Press Releases

Palomar Technologies, a global leader in total process solutions for advanced photonics and microelectronic device packaging, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB in Erlangen, Germany, announced their joint research initiative in the area of high-quality, void-free power module packaging for electric vehicles.

The progressing development of big data and mobility applications as well as of the Internet of Things requires the further miniaturization of electronic circuits. Sophisticated manufacturing techniques for computer chips, such as the sequential 3D integration of devices, are a key to success. In addition to experimental investigations, the use of simulation programs is of particular importance: Simulations allow significant cost and time savings in the development of new technologies and devices. The improvement of simulation tools is therefore the key focus of the EU project MUNDFAB („Modeling Unconventional Nanoscaled Device FABrication“) coordinated by Fraunhofer IISB (Erlangen, Germany).

Power for the mobility turnaround! Fraunhofer IISB is excited about the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2020 for our colleagues Dr. Bernd Eckardt und Dr. Stefan Matlok. They receive the award for the development of a completely new generation of extremely powerful DC/DC converters - key components for the fuel cell vehicles of the future.

In the joint project SYNERGIE, researchers from Fraunhofer IISB in Erlangen, Germany, together with industrial partners AlzChem AG and Wacker AG, investigated how metallic impurities are caused during the manufacturing of multicrystalline silicon blocks. The results of the SYNERGIE project now allow direct predictions as to how the purity of the auxiliary materials used in the production process affects the electrical quality of the end products.

IISB is partner in the newly established ZIM (Zentrales Inniovationsprogramm Mittelstand) network "Hidronik", funded by Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs. Within Hidronik, Fraunhofer IISB will combine conventional electronics with printed functionalities, like different kinds of large area sensors, to hybrid electronic systems. Hybrid integration enables new thin, flexible, and lightweight applications in industrial electronics, wearables, and IoT environments.

IISB technology is among the 3 finalists of the DLR Challenge at the INNOspace Masters 2019/2020.

The magazine "Energie und Management (E&M)" has nominated the natural gas CHP plant at Fraunhofer IISB as "CHP unit of the month". In the E&M issue 11-12 of June 15, 2020, the "Zeitung für den Energiemarkt" reports about the intelligent load management with CHP, battery and heat storage at the IISB. Within the project SEEDs the institute has developed and successfully validated a platform for simulation and control of sector-coupled energy systems "ToSyCo (TotalSystemControl)". Using the intelligent operation strategies from ToSyCo for the real laboratory IISB, savings potentials in the costs of electrical energy of 25 % in terms of the service price and 6.5 % in respect of the working price were demonstrated, can be proven, to which CHP unit and battery play an essential role.

For 5 years, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Fraunhofer IIS and Fraunhofer IISB have been joining their expertise in the Leistungszentrum Elektroniksysteme (LZE, High-Performance Center for Electronic Systems) to push the development of complex electronic systems.

Mid-April saw the virtual kick-off of the »power4re« (Reliable converters for a renewable energy supply) research project. Under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES, five Fraunhofer institutes are working together alongside industry representatives to develop solutions aimed at improving the reliability and robustness of inverters in photovoltaic systems and frequency converters in wind turbines. power4re is being funded to the tune of €3.5 million as part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s internal research program PREPARE.

Hocheffiziente Siliziumsolarzellen ohne Wirkungsgradverlust nach der Inbetriebnahme: Darauf zielt das kürzlich gestartete, vom BMWi geförderte Verbundprojekt „Zero-Degradation in mono- und multi-kristallinen PERC-Solarzellen (ZORRO)“ ab. ZORRO wird vom Fraunhofer-Institut für Integrierte Systeme und Bauelementetechnologie IISB in Erlangen koordiniert.