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Nonprofit · Leuven · Belgium

IMEC

In research, IMEC stands highest in Physical Sciences (#1,354 of 10,670 worldwide), Electrical and Electronic Engineering (#282 of 2,176 worldwide) and Engineering (#804 of 5,901 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Surfaces, Coatings and Films, Hardware and Architecture and Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Surfaces, Coatings and Films is 21.6× its share of world research).

imec-int.comROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#2,360
of 22,385 · #1,162 all time
Rank in Belgium
#13
of 105
Research works
13k
▲ 8% vs 2018-21
Citations
242k
18.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
9.6%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.99×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
24%
world 40%
International
39%
world 18%
IMEC

What is IMEC known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #1,354 of 10,670 9.0%1,909 #695
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #282 of 2,176 10.7%866 #144
EngineeringField #804 of 5,901 9.7%1,204 #476
Computer ScienceField #1,441 of 4,417 9.4%259 #707
Life SciencesDomain #2,712 of 6,403 11.2%66 #2033
Biomedical EngineeringSubfield #794 of 1,539 9.1%142 #487
Artificial IntelligenceSubfield #1,085 of 1,862 10.4%88 #886
Materials ChemistrySubfield #872 of 1,473 5.9%101 #581
Physics and AstronomyField #902 of 1,417 7.7%155 #688
Health SciencesDomain #6,947 of 9,902 13.0%74 #5597

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where IMEC sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#695 #1,354
  2. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#144 #282
  3. Engineering#476 #804
  4. Computer Science#707 #1,441
  5. Life Sciences#2,033 #2,712
  6. Biomedical Engineering#487 #794
  7. Artificial Intelligence#886 #1,085
  8. Materials Chemistry#581 #872
  9. Physics and Astronomy#688 #902
  10. Health Sciences#5,597 #6,947
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

Which fields of science does IMEC work in?

In 2022-now, 89% of research at IMEC is in Physical Sciences, 5% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Engineering (56%), Computer Science (12%), Materials Science (10%). It does 2.3× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 2,120 fractional works · 88.5% of its workEngineering: 1,333 fractional works · 55.7% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 950 fractional works · 39.7% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 164 fractional works · 6.8% of its workAerospace Engineering: 54 fractional works · 2.2% of its workMechanical Engineering: 31 fractional works · 1.3% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 28 fractional works · 1.2% of its workMechanics of Materials: 20 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputational Mechanics: 18 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMedia Technology: 17 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 16 fractional works · 0.7% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 16 fractional works · 0.7% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 13 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Science: 288 fractional works · 12.0% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 96 fractional works · 4.0% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 56 fractional works · 2.4% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 38 fractional works · 1.6% of its workHardware and Architecture: 35 fractional works · 1.4% of its workInformation Systems: 22 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSignal Processing: 14 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 11 fractional works · 0.5% of its workHuman-Computer Interaction: 6 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 9 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMaterials Science: 245 fractional works · 10.2% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 114 fractional works · 4.8% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 58 fractional works · 2.4% of its workSurfaces, Coatings and Films: 51 fractional works · 2.1% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 14 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 8 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 174 fractional works · 7.2% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 115 fractional works · 4.8% of its workCondensed Matter Physics: 28 fractional works · 1.2% of its workRadiation: 14 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInstrumentation: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 8 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnvironmental Science: 23 fractional works · 0.9% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 10 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnergy: 18 fractional works · 0.7% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 15 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 15 fractional works · 0.6% of its workChemical Engineering: 11 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBioengineering: 8 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMathematics: 9 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 111 fractional works · 4.6% of its workSocial Sciences: 51 fractional works · 2.1% of its workSociology and Political Science: 16 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEducation: 14 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 16 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPsychology: 26 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSocial Psychology: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 11 fractional works · 0.5% of its workDecision Sciences: 9 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArts and Humanities: 9 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 4 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 87 fractional works · 3.6% of its workMedicine: 77 fractional works · 3.2% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 15 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSurgery: 12 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 44 fractional works · 1.8% of its workHealth Professions: 9 fractional works · 0.4% of its workVeterinary: 1 fractional works · 0.0% of its workLife Sciences: 77 fractional works · 3.2% of its workNeuroscience: 38 fractional works · 1.6% of its workCellular and Molecular Neuroscience: 18 fractional works · 0.7% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 15 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 6 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 31 fractional works · 1.3% of its workMolecular Biology: 15 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBiophysics: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 9 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.0% of its workALL ITS WORKIMEC2,395fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences3%Physical Sciences89%Health Sciences4%Social Sciences5%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
    1. Engineering1,33355.7%
    2. Computer Science28812.0%
    3. Materials Science24510.2%
    4. Physics and Astronomy1747.2%
    5. Environmental Science230.9%
    6. Energy180.7%
    7. Chemistry150.6%
    8. Chemical Engineering110.5%
    9. Mathematics90.4%
    10. Earth and Planetary Sciences50.2%
    1. Social Sciences512.1%
    2. Psychology261.1%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting110.5%
    4. Decision Sciences90.4%
    5. Arts and Humanities90.4%
    6. Economics, Econometrics and Finance40.2%
    1. Medicine773.2%
    2. Health Professions90.4%
    3. Veterinary10.0%
    4. Nursing00.0%
    5. Dentistry00.0%
    1. Neuroscience381.6%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology311.3%
    3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences70.3%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology10.0%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does IMEC specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Surfaces, Coatings and Films takes 21.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Surfaces, Coatings and FilmsSubfield · 50.6 works22×
  2. Hardware and ArchitectureSubfield · 34.7 works13×
  3. Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield · 950.5 works11×
  4. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 28.1 works7.3×
  5. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 115.3 works6.7×
  6. Electronic, Optical and Magnetic MaterialsSubfield · 58.3 works5.3×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.06× its world share, 7 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.24× its world share, 31 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.98× its world share, 38 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.35× its world share, 11 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.40× its world share, 15 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.55× its world share, 288 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.14× its world share, 5 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.80× its world share, 18 worksEnergyEngineering: 3.71× its world share, 1,333 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.19× its world share, 22 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.93× its world share, 245 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.32× its world share, 9 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 3.26× its world share, 174 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.14× its world share, 9 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.17× its world share, 77 worksMedicineNursing: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.36× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.13× its world share, 9 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.14× its world share, 11 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.41× its world share, 10 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.08× its world share, 4 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.36× its world share, 26 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.17× its world share, 51 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Engineering, 3.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Engineering3.71×1,333 works
  2. Physics and Astronomy3.26×174 works
  3. Materials Science2.93×245 works
  4. Computer Science1.55×288 works
  5. Chemical Engineering1.35×11 works
  6. Neuroscience0.98×38 works
  7. Energy0.80×18 works
  8. Decision Sciences0.41×10 works
  9. Chemistry0.40×15 works
  10. Veterinary0.36×1 works
  11. Psychology0.36×26 works
  12. Mathematics0.32×9 works
  13. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.24×31 works
  14. Environmental Science0.19×22 works
  15. Medicine0.17×77 works
  16. Social Sciences0.17×51 works
  17. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.14×5 works
  18. Health Professions0.14×9 works
  19. Business, Management and Accounting0.14×11 works
  20. Arts and Humanities0.13×9 works
  21. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.08×4 works
  22. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.06×7 works
  23. Immunology and Microbiology0.04×1 works
  24. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.03×0 works
  25. Nursing0.03×0 works
  26. Dentistry0.02×0 works

Who are the top researchers at IMEC?

Ranked on the quality score, Stefan Kubicek, Weiming Qiu and David Cheyns lead among researchers whose main affiliation is IMEC.

  1. 1 Stefan Kubicek Belgium · #173,127 worldwide 15k citations · 410 works
  2. 2 Weiming Qiu Belgium · #226,597 worldwide 4.9k citations · 101 works
  3. 3 David Cheyns Belgium · #242,845 worldwide 8.2k citations · 194 works
  4. 4 Barundeb Dutta Belgium · #268,401 worldwide 6.8k citations · 85 works
  5. 5 Michiel J. van Setten Belgium · #293,658 worldwide 9.5k citations · 121 works
  6. 6 Paul L. Heremans Belgium · #310,269 worldwide 26k citations · 765 works
  7. 7 Kristiaan De Greve Belgium · #328,371 worldwide 5.3k citations · 183 works
  8. 8 Alexandru Andrei Belgium · #357,861 worldwide 3.9k citations · 31 works
  9. 9 Vito Giannini Belgium · #383,726 worldwide 4.4k citations · 58 works
  10. 10 Serge Vernalde Belgium · #405,379 worldwide 2.9k citations · 82 works
All ranked researchers at IMEC

What are the most cited papers from IMEC?

The most cited paper from IMEC is "SCENIC: single-cell regulatory network inference and clustering" (Sara Aibar, Carmen Bravo González‐Blas, Thomas Moerman et al., 2017), with 7,321 citations. Next come "Carbon Nanotubes: Present and Future Commercial Applications" (5,602) and "Surface chemistry of atomic layer deposition: A case study for the trimethylaluminum/water process" (2,614).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 SCENIC: single-cell regulatory network inference and clustering Sara Aibar, Carmen Bravo González‐Blas, Thomas Moerman et al. · Nature Methods Open access 9 Oct 2017 7,321
2 Carbon Nanotubes: Present and Future Commercial Applications Michael F. L. De Volder, Sameh Tawfick, Ray H. Baughman et al. · Science 31 Jan 2013 5,602
3 Surface chemistry of atomic layer deposition: A case study for the trimethylaluminum/water process Riikka L. Puurunen · Journal of Applied Physics 15 Jun 2005 2,614
4 Fully integrated silicon probes for high-density recording of neural activity James Jaeyoon Jun et al. · Nature Open access 7 Nov 2017 2,453
5 The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) on the HerschelSpace Observatory A. Poglitsch et al. · Astronomy and Astrophysics Open access Jul 2010 2,282
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at IMEC?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Integrated Circuits, Nanoelectronics, Semiconductor Devices, Atomic Layer Deposition, High-k Dielectrics, Thin Films, Biosensors and Process Variation.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Integrated Circuits148▲ 43×3 topics
  2. Nanoelectronics139▲ 71×2 topics
  3. Semiconductor Devices131▲ 82×2 topics
  4. Atomic Layer Deposition131▲ 85×1 topic
  5. High-k Dielectrics131▲ 85×1 topic
  6. Deep Learning120▲ 1.45×69 topics
  7. Thin Films104▲ 22×9 topics
  8. Biosensors98▲ 8.3×12 topics
  9. Process Variation92▲ 66×2 topics
  10. Solar Cells90▲ 18×7 topics
  11. Thermal Management86▲ 11×6 topics
  12. Neuromorphic Computing86▲ 31×2 topics
  13. High-Resolution Patterning84▲ 167×2 topics
  14. Nanowires83▲ 25×5 topics
  15. Nanofabrication77▲ 52×3 topics
  16. Nanowire Transistors75▲ 83×1 topic
  17. Tunnel Field-Effect Transistors75▲ 83×1 topic
  18. Failure Analysis74▲ 34×4 topics
  19. Fault Localization74▲ 44×2 topics
  20. Laser Voltage Probing72▲ 113×1 topic
  21. Photon Emission Microscopy72▲ 113×1 topic
  22. Electron Beam Lithography67▲ 307×1 topic
  23. Resolution Limits67▲ 307×1 topic
  24. Electromigration66▲ 97×2 topics
  25. Field-Effect Transistors63▲ 17×4 topics
  26. Optical Modulators62▲ 18×3 topics
  27. System Integration58▲ 129×2 topics
  28. Semiconductor58▲ 7.4×7 topics
  29. Interconnect58▲ 146×1 topic
  30. Through-Silicon Via58▲ 146×1 topic
  31. Raman Lasers57▲ 23×2 topics
  32. Silicon Photonics57▲ 23×2 topics
  33. Microcavities56▲ 22×1 topic
  34. Nanophotonic Waveguides56▲ 26×1 topic
  35. Photovoltaics56▲ 15×4 topics
  36. Non-Volatile Memory52▲ 23×2 topics
  37. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy51▲ 29×2 topics
  38. Doping50▲ 23×2 topics
  39. Semiconductors50▲ 7.2×5 topics
  40. High-Temperature Electronics46▲ 32×2 topics

Which research topics does IMEC publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Semiconductor materials and devices, Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design, Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis and Advancements in Photolithography Techniques.

Semiconductor materials …131Semiconductor materials and devices: 131 fractional worksAdvancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design: 75 fractional worksIntegrated Circuits and …72Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis: 72 fractional worksAdvancements in Photolit…67Advancements in Photolithography Techniques: 67 fractional works3D IC and TSV technologies: 58 fractional worksPhotonic and Optical Devices: 56 fractional worksAdvanced Memory and Neur…44Advanced Memory and Neural Computing: 44 fractional worksFerroelectric and Negative Capacitance Devices: 42 fractional worksElectron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques: 40 fractional worksCopper Interconnects and Reliability: 37 fractional works
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSurfaces, Coatings and FilmsElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Semiconductor materials and devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 131 works
  2. 2 Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design Electrical and Electronic Engineering 75 works
  3. 3 Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis Electrical and Electronic Engineering 72 works
  4. 4 Advancements in Photolithography Techniques Electrical and Electronic Engineering 67 works
  5. 5 3D IC and TSV technologies Electrical and Electronic Engineering 58 works
  6. 6 Photonic and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 56 works
  7. 7 Advanced Memory and Neural Computing Electrical and Electronic Engineering 44 works
  8. 8 Ferroelectric and Negative Capacitance Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 42 works
  9. 9 Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques Surfaces, Coatings and Films 40 works
  10. 10 Copper Interconnects and Reliability Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials 37 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available23.6%not open76.4%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors38.8%domestic only61.2%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has IMEC's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 8% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is IMEC as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.011% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%IMEC0.0092% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of IMEC over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting5%10%15%all institutions10.0% in 2025IMEC7.6% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 14.5% in 2009.

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IMEC on Science Explorer

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