Press Releases

Highly sensitive electronic components are the drivers of our digitalized world. Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) open up new possibilities for miniaturization in wide-ranging application areas. With its state-of-the-art 200 mm clean room, Fraunhofer IPMS offers the complete value chain for MEMS as well as optical components MOEMS (Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems). The range of services extends from consulting on feasibility through initial demonstration at wafer level to pilot fabrication with manufacturing capacities of more than 1100 waferstarts per month.

The many innovations resulting from the applied research of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft have so far mainly benefited industrial companies. In the future, Fraunhofer IPMS intends to make its research increasingly available to cultural institutions and thus to the public community. Accordingly, a pilot project was launched with the German Oceanographic Museum. In the future, visitors to the OZEANEUM Stralsund will be able to feed virtual penguins contactless thanks to a Fraunhofer IPMS development.

Modern vehicles have a large number of electronic systems that are networked with each other. Since these systems are at risk from cyber attacks, Fraunhofer IPMS developed a CANsec IP core that makes vehicle systems more secure. The IP core is already being evaluated in a demonstration by partner Renesas Electronics Corporation, a leading semiconductor company that delivers embedded processors together with analog and power products. At the Embedded World trade show from June 21-23, both Fraunhofer IPMS and Renesas will present the CAN-SEC IP-Core for the first time.

Anyone who has ever ruined a cake knows that the correct identification of visually similar substances such as sugar and salt has great significance in food preparation. However, complex compositional analyses can also provide information about the quality, ripeness or freshness of products. Therefore, Fraunhofer IPMS is researching and developing the smallest energy-efficient scanner systems, which enable non-contact and mobile freshness testing on site.

The Fraunhofer IPMS-developed EMSA5-FS processor core for functional safety based on the open-source RISC-V instruction set architecture is supported by another important debug tool. With the integration into the toolsets of the leading manufacturer of microprocessor development tools Lauterbach, numerous debug functions are now available for the 32-bit RISC-V core.

A flagship of semiconductor research with international reach is emerging in Dresden. Fraunhofer IPMS and Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID are bundling their competences and establishing the Center for Advanced CMOS & Heterointegration Saxony. The center will offer the complete value chain in 300 mm microelectronics, a prerequisite for high-tech research for future technologies.

At the Fraunhofer Center for Microelectronic and Optical Systems for Biomedicine (MEOS) in Erfurt, the MEOS Innovation Center for Precision Analysis of Cell Therapy Products, or MIC-PreCell for short, is being established until summer 2023. Funded with 750,000 euros from the Free State of Thuringia, this center will then support the development of new analysis methods for quality assurance and process control for the manufacturing of cell-based therapeutic products.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS is one of the leading research institutions for the development and testing of electronic, mechanical and optical components and devices and their integration into intelligent systems. The Fraunhofer IPMS will again be present at the SENSOR+TEST 2022 trade fair in Nuremberg. The institute will showcase some of its latest research and developments, such as a new technology for measuring gas mixtures based on micromechanical ultrasonic elements (MUT) or an innovative electrochemical analytical chip for the smallest analytical quantities.

Fagron, a leading global company active in pharmaceutical compounding, announced on April 14th the acquisition of HiperScan, the German market leader for reliable raw material identification in pharmacies. HiperScan is a spin-off of Fraunhofer IPMS and the German market leader for reliable and secure identification of starting materials in pharmacies.

Bosch is expanding its expertise in MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) micro speakers and strengthening its market position as leading provider of sensing solutions for consumer electronics with an acquisition. Arioso Systems, based in Dresden, Germany, is to become part of the Bosch Sensortec GmbH. Agreements to this effect were signed by Bosch and Arioso Systems. It has been agreed that any project details such as the purchase price will not be disclosed. The acquisition is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.