CEA-Leti and GlobalFoundries are advancing FD-SOI (Fully Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator) innovation through the FAMES pilot line, helping pave the way for more efficient, secure, and intelligent semiconductor solutions.

At the prestigious IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS) 2026, CEA-Leti is showcasing its deep expertise with multiple technical papers spanning device physics, RF technologies, FD-SOI, GaN, and advanced integration.

Leti, an institute of CEA-Tech, has developed a novel retinal-projection concept for augmented reality (AR) uses based on a combination of integrated optics and holography. The lens-free optical system uses disruptive technologies to overcome the limitations of existing AR glasses, such as limited field-of-view and bulky optical systems.

TVs and smartphones that project digital images emit light all around them, as quasi-isotropic sources. Because the images are projected generally over the air without directivity, many viewers see the same image. In typical AR glasses, images are transmitted close to the eyes (high directivity) by a microdisplay that includes an optical system and an optical combiner.

These microdisplays create a small near-to-eye image, which is transformed by the optical system, enabling the user to see it despite the short focusing distance. The combiner superimposes the digital image to the viewers’ vision of the real environment.

CEA-Leti’s innovation is a transparent retinal-projection device that projects various light waves to the eyes from a glass surface. Images are formed in the retina by the interference of light waves, which eliminates the need for optical systems or combiners. The light propagating in the air doesn’t form an image until it interferes precisely in the retina. 

CEA-Leti presented its results Feb. 6 at SPIE Photonics West 2019 in a paper titled “Integrated Optical Network Design for a Retinal Projection Concept Based on Single-Mode Si3N4 Waveguides at 532 nm”.

The project focused on the design and numerical simulations of integrated Si3N4 optical components and the optical circuit at λ = 532 nm. It required building blocks for designing an optical integrated circuit capable of creating an array of emissive points. Starting with single-mode waveguides to efficiently transport light around the circuit, many other components were designed to manipulate light in different locations. Components for extracting the light, such as diffraction gratings, were also designed and simulated. The team minimized losses of different parts of the circuit, such as waveguide-bending areas, to increase energy efficiency of the system.

CEA-Leti’s integration of the device and its use of a holographic layer also allow creation of compact AR glasses with a larger field-of-view than existing systems, while the transparent retinal projection device allows ambient light to pass through the device for enhanced AR applications.

“Combining integrated optics and holography is a new research area for the scientific community developing display applications,” said Basile Meynard, a Ph.D. student and lead author of the paper. “It is also a way to imagine a display device that works more as a data transfer system than as an imaging system.”

The novel approach will require further development before it reaches the commercialization stage. In the medium to long term, the retinal projection concept is expected to support more compact and higher virtual-image quality applications similar to existing AR glasses.

This research project builds on CEA-Leti’s many years of development of micro-displays for near-to-eye displays, such as organic LED technologies (OLED) and liquid crystal devices (LCD). More recently, the institute has made significant strides in the field of inorganic LED display manufacturing.

“Our teams are continuously looking for potential disruptive technologies that could pave the way to new families of display devices down the road,” said Christophe Martinez, optical senior scientist and project leader in Leti. “The investigation on retinal displays is part of this exploration of future optical solutions.”

​Integrating Data from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Inertial Management Units Makes Sure Precision Even Throughout GNSS Interruptions

Leti, a research study institute of CEA Tech, and Orolia, a leader in precision and efficiency for terrestrial, aeronautic and marine transport positioning, navigation & timing applications, today revealed a brand-new sensor-data-fusion engine that makes sure resistant positioning and navigation even in cases of worldwide navigation satellite system (GNSS) jamming or spoofing.

Called FlexFusion, the algorithm technology processes information from GNSS, inertial management systems (IMU) and odometers to offer exact positioning in all conditions.

FlexFusion’s style counts on a modelisation of GNSS and IMU (triple-axis accelerometer, triple-axis gyrometer and triple-axis magnetometer) output for artificial trajectory generation.

The blend method makes use of Bayesian estimators, e.g. Kalman filters. The very first algorithm was setup on modeling signals and its optimization counts on a comprehensive real-life sample database obtained through field test. This procedure utilized CEA-Leti’s HYLOC referral platform, which supplies a referral positioning of a couple of centimeters. More than 100 trajectory samples were gathered in city, rural, forest and mountain environments with various GNSS blackout conditions. 

The brand-new positioning technology supports edge AI since the data-fusion algorithm is carried out in your area to guarantee that positioning and navigation info is offered in your area and is failsafe even in case of jamming or spoofing of GNSS information.

“Recent events have demonstrated that it is possible to change the course of a ship or force a drone to land in a hostile area by simply spoofing GPS signals,” stated CEA-Leti CEO Emmanuel Sabonnadière. “The increasing reliance on a GNSS for the execution of military operations and terrestrial, aeronautic and naval transportation requires using positioning and navigation systems that are able to detect GNSS outages and provide resilient position and navigation features.”

A variation of FlexFusion that requires less of the CPU executes a loose coupling algorithm that utilizes GNSS receiver-output positions as entry of the algorithm. An innovative variation executes a tight coupling blend algorithm of GNSS and IMU information that considerably boosts the strength of positioning and navigation under real-world conditions.

This unique method makes it possible for overall control of treatments and filtering used to raw signals, which increases efficiency of the blend. It likewise enhances positioning efficiency in specific if there are less than 4 GNSS satellites offered, or when there are frequent multi-trajectories, which often happen in city canyons.

CEA-Leti has actually certified the trademarked FlexFusion algorithm to Orolia.

“Orolia is integrating FlexFusion in a new version of its VersaPNT product, the first compact, all-in-one and resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) system for vehicles and blue force tracking, tactical UAV navigation and marine applications,” stated Thierry Delhomme, EMEA General Supervisor, Orolia. “This powerful algorithm helps deliver on the promise of VersaPNT as an always-accurate PNT system that operates in any environment.”

FlexFusion advancement was supported and partly moneyed by the Easytech program of IRT Nanoelec thanks to the French National Program “Programme d’Investissement d’Avenir” ANR-10-AIRT-05″