Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics
There is scarcely a technology sector where global competition is as challenging as in electronic systems. Invisible to the naked eye as they usually are, hidden under the surface of the product, electronic systems with a high degree of complexity must be designed, manufactured, and brought to market in an extremely short period of time and they must work absolutely reliably and energy efficiently. Basic technological research, customer-specific process development, and reliable production are the key to the development of innovative system solutions.
In order to be able to offer a stable process platform as the basis for innovative continued development, the employees of the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics work on a shared technology platform. This cooperation takes place under the auspices of the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS.
The strategic core competence "Semiconductor-based technologies" bundles the specialist knowledge of the member institutes in this technology platform – particularly within the area of More-than-Moore technologies, as they are known. The basics are the technologies available at the institutes, such as:
Si process technology for wafer diameters of 150 and 200 mm
Individual processes on 300 mm wafer
MEMS specific add-on technologies
Development of SiC materials and technology for power electronics
GaN process technology for power and ultra-high frequency applications
Topic focuses based on these technologies and with the aim of establishing cross-institute cooperation for functional diversification include:
Enhancement of the 200 mm Si technology basis for MEMS and MOEMS applications
Complementary non-Si technology platforms such as central SiC process steps and devices for the highest cutoff voltages
GaN applications in opto- and power electronics
Optimized packaging
Integration of new materials for enhanced functionality and optimized performance 200 mm foundry operation
The Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics thus positions itself beside its competitors IMEC (Belgium) and CEA-Leti (France) as part of a pan-European smart specialization and offers foundry operations for small and medium batch sizes on a 100 mm and 200 mm wafer basis with the option of later addition of 300 mm.