The Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM), a center of Spain's National Research Council (CSIC), has inaugurated a new Quantum Nanofabrication Area inside its clean room, considered the country's most advanced research infrastructure of its kind.
The facility allows for manufacturing and analyzing devices and circuits at the nanometer scale aimed at quantum technologies and communications, as well as advanced microelectronics applications in fields such as healthcare, energy and security. Its equipment includes Spain's most advanced electron beam lithography system, along with microscopes and metrology tools capable of inspecting structures at the nanometer scale.
The project involved investment of more than 6 million euros, funded through the PERTE Chip program, the Complementary Plan for Quantum Communications and European Next Generation EU funds. The facility will be available to both researchers and companies, with the stated goal of strengthening Spain's semiconductor and quantum technology capabilities and easing the jump from research to industrial development.
CSIC also used the announcement to unveil its new Advanced Quantum Research Center, known as QuARC, which will bring together 13 research groups from 10 institutes across the Madrid region, combining expertise in physics, computing, mathematics, engineering and chemistry under one roof.
With these two initiatives, Spain is aiming to carve out a position within an increasingly competitive European quantum ecosystem, at a moment when the European Union, the United States and China are all making similar strategic investments in a technology considered key for the coming decade.