​New strategic and growing markets related to connectivity, mobility, automotive, health and earth monitoring call for improved imaging solutions in visible, LWIR and VLWIR offering advanced functionalities and cost effectiveness. Visible imagers market is currently largely dominated by non-European countries. LWIR µbolometers imagers, fabricated above-IC, have not yet been democratized for high volume markets due to the difficulty to solve performance versus cost equation. However, Asian providers are making important progress to tackle this challenge.

ATHENA aims at strengthening European economy in high-tech imaging technologies:

• by taking advantage of 3D stacking technologies, improved sensor-processing integration, multimodal 2D/3D functionalities,
• by preparing more advanced µbolometer manufacturing for productivity gain and improved functionalities, developing cost effective LWIR wafer level optic solutions,
• by using new process methods for future VLWIR imager manufacturability.

This will foster new applications related wild fire detection and monitoring, innovative biomedical analysis, drone detection for secured civil airspace, enhanced border management, enhanced vision for emergency & safety services, consumer market application, automotive in-cabin monitoring, non-destructive inspection on aerospace structure, earth & climate monitoring. 

ATHENA gathers a strong European consortium composed of highly renowned Research Technological Organizations, big industrial players in imaging technologies and end-users to specify, design, develop, test these technologies in use cases and set common specifications for the imagers to support their industrialization and widespread adoption.

In line with both the European Union's Chips Act and the Electronics, Components and Systems Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, ATHENA will not only address the development of new sensors and chips, but also their integration in larger systems to pave the way to promising applications. ATHENA will strongly contribute to Europe leadership, industrial competitiveness and sovereignty.