News

April 16, 2024: by Avinash Persaud and Gordon Harling  Semiconductors are still in the spotlight  The importance of semiconductors became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, when snarled global supply chains exposed weaknesses in the world’s overreliance on one part of the world for manufacturing of such critical components. Increasing tension between the United States and

April 5, 2024: CMC Microsystems, a not-for-profit organization that accelerates research and innovation in advanced technologies in Canada, and ventureLAB, leading global founder community for hardware technology and enterprise software companies in Canada located in York region, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize their relationship and advance Canada’s advanced technology ecosystem. The ceremony was held at the ventureLAB Innovation Centre in Markham, ON, with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, and representatives of the Governments of Canada, Ontario, and Markham including Tony Van Bynen, Member of Parliament for Newmarket—Aurora.

Dr. Thomas Jones has been awarded the 2023 Douglas R. Colton Medal for Research Excellence.
February 13, 2024 – Dr. Thomas Jones, founder, director, and CEO of Jones Microwave Inc., Senior Research Associate at Purdue University, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta, has been awarded the 2023 Douglas R. Colton Medal for Research Excellence – CMC’s most prestigious award which recognizes excellence in research leading to new understanding, novel developments and/or applications in microsystems and nanotechnology in Canada.

February 6, 2024 – SemiQon from Finland, and Canada’s CMC Microsystems announce a collaboration agreement to advance silicon-based quantum processor technology. Under the terms of the agreement, SemiQon will supply CMC with prototypes of its semiconductor-based quantum processor chips for research purposes. CMC scientists will collaborate with SemiQon to accelerate the development of processors for more powerful quantum computers suitable for the next generation of quantum computing – the million-qubit era.

January 22, 2024: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator and accelerator, is pleased to welcome Cégep de Sherbrooke and RRC Polytech to CMC.

Ottawa, November 24, 2023: Startups, academics, industry veterans, and government policy analysts met in Ottawa November 23 and 24 at the 2023 Canadian Semiconductor Symposium. The highly interactive sessions identified significant growth opportunities for the industry, some concerns, and sage advice from players across the Canadian semiconductor ecosystem including founder and Chairman of Wesley Clover International, Sir Terrence Matthews.

Eric Flaim, May Siksik and Jeff F. Young bring extensive experience to CMC Microsystems’ Board of Directors

MONTREAL, QC – Oct. 15, 2023: CMC Microsystems, a leading organization accelerating research and innovation in Canada, is pleased to welcome Dr. Eric Flaim, Dr. May Siksik, and Dr. Jeff F. Young to our Board of Directors. They bring a wealth of experience from in academic research, as well as valuable governance and administrative experience. They will play a vital role in setting CMC’s strategic direction over the course of their three-year mandates.

September 29, 2023: CMC Microsystems is proud to announce the winners of TEXPO 2023. Established by CMC Microsystems, TEXPO offers graduate students in Canada’s National Design Network® (CNDN) a unique opportunity to demonstrate their novel applications of micro-nano technologies to industry representatives and academic peers. TEXPO 2023 was held virtually.  Students competed for a total

The following text was published by The Hill Times here
July 27, 2023: The Government of Canada placed a big bet on green technologies and clean power in Budget 2023. “Green technology” is a broad definition. We all know what being green and clean looks like, but which innovations get us there. The backbone of any technology that will get us to net zero is not what you might think. 

July 4, 2023: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator, received an investment of $171,292 to fund a training initiative that is unique in the world: Build Your Own Superconducting Quantum Device workshop. This financial support is from the NovaScience program, an initiative of the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE). NovaScience financially supports the development of the next generation of scientists in Québec by emphasizing and promoting scientific culture, as well as research and development (R&D) as well as business. It also allows new graduates to gain professional experience in research and development.

June 19, 2023 : CMC is proud to be a founding member of SILICAN, a new coalition of industry advocates and organizations who want to build a stronger Canadian semiconductor economy.

CMC’s foundry partners fabricate over 480 designs

May 10, 2023: In a global environment of ongoing tumultuous shortage of semiconductor chips and significant government investments in advanced technology initiatives, CMC logged another stellar year of prototyping, with over 480 chip designs manufactured. That number is expected to grow by at least ten percent in 2023. 

April 28, 2023: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator, and Untether AI^®, the leader in energy-centric AI inference for acceleration, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on providing Untether AI’s acceleration solutions to CMC customers and partners.

National supply chain strategy with strategic trade corridor investments announced in Budget 2023 are encouraging

The following opinion piece was published in The Hill Times and EP&T.

President Biden’s visit to Ottawa was important for Canada, and our semiconductor industry in particular. This is part of a larger semiconductor manufacturing trade agreement, or “corridor” which is great news for Canadian innovation and our national interests.

Amy Karam and Vanessa Little bring extensive experience to CMC Microsystems’ Board of Directors

MONTREAL, QC – March 27, 2023: CMC Microsystems, a leading organization accelerating research and innovation in Canada, is pleased to welcome Amy Karam and Vanessa Little to our Board of Directors. They bring a wealth of experience from industry, research, as well as invaluable governance experience. They will play a vital role in setting CMC’s strategic direction over the course of their three-year mandates.

January 11, 2023: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator and accelerator, and the University of Sydney (Australia), on behalf of The Semiconductor Service Bureau (S3B), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote future collaboration and initiatives to support the semiconductor industry in Canada and Australia.

The following text appeared in The Hill Times, December 27, 2022

If you’ve shopped for a new car in the last two years, you’re aware of the shortage of semiconductors.  Manufacture and delivery of vehicles of all kinds has been severely impacted by the shortage of these critical components.  

December 19, 2022: As 2022 comes to a close, I would like to thank our community of clients, suppliers, staff, and funders for continued support.

Over 400 chip designs facilitated last year including fabrication of 7 superconducting designs – a world first via a multi-project wafer service. 

November 30, 2022: A semiconductor chip design for sensing pressure inside the human kidney, a chip that that harvests energy from vibrations and turns them into useful electric charges, a chip that is stretchable and self-healable designed as a wearable electronic device; these are just a few examples of over 400 microchip designs manufactured in the last year via CMC Microsystems. 

October 31, 2022: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator and accelerator is pleased to welcome Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) to CMC.

October 31, 2022: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator and accelerator, is pleased to welcome the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) to CMC

July 28, 2022: CMC Microsystems has manufactured more than 1,600 customer chips over the past five years and is pleased to highlight one of the most recent using one of the world’s most advanced semiconductor fabrication technologies, the 12LP 12nm FinFET process offered by our partner, GlobalFoundries^® (GF^®).

June 22, 2022:  CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading accelerator for hardware research, design, and development, is proud to announce the winners of TEXPO 2022. Established by CMC Microsystems, TEXPO offers graduate students in Canada’s National Design Network® (CNDN) a unique opportunity to demonstrate their novel applications of micro-nano technologies to industry representatives and academic peers. TEXPO 2022 was held in-person as part of the IEEE International NEWCAS Conference, held in Québec City, Canada. 

Edmonton, June 10, 2022: MANCEF, an independent international organization dedicated to accelerating the commercialization of micro-nano-emergent technology products and services, and Canadian technology leaders Teledyne MEMS, NanoCanada, and CMC Microsystems announced their intention to partner to deliver COMSWORLD and NanoCanada’s International Conference, co-located in Edmonton, AB in 2023.

In an increasingly competitive market, CMC delivers its best performance in over a decade

May 3, 2022: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading accelerator for hardware research, design, and development, is proud to announce in the last fiscal year, CMC delivered chips and wafers for over 400 designs through our global network of semiconductor and photonics manufacturing facilities.

April 12, 2022: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator, and manager of Canada’s National Design Network^® (CNDN), is pleased to share results from our recent study on CNDN alumni, and the training of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) in Canada.

Next-Generation Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing silicon solutions move to commercialization using industry-leading chip maker

March 29, 2022 – Ottawa, Canada – Edgewater Wireless Systems Inc. (TSXV: YFI) (OTC: KPIFF), the industry leader in Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing technology for residential and enterprise markets, is pleased to report the selection of an on-shore fabrication services partner. CMC Microsystems has been selected to provide a conduit to North American fabrication services for Edgewater’s next-generation of Wi-Fi Spectrum Slicing silicon solutions via GlobalFoundries^® (GF^®), the global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing.

March 16, 2022: In accordance with directives from the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, CMC Microsystems will refrain from entering into agreements with Russian research institutions and firms, until further notice.

March 7, 2022: CMC Microsystems is proud to announce that Dr. Taleana Huff of the University of Alberta has been awarded the 2021 Douglas R. Colton Medal for Research Excellence.

See the press releases from the Government of Quebec (in French)
February 3, 2022: Quebec Unveils First Two Innovation Zones

January 28, 2022: Dear CMC community, I hope your 2022 is off to a healthy start. Thanks to you, CMC is on track for a new year of continued growth. I’d like to share some of our ambitions for the upcoming year, starting with an emphasis on our core competencies – what we do best for innovation in Canada.

MONTREAL, QC – January 20, 2021: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator and manager of Canada’s National Design Network^® (CNDN) is pleased to welcome Fleming College to CNDN.

Madison Rilling and Marjan Bagheri bring extensive experience in research, innovation, and policy to CMC Microsystems’ Board of Directors

MONTREAL, QC – December 20, 2021: CMC Microsystems, manager of Canada’s National Design Network® (CNDN) is pleased to welcome Marjan Bagheri, and Madison Rilling to our Board of Directors. They bring a wealth of experience from industry and research, as well as invaluable policy experience. They will play a vital role in setting CMC’s strategic direction over the course of their three-year mandates.  

Agreement will bring together the best of Canadian IoT industry and research

November 19, 2021: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator, and AIoT Canada, an industrial cluster dedicated to promoting and accelerating the adoption of Internet of Things technologies in Canada, are proud to announce that they have formed a strategic partnership.

As Founding Partner of the new, state-of-the-art global technology centre, CMC celebrates the inauguration of Hub350 and sees a bright future ahead.

November 4, 2021: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator, was proud to participate in the grand opening of Hub350, a brand-new technology centre, 5G network application testing ground, and business park in the heart of Kanata North.

CMC has Signed on as a Founding Corporate Partner at Hub350, Canada’s Largest Technology Park

October 22, 2021: CMC Microsystems, Canada’s leading hardware technology facilitator, and The Kanata North Business Association (KNBA) have announced a partnership to support the new, state-of-the-art global technology centre, Hub350.

For 37 years CMC Microsystems (CMC) has provided access to leading edge semiconductor fabrication. Since its inception, CMC has made it easier for researchers and entrepreneurs to design into advanced processes by combining many designs together into a single fabrication run, making it easier for the manufacturer by giving them a single client point of contact with CMC instead of multiple clients and for the designer by providing technical support and sharing the costs of the project.

September 20, 2021: Edgewater Wireless Inc.® (Edgewater) (TSX.V: YFI) (OTC PINK: KPIFF), and CMC Microsystems, manager of Canada’s National Design Network® (CNDN), today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for expanded technology sharing.

September 8, 2021: CMC Microsystems is proud to announce that David Lynch has been named Vice-President, Technology.

September 1, 2021: Graduate students from across Canada had a unique opportunity to learn quantum computing hardware design, fabrication, and testing.

MONTREAL, QC – August 24, 2021: CMC Microsystems (CMC), has brought together 14 project founders from industry, academia and non-profit technology research organizations to support a five year, $700 M program to accelerate high tech manufacturing in Canada.

MONTREAL, QC – June 23, 2021: CMC Microsystems (CMC), a non-profit national organization that accelerates technology research and commercialization, has a plan to accelerate high tech manufacturing in Canada, including specialty semiconductors, by helping existing and new companies achieve high volume manufacturing success.

MONTREAL, QC – June 3, 2021: Photonics North 2021, one of the world’s most prestigious events for photonics researchers and industry was a huge success. The event, certified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) was held virtually from May 31-June 2, and drew researchers, innovators, and industry representatives from around the world to discover the latest developments in the photonics space. co-chaired by Gordon Harling, President and CEO of CEO Microsystems and P. Scott Carney, Director of the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics.

MONTREAL, QC – May 19, 2021: A unique course for designing integrated semiconductor chips conceived and organized by Gayathri Singh, Team Leader for Microelectronics at CMC Microsystems is a hot ticket with graduate students at Canadian universities. No other organization in Canada offers such a course based on the most advanced semiconductor chip processes in existence.