Tech News

On November 8, Fraunhofer IZM welcomed Patrick Hetzel, the French Minister of Higher Education and Research. In addition to Institute Director Prof. Ulrike Ganesh and Rolf Aschenbrenner, Deputy Director of the Institute, Fraunhofer researchers with French roots were also present. The meeting’s objective was to continue the dialog on future-relevant key technologies such as high-performance computing, quantum electronics, hardware security and sustainability. Of particular importance were strategic considerations regarding Europe's technological sovereignty in the semiconductor sector.

On the EnerConnect project, researchers at Fraunhofer IZM are testing bidirectional blocking gallium nitride (GaN) transistors to design a system that could be used with the next generation of active converters and rectifiers. The innovative hardware removes the need for a separate conversion stage and can achieve record 99% efficiency.

Ivan Ndip has been honored with the 2024 Outstanding Educator Award by the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS) for his significant contributions to education for the microelectronics packaging industry.

Before they ever hit the market, reliable microelectronic systems need to be subjected to lengthy and cost-intensive qualification tests. Coordinated by Fraunhofer IZM, a group of high-profile companies, research institutes, and universities is now working on ways to replace these tests with much faster, more flexible, and more economical simulations.

We are very pleased to announce that our colleague Nyake Gahein-Sama won the Best Poster Award at this year’s IEEE Electronics System Integration Technology Conference (ESTC 2024) in Berlin. He was recognized for his contribution on “Alignment Between Subsequent 3D Molding Layers for Optimized Performance of 3D Integrated Patch Antennas for Advanced Sensing Applications”.

High-ranking visitor from Taiwan: Prof. Tsung-Tsong Wu, Chairman of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), met with the Institute Director, Prof. Ulrike Ganesh, and representatives of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD) at Fraunhofer IZM on August 27, 2024. The meeting focused on the strategic direction and future cooperation between the two leading research institutes.

Three Fraunhofer Institutes have launched a forward-looking research initiative in Dresden: the Chiplet Center of Excellence (CCoE). Its purpose is to partner with industry to drive forward the introduction of chiplet technology. Researchers at the CCoE are working on several fronts for the automotive industry, developing the first workflows and methods for electronics design, demonstrator construction, and the evaluation of reliability.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM is proud to announce the appointment of Professor Dr Ulrike Ganesh as its Co-Director. Starting on 01 August 2024, she will join Professor Martin Schneider-Ramelow in shaping the strategic direction of the Institute.

To understand the quality of a wire bond with a semiconductor chip, they are subjected to shear tests at the contact point where the wire meets the chip: A chisel shears off these so-called wedges, and the necessary force and resulting damage is analyzed. To learn more about what happens during shearing, researchers from the Technical University of Berlin and Fraunhofer IZM came up with an innovative simulation of the mechanical processes at work. This allows them to understand how newer and more durable wire types affect the behavior of the material and the processes and to produce a more objective and reliable assessment of the bonding quality of such novel materials.

A European research and industry consortium led by Soitec, a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative semiconductor materials, has begun work to develop a future generation of high-frequency semiconductors based on Indium Phosphide (InP). These technologies are set to address applications ranging from photonics for AI mega data centers to radio frequency filters critical to 6G mobile communications and beyond.