Press Releases

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.

The Bremerhaven association "Rückenwind für Leher Kinder e.V." offers children free care, leisure and support services. The children find a variety of activities here and learn to abide by rules. Nevertheless, it sometimes gets loud. Too loud. To ensure an appropriate noise level during the day, a trainee project of the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS has developed a noise-idicating lamp to visualize the volume in rooms.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are once again funding five trilateral projects for the transfer of knowledge from DFG-funded basic research to industry. The collaboration between universities, Fraunhofer institutes and companies is being supported with a total of around 4.5 million euros for the duration of three years. One of the projects is the "MEMS-based parametric amplifier for range optimization of wireless sensor networks", in which the Technical University of Hamburg together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS and the industrial partner Actemium BEA aim to provide energy-efficient, long-range sensor nodes.

The TSN/A conference has become one of the most important international meetings of experts in the field of industrial Ethernet standards. With the help of Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), standard Ethernet gains a new dimension through time-synchronous and deterministic data transmission. How these technologies will affect industry, automotive and the audio-video-consumer world are the central questions of this year's conference on September 29 and 30. Marcus Pietzsch from the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS will take a closer look at the latency of time-critical networks in his workshop.

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.

The "all about automation" is the leading trade fair for systems, components, software and engineering for industrial automation and communication. At the fair on September 22 and 23 in Chemnitz, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS presents solutions for optical wireless communication in real time using Li Fi, IP core design solutions, innovative measurement techniques for process & quality monitoring as well as for environmental sensors & control.

Today, the mutual optimization of design and technology provide key advantage in the highly competitive semiconductor market. Traditionally, when developing integrated circuits (IC), their design and technology were considered and developed separately. Looking to the future, this is no longer appropriate. Experienced IC designers need a deeper understanding of the interactions between design and technology options to ensure maximum product optimization. For the 18th time, the "International Conference on IC Design and Technology (ICICDT)" provides a forum for engineers, researchers, graduate students and professors to cross the boundary between design and technology.

The (computational) performance of quantum computers relies heavily on their core hardware element: the qubit. Several approaches to realize qubits exist, yet they still lack stable scalable fabrication value chains to become industrially viable technologies. Project MATQu aims to expand the European expertise in materials and processes and enables the European industry to further develop solid-state-based quantum computers. The two Fraunhofer institutes IPMS and IAF are contributing expertise in 300 mm manufacturing and low-temperature measurement technology.

With its latest release of development tools for RISC-V processors, Swedish software manufacturer IAR Systems offers support for the ISO 26262 ASIL-D ready certified RISC-V processor core "EMSA5-FS" of the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS. Users of the toolchain software will thus benefit from simplified certification processes for functional safety, lower costs over the entire product lifecycle and maximum performance in RISC-V-based applications. The new EMSA5-FS processor core from Fraunhofer IPMS is marketed by partner CAST Inc.

The Internet of Things and especially the Internet of Voice require energy-efficient and high-quality audio devices. In-ear headphones are a particular challenge in this regard. These battery-powered miniature devices are expected to cover an ever-increasing range of functions. An innovative loudspeaker technology developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS represents an important development push due to its small size and high energy efficiency. New research results enabling order-reduced modeling have now been presented in the Nature Journal Microsystems & Nanoengineering.