German microelectronics research is moving closer together – the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is investing 350 million euros in infrastructure expansion

As part of the new technology pool known as the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany, for the first time, eleven institutes in the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics and two Leibniz institutes (FBH and IHP) are bundling their expertise in order to reach and expand on a new quality in research, development, and (pilot) manufacture of semiconductor-based microsystems and nanosystems. Consistent pooling of joint know-how will make it possible to offer customers from heavy industry, small and medium enterprises, and universities the entire value-creation chain for microelectronics and nanoelectronics from a single supplier. “A year and a half ago, the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics presented a strategy for long-term renewal of microelectronics infrastructure. With the two Leibniz institutes on board, this strategy has now been developed into an overall concept to provide Germany’s microelectronic research facilities that work closely with industry with the equipment they need,” says Prof. Hubert Lakner, chairman of the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports the necessary investment to the tune of around 350 million euros over the next 3.5 years.

Four technology domains for electronic system development

The Research Fab Microelectronics Germany is organized into four “technology parks.” Having a knowledge edge in these future-relevant domains of technology is a basic requirement for enabling Europe and Germany to secure their position among international competition.

• Technology park 1: The latest “Silicon-based Technologies” for sensor technology, actuation systems, and information processing technology

• Technology park 2: “Compound Semiconductors” with modern materials for power-saving and communications technology

• Technology park 3: “Heterointegration” – the latest combinations of silicon and other semiconductors; for example for the Internet of Things

• Technology park 4: “Design, Test, and Reliability” for design and design methods, quality, and safety and security 

Taking advantage of successful developments

One example of the type of cooperation in question is the joint development of monolithically integrated spatial light modulators between the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden and the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg. Spatial light modulators are made up of an arrangement of micromirrors on a semiconductor chip, the number of which currently varies from between a few hundred up to several million mirrors per chip, depending on the application. The individual mirrors, which vary in size depending on the application, can be tipped or lowered individually. This allows the creation of a planar pattern that can be used, for example, to project defined structures. High-resolution adjustable-mirror arrays with up to 2.2 million individual mirrors are used by customers as highly dynamic programmable masks for optical micro-lithography in the UV range. Other fields of application can be found within mask inspection and measuring technology for the semiconductor industry, in microscopy, and in laser inscription, laser marking, and laser material processing. One important technological aspect in the development of the individual mirrors is to be found in the monolithic integration of the micromirrors as what is known as a back-end-of-line module in a CMOS process used for the direct actuation of the micromirrors.

This product, which is being manufactured within the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany in a small series as part of an industrial cooperation, uses the potential offered by two clean rooms. For the manufacture of the CMOS backplane on 200 mm wafers – i.e. the carrier wafers with control electronics – the front-end-of-line CMOS process developed by Fraunhofer IMS in Duisburg is used. The micromirrors themselves are set up at Fraunhofer IPMS in Dresden with the micromirror process directly on the carrier wafers in the back-end-of-line. Only thanks to this combined use of both pilot lines could the technology be transferred from the original 150 mm technology from Fraunhofer IPMS to 200 mm silicon substrates.

Technology park managers – internal coordinators. Program managers – customer contacts 

Even with the jointly organized operation of the Research Fab Microelectronics, the existing locations of the institutes will be retained. New models of cooperation are required. The expansion of the research institutions spread across Germany and joint operations are coordinated and organized in the Berlin business office. The overarching cooperation of the four technology parks will take place in close consultation between the program managers and the technology park managers.

The technology park managers will look after the technology parks from a content, coordination, and strategic point of view. They are the central contacts for cross-location coordination of the design and process chains, as well as measuring and testing technology. They will work very closely with their contacts at the individual locations. The program managers act as an interface with the application. They will look after the application topics of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany while also being the central contacts for customers. 

New perspectives, particularly for small and medium enterprises

The establishment of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany will be a unique offering available to the German and European semiconductor and electronics industry. The cooperation of 13 research institutes and around 2000 scientists is, right from the beginning of the project, already the world’s largest pool for technologies and intellectual property rights within the area of smart systems. Whether working on the development of intelligent sensor nodes, cyberphysical systems, and hardware-oriented solutions for Industry 4.0 or compound semiconductor-based devices and circuits for power electronics or communication technology – the researchers will be able to consult with one another quickly and efficiently from the first draft to the finished system. The close interlinking and coherent public face mean that the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany can offer SMEs a more comprehensive and simpler way of accessing the next generation of technology.

 

The institutes involved in the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany are:

Fraunhofer Research Institution for Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFT in Munich • Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nanosystems ENAS in Chemnitz • Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR in Wachtberg • Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institute, HHI in Berlin • Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF in Freiburg • Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen, Dresden and Ilmenau • Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB in Erlangen • Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg • Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden • Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT in Itzehoe • Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin and Moritzburg • Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut fuer Hoechstfrequenztechnik (FBH) in Berlin • Leibniz Institute for Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP) in Frankfurt/Oder

 

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• Distribution of the investments