Fraunhofer IAF to expand III-V chiplet capabilities
The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF is expanding its III-V capabilities as a contribution to the €730 million APECS ( Advanced Packaging and Heterogeneous Integration for Electronic Components and Systems) pilot line within the framework of the EU Chips Act.
Fraunhofer IAF will receive support from the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany in the form of national funding amounting to €4.35 million.
“The APECS pilot line is a project of strategic importance for Baden-Württemberg, as it is about participating in highly innovative developments in the field of semiconductor technologies and supporting a rapid transfer to our companies. Only in this way can we as a state continue to demonstrate our role as a leading innovation region in Europe,” said Patrick Rapp, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism, at the handover of the symbolic funding cheque.
Fraunhofer IAF is developing novel chiplets based on InGaAs-on-Si and GaN-on-SiC as well as microbump interposers as part of APECS. These technologies are particularly suitable for high-frequency applications due to their outstanding values in key parameters such as noise, output power and efficiency and promise innovations in measurement technology, communication, radar technology and sensor technology.
With the chiplet approach, individual technologies can each undergo the optimum epitaxy and processing for them and then form a highly functional, flexible and efficient chip-sized system through low-loss integration. This modularisation also increases scalability, simplifies chip design and shortens the time to market for innovations.
“Chiplets offer significant advantages in the development and production of high-performance electronic and optical components, as they enable compact and highly efficient multifunctional systems. The combination of different functions such as control logic and amplifiers on one carrier improves both the performance and energy efficiency of a system. We are very much looking forward to further developing our technologies within the framework of APECS,” explains Patrick Waltereit, head of the Technology department at Fraunhofer IAF.
To ensure easy transfer to industry, the development and production of the chiplets and interposers at Fraunhofer IAF will take place on 6 inch wafers. New equipment for epitaxy, process technology and metrology will therefore be procured and put into operation in the institute's clean room. In addition, existing processes for chiplet and interposer production are being adapted.
Pictured above: State Secretary Patrick Rapp, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism, hands over the symbolic cheque for the funding amount of 4.35 million euros to the institute management of Fraunhofer IAF, Patricie Merkert and Rüdiger Quay. © Fraunhofer IAF
