stories | www.cmc.ca/SuccessStories |
| Annual Report highlights | https://www.cmc.ca/corporate-reports/ |
| News Releases | https://www.cmc.ca/cmc-news/ |