The Wide Band Gap Pilot Line project, an international initiative that will set new directions in the development of semiconductor technology over the next five years, was officially launched in Rome. Our scientists from the Łukasiewicz Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics also participated in the event.

The WBG Pilot Line is a project co-funded by the European Union under the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) and EU Member States. Its goal is to establish an integrated pilot line for wideband (WBG) and ultra-wideband (UWBG) semiconductor technologies, which form the basis of modern power electronics and radio frequency (RF) systems.

The project involves 22 partners from seven European countries: Italy, Poland, Sweden, France, Germany, Austria, and Finland. The official launch of the project took place on September 24th at the CNR headquarters in Rome. Participants were welcomed by Andrea Lenzi, president of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), and Francesco La Via, project manager at the CNR Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems.

Poland is represented in the project by two research teams: the Łukasiewicz Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics (Anna Szerling, Andrzej Taube, Jarosław Tarenko) and the Institute of High Pressure Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Experts from these institutions will be responsible for the development of substrates and devices based on key semiconductor materials: gallium nitride (GaN) and gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃). Both materials are fundamental to the creation of advanced, energy-efficient, and high-performance electronic systems.

The inaugural meeting in Rome not only officially launched the project but also provided an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between European partners. It is a symbolic yet very concrete step towards Europe’s independence in the production of modern semiconductors and the development of an innovative electronics industry. More information can be found on the project website: https://www.wbg-pilot-line.eu/