As a Fraunhofer Institute, R&D for practical application is always at the heart of our work. We are therefore particularly pleased to congratulate our expert and group leader for SiC epitaxy / deputy head of materials department, Dr. Birgit Kallinger, on winning the LZE Prize 2025. The award recognizes her strategic, scientific, and transfer-promoting dedication to our joint lab on silicon carbide epitaxy with AIXTRON SE, which Birgit has been leading since 2023. 

The IISB and AIXTRON have been engaged in strategic cooperation since 2014, which led to the establishment of the joint lab based at the IISB in Erlangen. Here, in an industry-compatible clean room environment, equipment and processes for SiC epitaxy are continuously being advanced, for example with regard to improved layer thickness and doping homogeneity, increased throughput, and optimization of material quality.  In this way, the Joint Lab supports material, device and equipment manufacturers and their suppliers with solutions in the field of processing and characterizing crystals, epitaxial layers and devices. Being in charge of the lab, coordinating the teams and projects, and supporting the industry partners requires the utmost personal commitment as well as excellent scientific expertise, which Birgit has consistently demonstrated.

The LZE Prize

The LZE Prize by the Leistungszentrum Elektroniksysteme (LZE) is awarded for above-average achievements in the transfer of knowhow from research into application. Together with industry partners and further research institutes, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Fraunhofer IIS, Fraunhofer IISB, and University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) have established the LZE as an interface between science and industry.