Project description
Drilling a new path for 3D silicon chips
Modern high-performance electronics depend on microscopic vertical wires to bridge stacked chip layers. However, these through-silicon vias (TSVs) have become a major manufacturing hurdle. The industry currently relies on drilling methods that are slow and chemically intensive, effectively capping how much further hardware can be miniaturised. The EIC-funded STAY2ME aims to move chip fabrication into a contactless era. Specifically, it uses ultrashort laser pulses to carve out these critical connections. This laser-based approach manages energy accumulation so precisely that it can drill deeper and narrower than ever before, all while eliminating the need for harsh chemicals. By removing these production limits, STAY2ME is clearing the path for the next generation of 3D sensors and high-performance AI chips.
Objective
At a time when digitalization is omnipresent in our daily lives and silicon-based devices remain a key factor, the demand for high-density interconnections and increasingly compact, reliable electronics is essential for the continued advancement of semiconductor technologies. Through-Silicon Vias (TSV), the vertical interconnects that make true 3D integration possible in CMOS chips, MEMS sensors, and AI hardware play a key role. The STAY2ME project lays the foundation for a radical shift in how silicon structures that drive tomorrow’s technologies can be shaped and connected. Our radically innovative laser-based technology enables non-contact, chemicals-free, high-aspect-ratio micro-drilling within silicon, delivering unprecedented precision without detrimental side-effects in the surrounding material. This will be a game-changer for fabricating TSV. At the core of this innovation is a mJ-energy class laser operating at 2 micrometers in the novel GHz-burst regime, where a rapid train of pulses is delivered in ultrashort bursts. This laser combines the right wavelength with the right pulse dynamics, achieving nonlinear absorption and how energy accumulates in silicon-thus avoiding the laser beam distortion and chaotic energy deposition that plague existing methods. It could outperform the precision, speed and sustainability of Deep Reactive Ion Etching, today’s state-of-the-art for TSVs, and transforms what was once a materials limitation into a design revolution. Understanding and controlling how such a laser interacts with silicon is a breakthrough, opening a fundamentally new regime of laser-based silicon processing which offers unprecedented control over the drilling process. One of the unique strengths of this project lies in its interdisciplinary consortium, bringing together specialists from physics, chemistry, electrical and mechanical engineering, and thus, covering all facets and know-how to successfully carry out the STAY2ME project.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors optical sensors
- social sciences political sciences political transitions revolutions
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry metalloids
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2025-PATHFINDEROPEN
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75794 Paris
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.