The German federal minister of education and research (BMBF), Prof. Johanna Wanka and the Saxony state minister for science and art, Prof. Sabine von Schorlemer, recently met at Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID to discuss strategies for the next stage of microelectronics development. Fraunhofer IZM’s center “All Silicon System Integration Dresden”, established more than three years ago, works with research and industry to develop innovative technologies for 3D system integration on 300 mm silicon wafers. Part of the meeting included an overview of ASSID’s know-how, presented by Fraunhofer IZM Institute Director Prof. Klaus-Dieter Lang.  Key to the center’s excellent output is state-of-the-art clean-room infrastructure, which was established with funding from the EU, BMBF and the Land Saxony. Such supporting equipment allows ASSID to produce cutting-edge high-tech research that is easily transferable to industry.

After the presentation, a wide-ranging discussion was held with representatives of BMBF, SMWK, SMWA, the German federal parliament, Silicon Saxony, the Technical Universität Dresden andrepresentatives of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on strategic goals in microelectronics research and Saxony as a center of research and development. A main conclusion was that German companies can only maintain or improve their competitive edge by covering the entire supply chain from semiconductor technology, to system integration, right through to the final application (e.g. for automotive technology, medical engineering, mechanical engineering). As part of this, German research and development will have to continue working closely and efficiently with the manufacturing sector.

More information:
http://www.medienservice.sachsen.de/medien/news/185725