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Nonprofit · Leuven · Belgium

IMEC

In research, IMEC stands highest in Engineering (#566 of 6,636 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#1,178 of 12,888 worldwide) and Electrical and Electronic Engineering (#233 of 2,318 worldwide), 2022–2025. 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 26.4× its share of world research.

imec-int.comROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,834
of 28,054 · #1,159 all time
Rank in Belgium
#9
of 138
Research works
12k
▲ 19% vs 2013–17
Citations
221k
18.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
13.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
21%
world 28%

What is IMEC known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
EngineeringField #566 of 6,636 11.5%1,075 #350
Physical SciencesDomain #1,178 of 12,888 12.1%1,696 #832
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #233 of 2,318 10.8%785 #148
Computer ScienceField #1,038 of 4,667 19.6%225 #425
Physics and AstronomyField #419 of 1,646 11.0%140 #473
Materials ScienceField #1,167 of 2,468 7.8%204 #747
Social SciencesDomain #5,945 of 10,521 38.6%64 #8259
Artificial IntelligenceSubfield #1,192 of 1,884 23.7%75 #1236
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield #360 of 565 11.5%92 #387
Biomedical EngineeringSubfield #1,077 of 1,568 10.6%119 #533

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 world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Engineering#350 #566
  2. Physical Sciences#832 #1,178
  3. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#148 #233
  4. Computer Science#425 #1,038
  5. Physics and Astronomy#473 #419
  6. Materials Science#747 #1,167
  7. Social Sciences#8,259 #5,945
  8. Artificial Intelligence#1,236 #1,192
  9. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics#387 #360
  10. Biomedical Engineering#533 #1,077
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

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

What does IMEC specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Surfaces, Coatings and Films takes 26.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Surfaces, Coatings and FilmsSubfield · 48.0 works26×
  2. Hardware and ArchitectureSubfield · 26.7 works13×
  3. Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield · 785.3 works12×
  4. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 24.5 works8.2×
  5. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 91.6 works6.9×
  6. Electronic, Optical and Magnetic MaterialsSubfield · 48.6 works5.7×
← 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: 0.03× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.19× its world share, 19 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.80× its world share, 24 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.10× its world share, 7 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.34× its world share, 10 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.56× its world share, 225 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.11× its world share, 3 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.66× its world share, 11 worksEnergyEngineering: 3.86× its world share, 1,075 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.16× its world share, 14 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 3.15× its world share, 204 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.28× its world share, 6 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 3.38× its world share, 140 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.08× its world share, 4 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.13× its world share, 45 worksMedicineNursing: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.33× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.04× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.08× its world share, 5 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.31× its world share, 6 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.06× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.31× its world share, 18 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.13× its world share, 31 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Engineering, 3.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at IMEC?

Ranked on the composite score, Peter De Heyn, Jan Craninckx and S. Donnay lead among researchers whose main affiliation is IMEC.

  1. 1 Peter De Heyn · #14,618 worldwide 701 citations · 45 works
  2. 2 Jan Craninckx · #39,239 worldwide 570 citations · 88 works
  3. 3 S. Donnay · #50,544 worldwide 295 citations · 32 works
  4. 4 Piet Wambacq · #53,919 worldwide 585 citations · 121 works
  5. 5 L. Pantisano · #58,050 worldwide 366 citations · 59 works
  6. 6 H. De Man · #64,404 worldwide 409 citations · 75 works
  7. 7 Diederik Verkest · #67,049 worldwide 463 citations · 73 works
  8. 8 Stefaan Decoutere · #67,085 worldwide 561 citations · 99 works
  9. 9 Ph. Roussel · #69,617 worldwide 295 citations · 48 works
  10. 10 P. Absil · #71,521 worldwide 454 citations · 93 works
All ranked researchers at IMEC

Which keywords describe research at IMEC?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Nanoelectronics, Integrated Circuits, Semiconductor Devices, Atomic Layer Deposition, High-k Dielectrics, Thin Films, Process Variation and High-Resolution Patterning.

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

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 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. Nanoelectronics129▲ 79×2 topics
  2. Integrated Circuits126▲ 44×3 topics
  3. Semiconductor Devices123▲ 92×2 topics
  4. Atomic Layer Deposition122▲ 95×1 topic
  5. High-k Dielectrics122▲ 95×1 topic
  6. Deep Learning98▲ 1.54×69 topics
  7. Thin Films89▲ 25×9 topics
  8. Process Variation82▲ 76×2 topics
  9. High-Resolution Patterning74▲ 193×2 topics
  10. Biosensors74▲ 7.7×10 topics
  11. Neuromorphic Computing74▲ 34×2 topics
  12. Thermal Management72▲ 12×6 topics
  13. Nanowires71▲ 27×5 topics
  14. Failure Analysis70▲ 39×3 topics
  15. Solar Cells70▲ 19×7 topics
  16. Fault Localization70▲ 55×2 topics
  17. Nanofabrication70▲ 60×3 topics
  18. Laser Voltage Probing68▲ 125×1 topic
  19. Photon Emission Microscopy68▲ 125×1 topic
  20. Nanowire Transistors68▲ 94×1 topic
  21. Tunnel Field-Effect Transistors68▲ 94×1 topic
  22. Electron Beam Lithography62▲ 348×1 topic
  23. Resolution Limits62▲ 348×1 topic
  24. Electromigration58▲ 115×2 topics
  25. Field-Effect Transistors52▲ 18×4 topics
  26. Interconnect49▲ 161×1 topic
  27. Through-Silicon Via49▲ 161×1 topic
  28. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy49▲ 33×2 topics
  29. Optical Modulators48▲ 18×3 topics
  30. Semiconductor47▲ 7.5×7 topics
  31. Raman Lasers45▲ 21×2 topics
  32. Silicon Photonics44▲ 22×2 topics
  33. Doping44▲ 25×2 topics
  34. Microcavities44▲ 21×1 topic
  35. Nanophotonic Waveguides44▲ 24×1 topic
  36. Photovoltaics43▲ 14×4 topics
  37. Semiconductors42▲ 7.5×5 topics
  38. Non-Volatile Memory42▲ 23×2 topics
  39. High-Temperature Electronics41▲ 36×2 topics
  40. Ferroelectricity41▲ 23×4 topics

Which research topics does IMEC publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Semiconductor materials and devices, Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis, Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design and Advancements in Photolithography Techniques.

Semiconductor materials …122Semiconductor materials and devices: 122 fractional worksIntegrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis: 68 fractional worksAdvancements in Semicond…68Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design: 68 fractional worksAdvancements in Photolit…62Advancements in Photolithography Techniques: 62 fractional works3D IC and TSV technologies: 49 fractional worksPhotonic and Optical Devices: 44 fractional worksElectron and X-Ray Spect…40Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques: 40 fractional worksFerroelectric and Negative Capacitance Devices: 38 fractional worksAdvanced Memory and Neural Computing: 36 fractional worksCopper Interconnects and Reliability: 31 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 devicesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 122 works
  2. 2 Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure AnalysisElectrical and Electronic Engineering 68 works
  3. 3 Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit DesignElectrical and Electronic Engineering 68 works
  4. 4 Advancements in Photolithography TechniquesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 62 works
  5. 5 3D IC and TSV technologiesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 49 works
  6. 6 Photonic and Optical DevicesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 44 works
  7. 7 Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy TechniquesSurfaces, Coatings and Films 40 works
  8. 8 Ferroelectric and Negative Capacitance DevicesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 38 works
  9. 9 Advanced Memory and Neural ComputingElectrical and Electronic Engineering 36 works
  10. 10 Copper Interconnects and ReliabilityElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials 31 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 available21.3%not open78.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors35.1%domestic only64.9%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has IMEC's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 19% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Other research institutions in Leuven

All research institutions in Leuven

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.