The FAMES Pilot Line launched its 2026 Open-Access Call on March 9, 2026, for European semiconductor stakeholders. The programme adds four new process-design kits (PDKs) focused on radio frequency components and advanced FD-SOI technology, building on interest and early silicon results from the 2025 pilot. An online launch event was held to detail the technologies and application process.
FAMES, coordinated by CEA-Leti under the Chips Joint Undertaking, was inaugurated on January 30, 2026, as the first of five Chips Act pilot lines, with a combined EU and Member State investment of EUR 830 million. The EU Chips Act targets increasing Europe’s global semiconductor production share to 20 percent by 2030. The pilot line directly supports domestic access to low-power and RF technologies: FD-SOI enables chips to consume 30-40 percent less power than conventional designs at equivalent performance, according to the European Commission. Fact.MR reports project the global RF filters market to expand from USD 21.9 billion in 2026 to 98.1 billion by 2036 at a 16.2 percent CAGR, driven by 5G, emerging 6G and IoT requirements for miniaturised filtering in higher frequency bands, including FR3. Power-delivery efficiency in system-on-chip designs for edge and IoT applications remains a persistent challenge addressed by on-silicon magnetics integration.
The 2026 PDKs comprise:
• the 15 GHz LiNbO3 Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonator (BAW-SMR) Filter PDK and the 7-15 GHz AlN/ScAlN BAW RF Filter PDK, granting access to highly miniaturised RF components with band-pass filtering capabilities in the FR3 range;
• the Phase Change Material-based RF switch PDK, permitting users to design demonstrators and integrate them for the first time on high-resistivity 300 mm silicon wafers;
• the FAMES magnetics on silicon MagIC technology R&D samples and subsequent PDK, enabling integration of micro-inductors directly on power-management systems-on-chip closest to the SoC load; and
• the FD-SOI 10nm pathfinding PDK release 1 for testing the capabilities of this advanced low-power technological node.
Design houses, fabless companies, foundries, integrated device manufacturers, material and tool suppliers, universities and research centres may submit User Requests through the two-month Open-Access Call that began today or via Spontaneous User Requests year-round. The User Guidelines and Procedures document is available at https://fames-pilot-line.eu/guidelines-for-open-access/. Open-Access Calls will continue each spring through 2028 with updated technology portfolios.
The FAMES project objectives are to deliver Europe a domestic pilot line providing two generations of FD-SOI technology at the 10 nm and 7 nm nodes, various non-volatile memory options in metallic interconnects above transistors, radio frequency components (passives, switches and filters), and 3D technological stacking options (sequential and heterogeneous integration). It also promotes the technologies across semiconductor markets to strengthen European leadership and create new opportunities. The line supports seven application-driven demonstrators for brain computing interface, radar, neuromorphic computing, cybersecurity and optical communication networks.
The consortium comprises CEA-Leti (coordinator, France), imec (Belgium), Fraunhofer (Germany), Tyndall (Ireland), VTT (Finland), CEZAMAT WUT (Poland), UCLouvain (Belgium), Silicon Austria Labs (Austria), SiNANO Institute (France), Grenoble INP (France) and the University of Granada (Spain).
“The 2026 Open-Access Call supports the European Union’s sovereign technological strengths with enriched technologies thanks to two years of successful R&D results,” said Susana Bonnetier, open-access chairperson. “The radio frequency components PDKs are especially noteworthy this year, because for the first time, participants will be able to access and test sovereign 7-15 GHz acoustic RF filter and PCM switch technologies of their own design.”
Bonnetier explained that users will also be able to test the impact on power-delivery efficiency of integrating micro-inductors directly on their power-management ICs and explore the performance advantages of the FD-SOI 10nm technology node with the Pathfinding PDK that is now ready for licensing and delivery.
For more information, visit https://fames-pilot-line.eu/guidelines-for-open-access/
