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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C0PK83) 564 final.  
Brussels, 7 October 1983
FIRST REPORT BY THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL
COMMUNITY PROJECTS IN THE FIELD OF MICROELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY
AT JULY 15th 1983
C0MC83) 564 final

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM J
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On 7 December 1981, the Council adopted Regulation No 3744/81 on 
Community projects in the field of microelectronic technology.
Article 9 of the Regulation stipulates that the Commission shall each 
year forward to the Council and the European Parliament a report on 
the development of the activities in the Community falling within the 
scope of this Regulation.
The first activity report on microelectronics, which is the subject 
of a written procedure, examines the actions for the introduction of 
the Regulation, the various phases in the first call for proposals and 
its results, the reasons which led to the Commission amending the 
list of projects benefitting from Community aid under Regulation No 
3744/81 and publishing a second call for proposals, and the work carried 
out to coordinate national activities and the dissemination of the 
results. It also covers the links between the Regulation and the 
ESPRIT research and development programme.

COMMUNITY PROJECTS IN THE FIELD OF MICROELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY 
FIRST REPORT BY THE COMMISSION
AT JULY 15TH, 1983
INTRODUCTION
On 1  September 1980 the Commission sent the Council a proposal for a
regulation on Community projects in the field of microelectronic technology',
as a follow-up to the Dublin Summit and in response to the Council
2 .  .  .Resolution of 11 September 1979 inviting the Commission to propose  
specific projects at Community level.
The aim was to help European industry, which is lagging behind in micro­
electronic technology, catch up on Japan and the United States, by pro­
moting research and development activities that would make Europe inde­
pendent of American and Japanese electronic equipment and component
suppliers and by coordinating various national activities concerning
3microelectronics. After the opinions of the European Parliament and the
4 . . .Economic and Social Committee had been received, Council Regulation No
3744/81 of 7 December 1981^ was adopted, which came into force on 1  January  
1982. The main aims of Regulation No 3744/81 are as follows:
- Coordination of national activities in the field of microelectronics.
- Granting of financial support to companies, research centres and  
universities in the Community in order to promote industrial research  
and development on equipment, processes, instruments and techniques,  
both hardware and software, for use in the design, industrial manufacture 
and testing of advanced integrated circuits.
(1) C0M(80) 421 final of 1.09.1980
(2) O.J. No C 231 of 13.09.1979, p. 1
(3) O.J. No C 144 of 15.06.1981, p. 69
(4) O.J. No C 353 of 31.12.1980, p. 4
(5) O.J. No L 376 of 30.12.1981, p. 38

To achieve these aims, it will have to be ensured that the products and  
other results stemming from projects that receive Community support are  
properly disseminated throughout the Community.
For implementation of the programme, Regulation No. 3744/81 stipulates  
that the Commission is to be assisted in its work by a Consultative 
Committee. The Committee met for the first time on 28.01.1982.
This report, established in accordance with article 9 of the Regulation  
examines the steps the Commission has taken to start up the programme  
i.e. the main stages of the first call for proposals and its results  
and the reasons that led the Commission to amend the list of projects  
receiving Community aid under Regulation No 3744/81 and to publish a  
second call for proposals.
FIRST CALL FOR PROPOSALS ' '  "
To inform potential participants that a call for proposals on micro­
electronic technology was about to be published and to obtain an idea  
of those that might be interested (bodies, companies or individuals)  
so as to facilitate contacts between potential participants where 
necessary, an advançe notice of a call for proposals was published  
in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 30 January 1982^.
In response to this notice, the Commission received 157 replies express­
ing interest and classified them by area of activity. Lists of the  
names and addresses of those expressing interest in each area were then  
drawn up and the appropriate list was sent out to all those who had  
replied. ------
__________________.  .  , >  uti 5 , l .0 it).
(1
) O.J. No C 23 of 30.01.1982, p. 2

In accordance with article 5, paragraph 5 of the regulation,  
a first call for proposals was published in the Official Journal of  
the European Communities on 20 May 1982^, the closing date being 19  
July 1982. The notice specified that an information session would be  
held in Brussels on 15 June 1982.
The meeting was attended by 54 people representing 43 companies, univer­
sities and research centres. The idea was to brief them on the condi­
tions for submitting proposals in response to the call, and in parti­
cular on the administrative procedures.
In response to the first call, the Commission received 25 proposals from  
95 applicants in nine Community countries (none from Luxembourg).
When the proposals were examined, it was found that many more related to
2CAD than to equipment. Of the 25 projects received, 19 concerned  
CAD and only 6 equipment.  :
The proposals were first examined by Commission staff to ensure that  
they were in conformity with the Council Regulation and conditions in  
the call for proposals.
After that, the proposals were classified in two groups: group 1  for  
acceptable proposals conforming to the requirements and group 2 for 
the others.
The preliminary appraisal was followed by a detailed evaluation during 
which technical experts meeting in Brussels examined and discussed all  
the proposals in group 1.
(1) O.J. C 130 of 20.05.1982, p. 2
(2) Computer Aided Design

- 4 -
The outcome was that 8 proposals were considered to merit financial  
support. The Consultative Committee met on 7 - 8 October 1982 and, on  
the basis of an initial evaluation report drawn up by the Commission,  
it agreed to the continuation of negotiations on the contracts proposed  
by the Commission.
Following these negotiations, 7 proposals were the subject of draft  
decisions for the granting of Community aid under Regulation No 3744/81 .  
After unanimous approval by the Consultative Committee meeting in Brussels  
on 2 December 1982, these draft decisions were forwarded to the Commission.
The Commission decided on 20 January 1983 to propose Community financial  
aid for each of these 7 proposals. The beneficiaries are as follows :
A) EQUIPMENT
Main contractor:  Siemens AG, Munich and Berlin 
Users:  Thomson-EFCIS,  Grundig, Italtel
Tide of project: VLSI tester  
Total amount of Coimmunity aid: 6 712 000 ECU
B) CAD
1. Main contractor:  Standard Telecom Labs, Harlow
Associates:  Standard Electric Lorenz, British Telecom,
Brown Boveri, GEC Telecom
Title of project:  VLSI verification and compilation.
Total amount of Community aid: 677 000 ECU

- 5 -
2) Main contractor;  SERC, Rutherford Laboratories
Associates: University College of Swansea, Trinity College
of Dublin, Philips Eindhoven, GEC Hirst  
Research Centre
Title of project: Three-dimensional semi-conductor devicel .
simulation including transient behaviour  
Total amount of Community aid: 1  774 000 ECU
3) Main contractor:  University College of Cork
Associates:  University of Belfast, Analog Devices,
GEC Wembley
Title of project:  Two and three-dimensional numerical modelling
of MOS devices
Total amount of Community aid: 336 000 ECUDl. ' i v
4) Main contractor:  Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Associates:  University of Languedoc Montpellier, Silvar-
Lisco, Philips Research Laboratories·, Siemens  
Munich
Title of project:  Mixed-mode behavioural systems for MOS VLSI
design
Total amount of Community aid: 587 000 ECU
5) Main contractor:  .  MICAD0/IMAG
Associates:  SGS, TMC Ltd, RTC, Philips S.A. Paris, Philips
. . .  ,  . . .  ,  Telecom Hilversum
Title of project:  CAD overall approach: CASCADE.
Total amount of Conmunity aid: 4 172 000 ECU
6) Main contractor:  CNET, CSELT, FI Darmstadt
Associates:  CII HB, CIT Alcatel, Thomson-EFCIS,  SGS, Italtel,
Olivetti AEG-Telefunken, Standard Electric Lorenz,  
5 Italian universities, 6 German universities,
GMD, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Title of project: CAD for VLSI for teleconmunications.
Total amount of Community aid: 12 000 000 ECU

-  6 -
So far three contracts have been signed:
- MICADO/IMAG on 31.01.1983
- SERC, Rutherford Laboratories on 18.03.1983
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven on 18.05.1983
■  -·-»·/
To avoid any overlap between the administrative procedure for the first  
call for proposals and work on the projects submitted under the second  
call for proposals, Article 3 of the Commission Decision proposing  
Community financial support stipulated that the contracts had to be  
signed within a period of four months from the date of the Commission  
decision. The Commission has nevertheless had to grant periods of  
grace of 15 to 30 days for signature of some of the contracts because  
of delays owing to administrative difficulties encountered by some of  
the participants who were unfamiliar with the Community's contractual  
procedure.
Once all these contracts are signed the Commission will have committed 
26 800 000 ECU or 67.5% of the budget.
j 2  i i. j.
SECOND CALL FOR PROPOSALS *
As some funds were still available, the Commission decided to issue a  
second call for proposals. The results of the first call for proposals  
had shown that there was very much greater interest in CAD than in  
equipment. In order to make allowance for the most recent technological  
trends, to adapt the Regulation to the industry's real requirements and  
to give the Community support greater impact, the Commission therefore  
decided to revise the list of projects areas in accordance with Article 
4 of Regulation 3744/81.
A draft revised list was sent to the Consultative Committee which had 
helped to draw it up ·  The regulation amending the list in
Article 4 (1) of Regulation 3744/81 was adopted by the Commission
on February 1983*.
(1) O.J. No L 47 of 19.02.1983, p-  13
■ ·  ·.·. $· .H .-&Ö. C> oH

- 7 -
A second call for proposals was published on 19 February 1983* *  its g  
closing date being 29 April 1983. . . .
:.u* .M3fc -
The same procedures as for the first call for proposals were used to  
examine and evaluate the proposals received and the initial results  
show that it may be possible to restore the balance between the . IOVE ol  
equipment and CAD sectors. bn& sJnsoq-irsq  : >
The detailed evaluation started on 15 May 1983 and the evaluation report  
will be discussed at the next meeting of the Consultative Committee. a.
, . 5  c; :·» '
The results of the second call for proposals will be given in a second 0 
report in 1984. . .·.· -  s ù ï
COORDINATION OF NATIONAL ACTIVITIES ;
Articles 1  to 3 of Regulation No 3744/81 make between the Member States  
and the Commission provision for the setting up of an information and  
consultation system. The system covers all information of a scientific,  
economic and financial nature concerning any activities under the autho­
rity of the Member States in progress on the date the Regulation enters  
into force or contemplated after that date.
Because of shortage of staff when the programme was launched, the  
Commission felt it preferable to give priority to the direct support  
operations covered by the Regulation. „
v·.· fc.ab'irs&i*: ■ % .i. ■
Nevertheless, Commission staff have already collected initial data ^ .
and when the Consultative Committee discussed the various projects at  
its meetings, national activities in the areas on which proposals had  
been received by the Commission were born in mind.
.‘j  ï v j a ^  ; 4 L >  3 .A
The collection of data on national activities is continuing and the ■  
results will also be given in the second report planned for 1984.
;  ,i,,o (!)
(1) O.J. No C 49 of 19.02.1983, p. 2

COORDINATION OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
After the launching of the microelectronics programme, the Commission 
initiated the pilot phase of the ESPRIT programme. Those sectors in the 
field of microelectronics included in this programme were selected in- 
order to encompass complementary activities not covered by Regulation ,
No 3744/81 in particular, high-density multilayer interconnection and 
high-level CAD for interactive draughting and design.
In the meantime, a proposal concerning a European Strategic Programme 
for Research and Development in Information Technologies has been 
approved by the Commission and sent to the Council (1). This programme 
also includes a section on microelectronics which is described in the 
technical annex to document COM 258.
The work to be carried out on microelectronics within the framework of 
ESPRIT represents both a continuation and an expansion of the activities 
undertaken pursuant to Regulation No 3744/81 and constitutes an indis­
pensable complement to the development of advanced microelectronics 
within the Community. _ _  ^  ‘ 4- s
DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS
To stimulate technical discussion, encourage contacts between research 
scientists in the Community and help to ensure proper dissemination of 
the results of the projects receiving financial support, the Commission 
has intiated a series of seminars entitled CAVE (CAD for VLSI in Europe - 
Conception assistée par ordinateur pour circuits à très haut niveau 
d'intégration en Europe) to be held twice yearly for a trial period (2).
The first seminar took place at Aquila on 24-26 May 1983 and the next 
will be held in Grenoble on 12-14 December 1983.
(1) COM(83) 258 final of 2.6.1983.
(2) Annex: reference document concerning CAVE

ANNEX
«rj« t B îiÂPURPOSE OF THE WORKSHOPS
The most commonly expressed problem, amongst persons hoping to  
make a proposal under Council Regulation 3744/81 on Microelectronics,  
has been the difficulty in finding suitable industrial partners in  
member states other than their own. A limited number of previous  
and existing collaborations has formed a basis for some proposed  
projects, but there appears to be a strong requirement to broaden  
and extend the matrix of personal contacts from which such collabo­
rations usually spring.
Such relationships involving mutual understanding and confidence 
take some time to mature. The EEC has already proved remarkably 
successful in fostering such contacts. This occured within the  
framework of the four study teams set up to advise the EEC on priori­
ties for the VLSI research topics to be funded. One of the outstand­
ing results of these study teams' activities was that team members  
from various organisations and different member states were highly 
successful in collaborating frankly at the technical level.
The CAD Working Party, to whom these study teams reported, believed  
that it is important for the EEC to continue to support this exchange  
of technical ideas. Indeed they believe that, as a prerequisite for  
the full success of community-wide collaborative R & D projects, it  
is essential for the individuals concerned to become familar with  
each other, and to establish mutual understanding and confidence.
They believed that the exchange of technical ideas produces an envi­
ronment in which a spirit of collaboration grows, and in fact, that  
in such an environment, joint R & D projects will evolve naturally.
It was suggested that a regular series of technical workshops would  
go some way towards providing this environment.
Acquaintances made at these workshops could be furthered by subse-'n  
quent independant meetings between individuals to discuss issues of  
common interest. The benefits of such improved prospects for

collaboration will be particularly valuable to future R & D programnes  
planned by the EEC, such as the ESPRIT Programme. The series of work­
shops are also expected to produce up-to-date ideas for research to­
pics as well as fostering new collaborative partnerships.
A second purpose of the workshops is to provide a mechanism by means  
of which information can flow between teams involved in projects which  
are funded under Regulation 3744/81, and also between these teams and  
potential users of the CAD tools or knowledge which should result from  
this Community programme.
While it is clear that participants in the funded research programme  
must see some preferential benefits over those who have not taken  
part, it is also clear that the intention of the Commission is that  
its infusion of funds should ultimately benefit all EEC electronics  
companies in their competition with companies from outside the  
Community. The workshops should ensure that ideas can be exchanged 
during the process of R & D without waiting until the end of the  
projects .
The specific EEC dimension to the workshops is a novel aspect which  
is not duplicated by any existing series.
CHARACTER OF THE WORKSHOPS
The character of the workshops will need to be optimised to fulfil  
the previously stated purposes of the workshops. In fact it can be  
expected that the workshops will evolve to some extent as experience  
is gained and as the demand changes. However, some broad guidelines  
have been followed by the Commission and the Technical Committee  
which advises and assists the Commission in organising the workshops.  
There will be a kernel of regular participants apportioned between  
the Member States in a way determined by the Commission and the Tech­
nical Committee. This kernel will be complemented by other partici­
pants invited on a rotating basis, depending on the technical topics  
to be covered. A limited number of observers from the host Member 
State will also be permitted.

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The workshop will be residential to allow maximum opportunity for  
informal discussion.S
S
It is important to provide ample opportunity for open and private  
discussion sessions. Participants should be prepared to make a  
short verbal presentation at at least one workshop each year, but  
informal contributions in discussions are recognised as often being 
of equal value. Although presentations will be informal, partici­
pants are expected to do some serious preparation in advance of the  
workshops. Poster sessions will also form an important part of the  
workshops. The optimum split between presentations and discussion  
will need to be evaluated in the light of experience, and may well  
vary from workshop to workshop depending on topic. , . s
In order to stimulate appropriate presentations, advance notice  
will be given of selected special topics for the following workshop.  
Requests for special topics can be voiced at the conclusion of a  
workshop. The Technical Committee will keep a close watch on trends  
in interest. All major areas of CAD will be covered at each work­
shop to motivate the regular attendance of the kernel of regular  
participants.
The location of the workshops will be rotated amongs the member 
states. This wil-1 emphasise the Community nature of the links. It  
will also spread the load of the local organisation. The EEC is  
funding all travel expenses for all participants, so that participants  
from a remote location will not be deterred from attending, and a  
balanced representation from the whole comnunity will be encouraged.