MEMS Varactors

Industrial development is being driven by cognitive systems that combine artificial intelligence with advanced sensors. The growing demand for such sensor technology reflects the increasing requirements for precision, efficiency, diversity, and long-term stability in various industries. Even sensor systems already available on the market can benefit significantly from the integration of an intelligent varactor tuner.

Innovation from Fraunhofer IPMS

Fraunhofer IPMS develops innovative and highly integrable MEMS varactors with a wide tuning range of component capacitance for various applications. Thanks to the adaptive adjustment of impedance and frequency by the MEMS varactors, existing sensor solutions gain new advantages, such as the compensation of interference signals or disturbances, the performance of inline calibrations, or the extension of measuring ranges. Our varactor tuners also offer large dynamic ranges and excellent integrability into various systems.

Our MEMS varactors are electrostatically driven and typically have three electrodes, allowing the capacitive load to be precisely controlled. Key advantages include:

• In-situ signal modification/compensation
• Continuous adjustment of impedance and frequency
• Large dynamic ranges
• Full CMOS compatibility
• Easy integration

Various parameters can be set depending on the design. The most important ones are:

We accompany you from the initial idea to pilot production – flexibly combinable:

• Feasibility study & specification development
• Demonstrator and prototype development including testing and validation in the laboratory
• Ramp-up and pilot production of sensor elements in our 200 mm MEMS clean room
• Licensing of the basic technology and joint IP strategy
• Contract research and co-funding through funding programs

Your added value:

• Early access to a MEMS sensor platform with unique selling points
• Customized sensor solutions instead of standard components
• Fraunhofer IPMS's many years of development expertise and infrastructure

Further information: How to work with us