Boosting cross-sector R&D in microelectronics for industrial innovation

At the EPIC Foundation and Fraunhofer summit today, there was a talk on Fraunhofer’s vision for India: Boosting Cross-Sector R&D in Microelectronics for Industrial Innovation was presented by Dr. Stephan Guttowski, Managing Director, Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD) and Central Office of Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics.

Semiconductors an innovation driver
Semiconductors are important as an innovation driver, especially for automotive. Microelectronics is key enabling technology for many applications. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is a leading research organization of the world. We handle industrial contracts and publicly-funded research projects. 

Fraunhofer model is meant to generate at least two-thirds of revenue from external sources. Fraunhofer customers commercialize more innovations and increase sales. Our activities demonstrably create more jobs. 

Fraunhofer strategic research fields (FSFs) for achieving impact goals are many. These include digital healthcare, AI, next-gen computing, quantum technologies, hydrogen technologies, resource efficiencies and climate technologies.

Institutes working in related fields coordinate activities in research groups. They span energy technologies and climate protection, health, innovation research, ICT Group, light and surfaces, microelectronics, production, resource technologies and bioeconomy, materials and components, and Fraunhofer segment for defense and security VVS.

Smart, secure, scalable microelectronics
Smart, Secure, Scalable – Microelectronics by FMD for Global Partnerships, was presented by Prof. Dr. Albert Heuberger, Executive Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS); Spokesman of the Fraunhofer Microelectronics Group; Chairman of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD).

He said we have many colleagues from India who contribute to our work. We bring application-oriented research that can be used for real products and services. They can be scaled up into production, and are production ready. FMD is one of the largest cross-site R&D cooperation for micro and nanoelectronics in Europe. 

We have key objectives. We bring together research in microelectronics that is spread across many institutes in Germany. We are bridging gap between basic research and customer-specific product development. We are also providing broad range of materials etc. We have FMD capabilities spread across Germany.

The Research Fab Microelectronics (FMD) has key objectives. These are, bringing together research in microelectronics that is spread across many institutes in Germany. Bridging the gap between basic research and customer-specific product development. Providing the broadest range of materials and techniques for innovative solutions. Offering a unique range of expertise and infrastructure. Enabling digital change and future key technologies. Supporting innovators and start-ups.

Some examples are: MEMS micromirror scanner, ultra-low power energy harvesting receivers, etc. We also offer R&D services across the entire value chain. We also work with IDMs, materials companies, tool companies, etc. We also work with verticals that build electronic systems. 

There are benefits for semiconductors. India can be a strategic microelectronics hub in the future. We also have a pilot line for advanced packaging and HI for electronic components and systems (APECS). 

Focus on UWBG
Next Generation Power based on (Ultra-) Wide Bandgap Materials, was presented by Prof. Dr. Jörg Schulze, Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB) and Dr. Eike Meissner. 

We definitely need power electronics in systems. The world energy consumption has been growing rapidly. We need efficient power handling and higher power density in future devices. Epitaxy of device tech can be brought to the system level. Fraunhofer IISB is specialist for UWBG semiconductor materials and device development (AlN) from crystals to devices. 

WBG is said to be superior to silicon. There are explicit benefits of UWBG. They drastically lower transmission losses, outstanding dynamic properties, etc. System benefits include higher efficiency, more compact systems, and reduced costs at system level. GaN and AlN are covering a lot of field in power electronics. 

Benefits of UWBG for power transistor design are critical breakdown voltage scales with band gap, drift layer thickness scales inversely with band gap, and larger band gap enables thinner drift layers.

AlN is the only material compatible with high power density. Smaller number of chips are needed for power systems. For next-gen power for future mobility, we need high-power DC-DC converters. Eg., fuel cell vehicles. We also have modular MW inverter system for Porsche. It was built on 1200V SiC-half bridge module with 24 chips in parallel. 

We also have power electronics at low temperature. GaN-based HEMTs outperform SiC and Si at low operation temperatures. We have high expectations from AlN due to operation at low temperatures, radiation hardness, etc.

We made first AlN-based transistors on native AlN wafers. TRL level remains lower, compared to GaN and SiC. We have an AlN pilot line -- from crystal growth to devices at IISB. 

We are working on efficient power conversion, fast switching, compact and light weight systems, and robustness in harsh environments. We also have a WBG pilot line.