In order to contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of digital technologies through research and development, the Fraunhofer and Leibniz institutes cooperating in the Forschungsfabrik Mikroelektronik Deutschland (Research Factory Microelectronics Germany) are jointly establishing a cross-site competence center for resource-conscious information and communications technology (Green ICT @ FMD).

A consortium of Fraunhofer institutes and well-known German industrial companies is developing a split-manufacturing approach for semiconductor production in the project "Distributed Manufacturing for Novel and Trustworthy Electronics T4T". This will enable the secure assembly of subsystems in Germany and safeguard supply chains.

The industry of the future will become more digital, more efficient and more automated. Autonomous driving systems and robots will make human work easier. To make this vision a reality, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS is developing sensors, optical components and actuators based on microelectromechanical systems that detect the environment and make interaction safe. In this context, sensors are becoming key technology of digitization: they form the interface between machine and human.

Optical microsystems are forging the Path of Light: The photonic systems of the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS can modulate light using small deflectable mirrors to create images and structures in a unique way. Hereby the research institute is developing spatial light modulators with up to several million mirrors on a semiconductor chip.

Everyone is talking about quantum computers. With the help of high interconnection of as many qubits (two-state quantum systems) as possible, massive amounts of data are to be processed more easily, quickly and securely in the future. In the PhoQuant project, a consortium led by the quantum start-up Q.ANT is now researching photonic quantum computer chips - made in Germany - which can also be operated at room temperature. One of the 14 consortium partners is the Dresden-based Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS.

The economic consequences of the current chip shortage highlight the importance of microelectronics. In order to prepare for the future, technological sovereignty in microelectronics research and development is required, in addition to new production facilities in Europe.

The microspeakers for wireless in-ear headphones from Arioso Systems GmbH, a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, are up to ten times smaller than conventional microspeakers and are made entirely from silicon. Currently at the prototype stage, the energy-efficient MEMS speakers may in future play a role in expanding the range of functions offered by miniaturized headphones – such as instant translations and health monitoring features. This is made possible by an innovative sound transducer principle that dispenses with the membrane, the central element of a conventional speaker.

Future-oriented key technologies in microelectronics and microsystems technology (MST) will be presented at the MST Congress in Ludwigsburg from November 8 to 10, 2021. The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS will participate at the joint booth of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD). In numerous lectures and poster sessions, the institute will present current results and developments from the fields of intelligent MEMS-based sensor and actuator technology for applications in medical technology, chemical analytics and Industry 4.0.

Sensors have become the ubiquitous companions of our lives. Whether knowingly or not, we use them every day to collect, process, and interpret data and help us make sense of the world around us. The demand for connected devices keeps growing – in particular in the Internet of Things, or IoT for short. The Fraunhofer flagship project ZEPOWEL has shown successfully how all of these sensor systems can become extremely energy efficient or even completely autonomous. The potential result: Up to 20% less carbon emissions in Germany alone.

AI systems can improve healthcare, increase recovery chances for patients and assist physicians in their diagnoses. The challenge is that artificial intelligence consumes an enormous amount of power. The Fraunhofer Institutes for Integrated Circuits IIS and for Industrial Mathematics ITWM have developed solutions for energy-saving AI chips that can help with early stage detection of atrial fibrillation – a special heart rhythm disorder – in the future. For their ideas, the two institutes were each awarded 1st place in the pilot innovation contest “Energy-efficient AI systems” from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).