Fraunhofer IPMS Webinars

High level experienced thin film characterization expert Dr. Jennifer S. Emara, from Fraunhofer IPMS and Dr. Jussi Kinnunen, the Optical measurement specialist at Chipmetrics share their valuable insights about 3D thin films Characterization in high aspect ratio structures and the tools essential for achieving this. 

Together with the Nanoscribe GmbH we will present our capabilities for microfabrication of high resolution structures on aligned substrates and wafers for applications in optics, acoustics and microfluidics.

Our research assistant S. Schweiger will provide you with the basic principles of the process and an overview of previous successes. Our unique selling point is the fabrication directly on assembled chips, PCBs and MEMS. Our production line also includes a fineplacer, which can be used to solve micro-assembly tasks. Furthermore, in addition to design & manufacturing, we also offer characterization using high-resolution microscopy and metallization.

In the future, aligned wafers can also serve as substrates with the manufacturing systems available at Nanoscribe GmbH. For this purpose, Sales Manager Dr. J. Zimmer will guide you through the various offerings and capabilities of the Nanoscribe range.

In this webinar we will talk about the increasing demand for BSOI wafers, coupled with the requirements for our sophisticated components, have led Fraunhofer IPMS to build up competencies in the field of BSOI manufacturing in recent years. In doing so, our approach addresses individualized solutions for our customers in BSOI wafer fabrication. The devicelayers are equipped with various features, such as an adapted layer thickness and adapted doping. Thanks to our many years of technological experience, add-ons such as cavities or buried conductor paths can also be integrated into the device layer. This enables our customers to make optimum use of resources and short process times in the development of sophisticated products. The necessary technology modules are available to us and are completed by the following capabilities:

• Grinding tool for thinning
• 5-zone CMP for planarization
• Bonder for bonding top and bottom wafers

Our "Photonic Professional GT2" two-photon lithography system from Nanoscribe GmbH allows three-dimensional additive manufacturing of micro- and nanostructures in a photosensitive polymer.  This process is based on the nonlinear optical effect of two-photon absorption, whereby laser pulses from the near-infrared spectral range are focused in such a way that two photons are simultaneously absorbed within a photoresist. The process is thus equivalent to the absorption of a UV photon, which is capable of initiating a polymerization process. This occurs in the transparent photoresist only at the highest radiation intensities and therefore exclusively in a volume (voxel) at the focus of the laser beam. Thus, the movement of the laser focus along a trajectory in all three dimensions enables the generation of almost arbitrary structures and this at resolutions in the submicrometer range.

To enable diverse development tasks, we have an infrastructure at the "Integrated Silicon Systems" (ISS) branch of the institute at the Cottbus site that covers the entire process chain from the design of the component concept, production in the clean room and final examination using optical and scanning electron microscopes. In addition, printed structures can be metallized in our laboratories by means of sputtering.

Micropositioning platforms are systems in which a defined, usually centrally located surface can perform lateral, rotational, tilting or lifting movements as well as combinations of these. The drive succeeds via microactuators connected to the platform. The microactuators can be managed in particular by bending transducers.

Electrostatic bending transducers are being developed at Fraunhofer IPMS. They are used in the micropositioning platforms as a direct drive. An alternative indirect drive takes the form of an "inchworm" principle. This describes the stepwise displacement of a feed element alternating with a clamping. The feed element itself can be connected to a platform. The feed actuator is formed by the bending transducers. On the other hand, the clamping function can be electrostatic or provided by further bending transducers. With such a MEMS inchworm motor, precise and in sum large travels are possible. In this webinar, you will get an insight about the technical implementation and applications of MEMS based micropositioning platforms.

Fraunhofer IPMS offers its customers the complete service for the development of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) on 200 mm wafers. The technological development and support of MEMS technologies, from individual processes to technology modules to complete technology, as well as the process-related support of the systems in the clean room, is provided by our team of over 90 engineers, operators and technicians. On customer request, we take over the pilot production after the successful development or support a technology transfer, whereby the Fraunhofer IPMS covers the technological maturity levels (TRL) from three to eight. 

The spatial light modulators developed at Fraunhofer IPMS consist of arrays of micromirrors on semiconductor chips, whereby the number of mirrors varies depending on the application, from a few hundred to several millions. In most cases this demands a highly integrated application specific electronic circuit (ASIC) as basis for the component architecture in order to enable an individual analog deflection of each micromirror. In addition, Fraunhofer IPMS develops electronics and software for mirror array control. The individual mirrors can be tilted or vertically deflected depending on the application, so that a surface pattern is created, for example to project defined structures. High resolution tilting mirror arrays with up to 2.2 million individual mirrors are used by our customers as highly dynamic programmable masks for optical micro-lithography in the ultraviolet spectral range. The mirror dimensions are 10 μm or larger. By tilting the micromirrors, structural information is transferred to a high resolution photo resist at high frame rates. Further fields of application are semiconductor inspection and measurement technology, and prospectively laser printing, marking and material processing. 

Analysis by miniaturized chemical sensing systems with a MEMS based ion mobility spectrometer as core component will lead to fast screening methods. Optical sensors for mobile Point-of-Care diagnostics make use of integrated optical devices like micro ring resonators with functionalized surfaces. Docking of specific antibodies on those surfaces will change the optical properties of the devices which can be used for detection with high sensitivity and high throughput. Besides development of components and systems, the design of the surfaces itself as well as surface characterization for optimization of analysis are part of the work. 

In cooperation, the thermopile arrays are being iteratively developed and manufactured at IPMS. The three partners, consisting of Heimann Sensor as the product developer, XFAB as the CMOS supplier and the IPMS as the technology partner for the back-end area, are currently working on a project that will lead to a further improvement in pixel size and, as a direct consequence, to a higher pixel density while maintaining the same array size, thus optimizing the resolution. The IPMS is primarily responsible for the hard mask, the isolation structures and the absorber structures and transfers these components for final processing to Heimann Sensor for the realization of pixel arrays with resolutions up to 120x84. The fabrication of existing component generations takes place continuously. 

Today, data is the lifeblood disrupting many industries. The vast majority of this data is stored in the form of non-volatile magnetic bits in hard disk drives. This technology was developed more than half a century ago and has reached fundamental scaling limits that prevent further increases in storage capacity. New approaches are needed.

In the webinar, FRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) and MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) will be presented as two promising concepts for future ultra-low power memory technologies. Special attention will be paid to material development and fabrication on state-of-the-art industrial equipment for 300 mm wafers. 

Neuromorphic Computing Technology is a brain-inspired sensing and processing hardware for more efficient and adaptive computing. It promises energy-efficient implementation of human cognition, such as interpretation and autonomous adaptation. Although the communication pathways in the brain and other neural systems cannot be directly translated into electronic circuits, these mathematical models provide the basis for the implementation. Various hardware realizations are currently discussed such as:  mixed-signal analog/digital CMOS circuits, asynchronous event-based communication and processing schemes as well as memristive, phase-change, ferroelectric or spintronic devices, and other nano-technologies. In this tutorial we will introduce these realizations and discuss merits and challenges to reach the goal for efficient neuromorphic computing hardware for edge intelligence systems. 

Surface light modulators (SLM) play a central role in various application areas such as image projection, wavefront control and light beam control. There are both liquid crystal and MEMS-based modulator types. The webinar will present three different talks by SLM experts covering different complementary SLM variants. Special attention will be given to the perspective of using SLMs for computer-generated holography applications, up to true 3D holographic displays without negative physiological side effects. The introductory lecture will be given by an outstanding and well-known expert in augmented, virtual and mixed reality displays. 

With the Center Nanoelectronic Technologies (CNT), Fraunhofer IPMS conducts applied research on 300 mm wafers for microchip producers, suppliers, equipment manufacturers and R&D partners. We offer the following Ultra Large Scale Integration-level (ULSI) technology developments and services in FEoL and BEoL. In this webinar we provide a short introduction about our services and give an outlook about the research fields of the next years in this area.

Medical diagnosis relies heavily on innovative biomedical imaging methods. New system concepts combining miniaturized optical MEMS components, such as scanner mirrors and spatial light modulators, with new methods for realizing passive micro-optics enable a variety of different new biomedical products. This webinar will describe the technical realization of these systems and their biomedical applications in more detail.

Fraunhofer IPMS develops products and technologies in the field of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and micro-opto-electromechanical systems (MOEMS) for its customers. Our capabilities cover the entire development arc for MEMS and MOEMS products and technologies. On request, we can undertake pilot and small batch production in-house or support technology transfer to a facility of the customer's choice. We leverage our existing technological capabilities for bulk MEMS, surface MEMS and monolithic integration of CMOS and MEMS/MOEMS. Our work is performed in a state-of-the-art MEMS clean room capable of handling 200-mm wafers. The webinar will provide technical insights into our MEMS technologies and applications for the market.

Human-machine interface technology is becoming increasingly important as ubiquitous technology moves toward requiring full awareness to be decoupled from the user experience. Hearables, which rely on an audio interface without blocking the visual or tactile senses, are a prominent example. Other applications require "silence" for a variety of reasons, while still maintaining the need for convenience and ease of use. Gesture recognition will then play a key role in recognizing user input for various technologies without requiring direct contact or precisely targeted or timed (inter)actions. MEMS-based ultrasonic transducers enable gesture recognition systems that can be produced at a low unit price for high volumes, making them as available as inertial sensors were in the past. With the NEDMUT technology, Fraunhofer IPMS has developed an ultrasonic transducer for gesture recognition applications that combines the advantages of the MEMS world with the needs of modern technology users. 

Autonomous vehicles are one of the most promising market segments of the future. In this context, sensor systems are indispensable for detecting obstacles, such as other vehicles or pedestrians, in the vehicle's environment. Such systems must be safe, robust, compact and cost-effective in order to cover the entire market segment if possible. Current environmental sensors are mostly based on traditional electronic components. 

This webinar will highlight the potential of microsystems for innovation in autonomous vehicles. One application area is LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), the future technology for measuring the distance to an object by illuminating that object with laser light, which is used to precisely digitize the environment and safely navigate vehicles in that environment. Currently deployed LiDAR systems are based on mechanical macroscopic mirror systems and are extremely large and expensive. Solid-state LiDAR (SSL) systems are expected to lead to significant cost reductions; based on microsystems, they are smaller, less expensive and more robust than purely mechanical LiDARs.

Health is a valuable commodity - an important field of application for Fraunhofer IPMS photonic microsystems is therefore technologies for improved prevention, diagnostics and therapy in the medical field. After all, life expectancy is increasing worldwide and with it the number of chronic diseases. Health awareness is also growing and the need for innovative prevention and diagnostics is increasing. MEMS technologies can be used in preventive medicine, for example to detect ingredients in food or to diagnose diseases at an early stage thanks to the latest visual imaging techniques. In addition, micromechanical components enable novel forms of therapy and the targeted dosage of drugs. 

Fraunhofer IPMS brings the concept of CMUT to the market. This time we present the principle, advantages and applications of this technology in a webinar. Marcel Krenkel from our business unit Ultrasonic Components talks about the in-house success story and the development process of CMUT devices from consulting and modeling to manufacturing and characterization.

Further applications and currently ongoing research activities will be shown to highlight upcoming trends and improvement of current MEMS-based ultrasound devices.

In this webinar, application fields and research topics of FeFET memory technology will be discussed. The first part gives an insight into the switching mechanism and the specifics of HfO2 - based ferroelectric memories. Then, results based on the Fraunhofer IPMS research platform for FeFET memories are discussed. 

Finally, possible integration possibilities of FeFET memories are discussed and advantages and disadvantages are shown.

In autonomous vehicles, the human is only a passenger. The car steers independently and recognizes obstacles and dangers. To enable the vehicle to recognize its environment, optical sensors replace the driver's eye. A team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden is developing microscanning mirrors (MEMS scanners) that can perceive their surroundings reliably and without interference while being small and integrable.

The vision of safe autonomous driving is thus within reach. LiDAR sensors, which replace the driver's eye, are used to enable the vehicle to recognize its environment. LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging and enables distance measurement between object and vehicle. The principle is based on laser signals that are sent into the environment and whose reflection is analyzed.

The spatial light modulators developed at Fraunhofer IPMS consist of arrays of micromirrors on semiconductor chips, with the number of mirrors varying from a few hundred to several million depending on the application. In most cases, this requires a highly integrated application-specific electronic circuit (ASIC) as the basis for the device architecture to enable individual analog deflection of each micromirror. In addition, Fraunhofer IPMS develops the electronics and software to control the mirror array. Depending on the application, the individual mirrors can be tilted or deflected vertically to create a surface pattern, for example to image defined structures.

High-resolution tilting mirror arrays with up to 2.2 million individual mirrors are used by our customers as highly dynamic programmable masks for optical microlithography in the ultraviolet spectral range. The mirror dimensions are 10 μm or larger. By tilting the micromirrors, the structural information is transferred to a high-resolution photoresist at a high frame rate. Other applications include semiconductor inspection and metrology as well as perspective laser printing, marking and material processing.

Micropumps are increasingly finding their way into wide areas of medical technology. For example, for the production of biopharmaceutical proteins, protein engineering, drug screening and lab-on-a-chip systems. Micropumps are also a key component for point-of-care diagnostics and drug dosing. Compared to conventional pumps, micropumps have a much smaller dimension.

At the same time, new drive solutions are needed to achieve the required pumping performance with small dimensions and low energy consumption.

Li-Fi, or Light Fidelity, is a technology for wireless data transmission using light. The principle is simple. A modulator at the transmitter switches a light-emitting diode, or LED for short, on and off very quickly so that the human eye does not perceive it. A photodiode at the receiver picks up the light and converts it into electrical pulses. A prerequisite for this is direct visual contact between the transmitter and receiver.

Compared to other wireless communication standards, Li-Fi offers significant advantages such as fast wireless data transmission, real-time communication, high data security due to the need for line-of-sight, and freedom from interference.