Press Releases

For the first time, Fraunhofer IPMS presents its advanced, high-performance evaluation kits for spatial light modulators, which now feature tilting or piston mirrors as actuator types. The tiny micro mirrors of the spatial light modulators can manipulate light on a pixel-by-pixel basis. They play a crucial role for the generation of high-precision light patterns for applications in lithography, medical technology, astronomy, or quantum computing.

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into sectors such as healthcare, autonomous vehicles and smart cities, traditional computing architectures face significant limitations in processing speed and energy efficiency. The “ViTFOX“ project unites eight partners from Europe and Korea to create a groundbreaking Vision Transformer architecture based on ferroelectric oxide, allowing for significant reductions in energy consumption and latency. Unlike traditional architectures, which often rely on separate memory and processing units, ViTFOX aims to integrate computing directly into memory, achieving an exceptional energy efficiency of over 50 TOPS/W. The European Union is funding the project with € 1.5 million.

NY CREATES and Fraunhofer IPMS announced at a signing ceremony a new Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to drive research and development focused on memory devices. The JDA will leverage and link the strengths of each organization to engineer, develop, and characterize these devices that are critical for advancing the memory development ecosystems of each respective organization.

Vuzix® Corporation (NASDAQ: VUZI), ("Vuzix" or, the "Company"), a leading supplier of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and products, and Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS (Fraunhofer IPMS), a globally renowned research institution based in Germany, are excited to announce a major milestone in the development of a custom microLED backplane.

A common method to increase the brightness of OLEDs while maintaining a long lifespan is the use of multiple stacked OLEDs. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS have now developed an innovative high-voltage CMOS backplane that enables exceptionally bright microdisplays. These will be presented for the first time at the SID Display Week 2025, from May 13 to 15, 2025, in San José, USA (Booth No. 1135 at the German Pavilion).

A newly launched interdisciplinary research project involving universities of Brandenburg and research institutions is developing new technological approaches for better and more effective integration of artificial intelligence at the edges of IT networks, so-called “edges”. These developments could be of great importance in the future, particularly for applications in industrial electronics, medical technology and environmental monitoring. Fraunhofer IPMS is contributing its expertise in miniaturized sensor structures and the integration of electronic components.

Reliability and security in broadband communication networks (5G/6G) are crucial for meeting the challenges of the digital future. Together with aconnic AG, Fraunhofer IPMS has developed an innovative IP core as part of the “RealSec5G” project, which combines the advantages of a MACsec IP core with those of a Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) IP core. This is the first time that the aspects of functional safety and data security in data transmission, which were usually considered separately, have been combined.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS has achieved another milestone in chemical liquid analysis. The electronics required to control the ion-sensitive field effect transistors (ISFET) have been successfully miniaturized. At the same time, manufacturing costs and power consumption have been reduced significantly. The new electronics can be made available for direct use or for integration into in-house measuring systems.

The Center Nanoelectronic Technologies (CNT) at Fraunhofer IPMS has recently acquired new cryostats for the research on qubits and the qualification of superconducting systems. The cryogenic measuring devices, which are particularly useful for analyzing quantum systems, are now in full operation. The provision of the equipment was funded by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK).

Due to the increasing miniaturization and complexity in the semiconductor industry, but also in many other technical sectors and industries, high-precision and effective ways of projecting light, processing materials or sending optical signals are required - with precision in the nanometer range and high programming speed at the same time. The spatial light modulators of Fraunhofer IPMS already enable applications in the field of semiconductor technology today, thanks to customized tilting and piston mirror systems. They have the potential to become key components for future applications in material processing, 3D holographic display technology or imaging in biomedicine.