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 the manufacturing of µbolometers from 200mm to 300mm CMOS wafers for productivity gain and access to more advanced CMOS nodes for improved functionalities, developing cost effective LWIR wafer level optic solutions - by using new methods of growing and doping materials for future VLWIR imager manufacturability. This will foster new applications related to automated systems (in industry, border and security management), health and consumer markets, and 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.

The new ways of driving and use a vehicle as expected in the scope of Smart Mobility asks for reliable and affordable versatile perception systems. Perception systems need to be accurate and reliable both for what happen in the cabin and out of the cabin. The driver and passenger monitoring needs to be improved as well as the environment surrounding monitoring, in all light and weather conditions. For both of these topics, the extension of current perception systems (mainly based on visible imaging, LIDAR and RADAR detection) to the thermal sensing is a must. Thermal sensing, especially in the LWIR (= 6 to 14 µm) bandwidth, provides valuable additional information and has to be considered as a must for the next generation of L4 (‘’Eyes off’’) and L5 (‘’Mind off’’) autonomous driving. In this context, the HELIAUS project aims to deliver breakthrough perception systems for in-cabin passengers monitoring, as well as for the car surrounding by developing smart thermal perception systems that extend the current systems to the LWIR bandwidth. From general point of view, the main objectives of the HELIAUS project and work to be carried out are as follows: 1/ to develop cutting-edge and cost effective technologies leading to low cost, high performance LWIR module, 2/ to specify, develop, test and validate the thermal perception systems first prototypes for in-cabin and out-of cabin application, 3/ to quantify the valuable addition of the thermal sensing into the current systems and future systems, 4/ to promote the benefit of such systems in the future autonomous vehicles, in particular, and for smart mobility in general. The HELIAUS project is a first and essential step to the creation of a future industrialized affordable thermal perception systems offer. Being a part of the IPCEI Microelectronics, in which ULIS leads a project in the framework of the ‘’Smart Sensors’’, the HELIAUS project will positively contribute to the global competitiveness of the European industry.