L’objectif du projet est la mise au point par un industriel renommé (Horiba Jobin Yvon) d’un nouvel appareil dédié à la métrologie optique par polarimétrie de Mueller des structures périodiques (réseaux) présentes sur les galettes de silicium au cours de la fabrication de composants en microélectronique. Les propriétés optiques des matériaux et/ou la forme des traits des réseaux sont déterminées par ajustement aux mesures de modèles multiparamètres. Ce projet sera mené en collaboration avec deux laboratories publics (CEA-LETI LPICM) ). Par rapport aux techniques utiisées actuellement (ellipsométrie et réflectométrie) la polarimétrie de Mueller est plus complexe à mettre en œuvre mais elle augmente le nombre de données expérimentales et permet de mieux décorréler les paramètres recherchés ce qui améliore la précision absolue du résultat final. L’origine de certaines corrélations n’est pas bien comprise et constitue un problème “amont” intéressant en lui-même et pour les développements logiciels prévus dans le projet. Cet appareil doit permettre des gains sensibles en productivité surtout à l’étape de la mise au point du process en réduisant le nombre de contrôles destructifs nécessaires.

The aim of this project is to settle a disruptive CIGS solar cell technology based on ultrathin CIGS layers with thicknesses down to 0.1 µm while maintaining, or even increasing, the cells and module efficiencies, keeping the benefit of the exceptional photovoltaic quality achieved by the CIGS technology. This approach anticipates the strategic roadmap of CIGS technology, aiming to overcome the bottleneck of the limited primary resources in indium (600 tons per year) which will not allow the present technology based on 2 micron thick CIGS films to go to multiGW yearly production levels, expected from 2015 and beyond. A breakthrough in using ultrathin CIGS layers is thus absolutely needed as a key option for the economy of indium, allowing the durability of the CIGS technology. This project, following the first ULTRACIS ANR Project, will aim to bring and consolidate key results and strategies of ULTRACIS to the stage of proof of industrial manufacturability. This will allow the consortium to firmly stay at a leading international research position to anticipate a key industrial innovation in CIGS technology and to prepare/increase the competitiveness of the associated industrial players for the coming years. This ambitious challenge will combine two main lines : (i)direct deposition of ultrathin CIGS solar cells with two already established industrial methods : (co)evaporation and electrodeposition, one in vacuum and the other one atmospheric, and a disruptive one which is atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) and, (ii)integration and optimization of new device architectures specific for ultrathin CIGS layers, to insure optical and electrical managements, including front and back side engineering, with innovative structures, chemistries and materials which have been pioneered and patented in the first ULTRACIS project. The final goal being : a) a fabrication process of efficient very thin cells (10% c) evaluation and specifications for a manufacturable process

A breakthrough in micro-energy harvesting and storage technologies is required to cover the increasing demand of autonomous wireless sensor nodes (WSN) for the future Internet of Things (IoT), which is considered one of the five technologies that will change the world by connecting 27 billion devices and generating €2 trillion market by 2025. The HARVESTORE project aims to power these IoT nodes from ubiquitous heat and light sources by using nano-enabled micro-energy systems with a footprint below 1cm3. Using disruptive concepts from the emerging Nanoionics and Iontronics disciplines, which deal with the complex interplay between electrons and ions in the nanoscale, a radically new family of all-solid state micro-energy sources able to harvest and store energy at the same time will be developed. This new devices will be called “μ-harvestorers” (μHS). In order to enable this science-to-technology breakthrough, our nano-enabled μ-HSs will be integrated in silicon technology. This will allow reaching the highly dense features and scalability required for a real miniaturization and massive deployment that will show their viability as a new technological paradigm of embedded energy. The HARVESTORE project addresses this challenging objective by building an interdisciplinary research consortium that includes consolidated and emergent leading researchers in modelling, microfabrication, materials science and energy together with high-tech pioneer SMEs with unique capabilities to develop and deploy IoT nodes for real applications. Moreover, the structure and communication strategy have been designed to make HARVESTORE a lighthouse project for boosting this novel micro-energy paradigm and building around an innovation ecosystem founded on emerging Nanoionics and Iontronics applied to energy.