- Microsanj LLC is expanding its European footprint by establishing an R&D center in France and a commercial hub in Belgium.
- This strategic move addresses the critical need for advanced semiconductor characterization in Europe (specifically for wide-bandgap materials and advanced packaging).
- Microsanj’s EU expansion aligns with the European Chips Act 2.0.
Microsanj LLC today announced a strategic expansion of its European presence, establishing Microsanj EU SAS in France as its dedicated R&D center for advanced semiconductor materials characterization and Belgium as its European commercial hub. The announcement marks a significant step in Microsanj’s mission to bring the world’s most advanced thermal and materials characterization platform to European researchers, engineers, and device manufacturers, at a moment when the European semiconductor ecosystem is scaling rapidly under the European Chips Act 2.0 and growing demand for domestic measurement capability.
A measurement gap with strategic implications
As Europe invests heavily in next-generation semiconductors, such as GaN and SiC for power and RF, silicon photonics for data center and communications infrastructure, and wide-bandgap materials for electric vehicles and defense, a critical bottleneck has emerged: the measurement tools needed to characterize these materials at the interface and nanoscale level do not exist commercially in Europe.
Microsanj has spent 20 years solving this problem. The company’s SanjSCOPE™ platform is the only commercial system combining full-field thermal imaging, materials characterization via nanosecond and picosecond optical sampling, and multiphysics measurement on a single configurable instrument. At sub-250 nm spatial resolution and sub-ps temporal resolution, it resolves thermal boundary resistance at bonded interfaces, in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivity of thin films and novel substrates, and device-level electrothermal behavior; measurements that no other commercial system provides.
This capability sits at the intersection of three of Europe’s most strategically important technology areas: wide-bandgap semiconductors for power and RF, advanced packaging and 3D heterogeneous integration, and silicon photonics for AI data center infrastructure.
European R&D: France as the center
France is now home to Microsanj EU SAS, European research and development activities, with active technical collaborations underway with the University of Bordeaux, University of the Littoral Opal Coast (Dunkirk), CNRS, and XLIM. These partnerships focus on advancing thermal and material characterization techniques for thin-film thermal conductivity, thermal boundary resistance, and the integrity of bonded interfaces and through-silicon vias for advanced semiconductor materials.
The collaboration with the University of Bordeaux is anchored in advanced thermal characterization. While XLIM, a joint research unit of the University of Limoges and CNRS, contributes applied expertise in RF, microwave, and photonic device characterization directly aligned with Microsanj’s three-pillar measurement platform.
The University of Bordeaux, CNRS, and XLIM represent exactly the kind of deep scientific collaboration that advances the field of thermal and materials characterization. Our work with the French research community is pushing the boundaries of what’s measurable in advanced semiconductor materials, from GaN-on-diamond interfaces 3D chips and wide-bandgap substrates. This is the research that turns tomorrow’s device and integrated circuit wafer designs into manufacturable reality.
Belgium and the European market
Microsanj’s European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium serves as the company’s operational center for European market development. CN Rood, a leading scientific instrumentation partner in the Benelux region, plays a key role in extending Microsanj’s reach to semiconductor research and production customers across Europe.
Technical engagements are actively underway with Fraunhofer Germany, one of Europe’s most influential applied research organizations with deep ties to European semiconductor manufacturing, and UCL Belgium (Université catholique de Louvain), extending Microsanj’s academic research network across the region.
The European semiconductor instrumentation market represents a significant and growing commercial opportunity. As the European Chips Act 2.0 drives investment in domestic semiconductor design and manufacturing capability, demand for advanced characterization instruments, particularly for wide-bandgap materials and advanced packaging, is accelerating. Microsanj is positioned as the only commercial supplier of full-field thermoreflectance imaging and optical sampling thermoreflectance-based materials characterization systems worldwide.
Europe has always been home to some of the world’s most rigorous semiconductor research, and we are thrilled to deepen our roots here. Establishing France as our R&D center and Belgium as our go-to-market hub reflects our commitment to bringing Microsanj’s characterization platform closer to the engineers and researchers who need it most.
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About Microsanj LLC
Microsanj LLC is the only commercial company to have bridged thermal imaging, materials characterization, multiphysics measurement, and RF/EM field imaging on a single configurable platform for advanced semiconductor devices. Since 2007, Microsanj systems have been trusted by 100+ customers across 20+ countries.
US headquarters: Fremont, CA.
European Commercial HQ: Brussels, Belgium.
European R&D Center: Microsanj EU SAS, Paris, France.
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