From Research to Application: Projects at Fraunhofer EMFT

The semiconductor industry and manufacturers of electronic components and systems test their products carefully to ensure that they function flawlessly. An important aspect is the tolerance of chips to ESD (electrostatic discharge). Fraunhofer EMFT and High Power Pulse Instruments GmbH (HPPI) have jointly developed a 2-pin test system that offers many advantages to the semiconductor industry.

How can supply chains for the chip industry become more independent and better protected? The coronavirus pandemic in particular has highlighted the problems for Germany and Europe. In the "Semiconductor-X" research project on the digitalization of supply chains in the semiconductor industry, Fraunhofer EMFT is working with over 20 partners to make supply chains more sustainable and resilient and to promote decentralized, sovereign data exchange.

The APECS pilot line aims to be Europe’s leading platform for advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration, driving next-generation integrated systems.

Approximately 80 % of the CO2 footprint of average electronic components is created already during their production. A Fraunhofer EMFT research team is working on optimizing semiconductor manufacturing processes in order to minimize the use of climate-damaging process gases. In this context, the scientists are also testing more climate-friendly alternatives to etching gases used as standard today.

An advanced abatement system and exhaust gas cleaning solutions capture and reduce PFAS, NF3, and SF6 emissions in semiconductor manufacturing.

Fraunhofer EMFT is developing intelligent plasters for the early detection of pressure ulcers in nursing care. For this purpose, work is being done on an AI-supported prophylaxis that can initiate preventive actions through early detection, thus making life easier for nursing staff and the person treating the patient.

For Bavaria, the agricultural sector has a significant economic importance with a turnover of around 121 billion euros per year. However, conflicts with the economic goals of farmers and the sustainable goals of environmental and animal protection initiatives occur from time to time due to the different interests involved. Especially the emission of ammonia gases leads to social discussions. Researchers at Fraunhofer EMFT are developing a more efficient measurement method for detecting ammonia gases in agriculture. The aim is to contribute to more environmentally friendly and animal-friendly agriculture.

Many plasma coating systems used in the semiconductor industry have to undergo thorough cleaning on a regular basis after each stage of production. Currently this is mainly carried out using perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) gases, which are up to 17,000 times as damaging to the environment and climate as the greenhouse gas CO2. Solvay, Texas Instruments, Muegge and Fraunhofer EMFT are working on the project ecoFluor to develop an environment-friendly alternative which only has the greenhouse potential of CO2: the gas mixture used by the cooperation partners – Solvaclean®, consisting of fluorine, nitrogen and argon – dispenses entirely with the highly environmentally harmful gases PFCs and NF3.

Nature sets a high bar: Our brain is capable of processing and storing huge amounts of information without using more energy than a 20-watt light bulb. This is a good reason for researchers worldwide to take the human brain as a model for circuits in so-called neuromorphic chips. Within the EU project NeurONN, a Fraunhofer EMFT research team is working with six European partners on extremely energy-efficient elements and architectures for neuromorphic computing. Innovative 2D materials are also being used in the process.

Intelligent interactive systems for human-machine interaction (MMI) are increasingly being used in many applications in the areas of Industry 4.0, Smart Health, Smart Security and Automotive. Here, sensor systems for non-verbal information exchange in the near-distance and contact range are essential for both functionality and security. In order to meet the increasing demands in terms of performance, energy efficiency and functionality, researchers at Fraunhofer EMFT are working together with three other Fraunhofer institutes to develop a modularized MEMS technology and sensor platform.