Skills in Physics and Semiconductor Devices: A Global Challenge for Digital Society

The number of connected objects and therefore of IoT devices that invade our daily lives is growing exponentially. These objects are based on electronics in the form of elementary components, circuits and hybrid and complex integrated systems. Electronics must therefore respond to an exponential growth in the number of circuits, components per circuit, data transmitted, stored and processed in data centers. As a corollary, the energy consumed by operators, servers and users follows the same law of growth. In the coming years, the main challenges will be to slow down these exponential growths by improving the design and architecture of components, circuits and systems for processing and transmitting information. These challenges require the acquisition of skills based on knowledge and know-how and an increase in the pool of future competent and innovative players. This approach is part of the strategy led by the national academic training network which, by pooling the skills of trainers and technological platforms at the French level, aims to meet the needs of companies within the framework of a Recovery Plan for the Electronic Sector. After a presentation of the context and the consequences on the technical challenges, and after several approaches proposed, the actions carried out by the national network of microelectronics are detailed and illustrated with several examples of realizations and results.