History

The LAMEL Institute (originally Laboratory for Chemistry and Technology of Materials and for Components for Electronics, then Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials for Electronics) was founded in June 1968 as a multidisciplinary research structure, where the contemporary presence of physicists, chemists and electronic engineers allowed a global approach to the problems of materials and devices, thus overriding the schemes of traditional disciplinary areas.

The first location of the Institute was in the Laboratories of Monte Cuccolino in the suburbs of Bologna, then, in January 1970 the LAMEL Institute moved in a new location in via de' Castagnoli in Bologna downtown. Eventually in 1993 the Institute moved to its final location in the CNR Research Area of Bologna, where is located nowadays.

In September 2000, the LAMEL Institute merged with the Institute for Methodologies and Technologies for Microelectronics (IMETEM, Catania), the Project Sensors and Microsystems (PSM, Rome), the Institute for the Study of New Materials for Electronics (IME, Lecce) and the Institute of Research on Electromagnetism and Electronic Devices (IRECE, Naples), forming the first core of the Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM).

Since its foundation the LAMEL Institute (a.k.a. the IMM Bologna Unit) has been working in the field of materials and devices for microelectronics, with a particular focus on silicon. Its specificity arises from the ability to cover the whole cultural area comprising material characterization, study of processes as well as design and realization of integrated devices. This activity has a relevant role within the different steps (system architecture, circuit design, technological realization, characterization) which contribute in defining the cultural context of microelectronics and microsystems.