Press Releases

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. The institute is now presenting some of its latest developments - such as innovative vector scanner modules - at LASER World of PHOTONICS in Munich.

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. The main areas of application for mirror matrices are in the fields of microlithography in the deep ultraviolet range, production of printed circuit boards (PCBs), semiconductor inspection and metrology, as well as in adaptive optics, astronomy, holography and microscopy. With its developments in this field, Fraunhofer IPMS is currently a world leader.

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. This is precisely the challenge that the High Performance Center "Functional Integration for Micro-/Nanoelectronics" is addressing. It combines the competencies of four microelectronics institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft as well as of research groups at universities in Dresden and Chemnitz. This way, the center offers a whole spectrum of microelectronics and micromechanics technologies to both major players in the microelectronics industry and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs in particular can profit from a low-threshold service through the provision of technology platforms, which allows them to benefit from leading edge technology without the burden of excessively high development cost.

Fraunhofer researchers have developed a very fast technology for determining whether a tumor has been fully removed — before the patient even leaves the operating theater. Using a combination of laser scanning microscopy and fluorescent tumor markers, doctors can detect any remaining cancer cells immediately after operations.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS offers ready-made, platform-independent IP core modules. With IP modules, developers can quickly adopt complete functional areas in standard products such as SoCs, microcontrollers, FPGAs and ASICs. This allows a significant reduction of development times and costs. With EMSA5, Fraunhofer IPMS offers a processor core based on the open RISC-V instruction set architecture. In the latest release, the institute has ported Tensorflow lite to the EMSA5 RISC-V. Thus, the EMSA5 RISC-V processor core is now ready for use in Edge AI applications, for example sensor data evaluation, gesture control or vibration analysis.

Together with 24 German research institutions and companies, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS is working on a quantum computer with improved error rates in the collaborative project QSolid coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich. The goal is to make Germany a global leader in the field of quantum technology and thus to maintain independence and open up numerous new applications in science and industry. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has allocated € 76.3 million in funding for the next five years.

The goal of the cluster project M3Infekt, initiated by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, was to develop the technical basis for more comprehensive vital monitoring and care of Covid-19 patients outside of intensive care units, to relieve the burden on this critical infrastructure. Now that the project has been completed, the participating institutes have presented their results. The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS from Dresden made an important contribution to the development of a mobile and powerful spirometer with the help of its advanced CMUT ultrasonic sensor technology. The device for analyzing lung function is part of an AI-controlled, decentralized patient monitoring system and will be further developed in future projects.

In the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's lighthouse project NeurOSmart, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS together with four other institutes (ISIT, IMS, IWU, IAIS) are jointly researching particularly energy-efficient and intelligent sensors for the next generation of autonomous systems. In the process, the bridges between perception and information processing are being redefined by innovative electronics.

At the upcoming SEMICON Europa, the largest European trade fair for microelectronics, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS will present numerous technical innovations. These include an exciting mix of topics from the fields of semiconductors, sensor technology, Internet of Things, automotive, and medical technology. Demonstrators as well as conversations with Fraunhofer IPMS researchers at the fair make these technologies tangible. This year, SEMICON Europa will again take place as a physical trade fair from November 16 to 19 at the Congress Center Munich.

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.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS and semiconductor intellectual property provider CAST, Inc. announced the immediate availability of EMSA5-FS, a fault-tolerant embedded RISC-V processor IP core designed to meet the most stringent functional safety requirements of automotive, air-borne, and other safety-critical applications.

In the recently launched joint project "T-KOS" of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD), terahertz technology is now to be developed synergistically for industry in the fields of communication and sensor technology for the first time. Innovative system solutions in both areas can make a significant contribution to the successful implementation of future issues such as digitalization, Industry 4.0 or resource efficiency and thus strengthen Germany as a business location in the long term. In the project, Fraunhofer IPMS is working on high-frequency front-end solutions from 60 - 500 GHz as well as an energy-efficient AI accelerator based on in-memory computing.

As digitization continues, connected devices are making their way into more and more areas of everyday life. However, these are often vulnerable to cyberattacks; in the past, many end consumers, such as users of online services, were affected in addition to industry and businesses. A German consortium of industry, university and research institutes aims to make these systems more secure in the future thanks to light-based data transmission and computation. Over the next three years, the "Silhouette" project (Silicon Photonics for Trusted Electronic Systems) will develop universally applicable solutions. The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research BMBF is funding the project with around 12 million euros.

On June 1, 2021, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS will reinforce its institute management. Dr. Wenke Weinreich, Division Director Center Nanoelectronic Technologies, will be Deputy to the Institute Director Prof. Hubert Lakner. Jörg Amelung, Division Director Active Micromachined Systems, will deputize for the Executive Director Prof. Harald Schenk. The institute is thus taking an important organizational step in order to continue to operate effectively as a leading international research and development service provider for photonic microsystems and nanoelectronics.

The quantum computer race is in full swing. Germany has long been one of the world leaders in basic research. In the joint project "QUASAR", the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS now wants to develop a semiconductor quantum processor "Made in Germany" together with its partners. The project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with more than 7.5 million euros, aims to lay the foundations for the industrial production of quantum processors over the next four years.

Many monitoring, sensing and characterization tasks in industry today are based on classic ultrasonic sensors. Micromachined ultrasonic transducers (MUTs) represent an innovative and effective development that can open up new applications thanks to their compact design and efficiency. However, the investment costs for the development of such MUTs are too high for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Three Fraunhofer institutes are therefore jointly developing an application platform that will also enable SMEs to use MUTs. The institutes will develop various micromachined devices and pilot products together with industrial partners. In a first step, workshops will be held starting July to demonstrate how well MUTs can be integrated into existing systems.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden has been developing robust, reliable and versatile ultrasonic sensors for many years. Due to their small size, the so-called MUTs, Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers, enable energy-saving, multifunctional, environmentally friendly and extremely compact sensor systems. At the digital trade fair SENSOR+TEST, the world's leading forum for sensor, measurement and testing technology, which is free of charge for visitors, the institute will present its latest developments to the public from May 4 - 6, 2021.

In today’s world, more and more devices are being wirelessly connected to one another with the aid of intelligent sensors. As this Internet of Things keeps growing, however, it is consuming more and more power. To address this issue, Fraunhofer’s ZEPOWEL lighthouse project has prompted the development of hardware that not only makes the sensors energy-efficient, but even enables them to save energy. As a starting point, the project is focusing on two sensor nodes – one to control machines and one to measure the air quality in the city. Fraunhofer IPMS is developing technologies for energy harvesting and energy storage.

In order to use electronic devices securely and reliably, it is important to know where they were manufactured, how they operate and how they are constructed. Although there are currently a number of tech-nical solutions for trusted electronics, there is still no consistent meth-odology for trustworthiness that adequately covers the entire value chain. This is where the research project “Velektronik”, which started in March 2021, comes in. Fraunhofer IPMS is working on trusted manufac-turing processes of electronic devices.

Together with Globalfoundries Dresden, a network of Fraunhofer institutes in Saxony has developed a sensor platform that can be used to create individually configurable IoT and edge computing solutions. This means that, for the first time, small and medium-sized suppliers now have the opportunity to produce particularly powerful, energy-efficient and highly integrated systems at low cost. In contrast to independent development, the time required and development costs are significantly reduced.