Fraunhofer IAF to feature at EFX, Stuttgart
From October 6 to 8, 2026, Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF will be exhibiting in the joint Chip Connect BW area of the EFX—Expo for Electronics Manufacturing in Stuttgart, Germany.
As a partner in the new Baden-Württemberg semiconductor network Chip Connect BW, the institute (along with other partners) is presenting local expertise along the semiconductor value chain and in technology transfer at EFX.
The focus will be on the institute’s newly launched research activities in the field of AI tools for chip design and chip design for AI applications, as well as its established expertise in III-V semiconductor manufacturing for pilot lines.
At the booth, Fraunhofer IAF will present an interactive exhibit on AI tools for chip design and on chip design for AI applications. This exhibit is based on two newly launched initiatives by the institute at the Innovation Park AI (IPAI) in Heilbronn::
In the state project 'FRAUKE—Fraunhofer AI Design', Fraunhofer IAF, together with the University of Stuttgart and IMS CHIPS, is researching CMOS circuit design for and through AI. The goal is both AI-accelerated design processes and CMOS-based hardware components for AI applications, for example in the fields of edge computing and image processing. The project is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Skilled Craft and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg.
In parallel, the institutes Fraunhofer IAF and IIS, together with the Research and Innovation centre FIZ Chip AI, are building a long-term infrastructure for AI chip design. Funded by the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, a platform for 'AI Hardware Made in Germany' is being established as part of the Fraunhofer Heilbronn Research and Innovation centres HNFIZ – ranging from AI-supported CMOS design processes to neuromorphic processors and spiking neural networks for energy-efficient edge AI.
III-V semiconductor manufacturing and pilot lines
In addition to AI chip design, Fraunhofer IAF will present another key technology for the electronics manufacturing of tomorrow at EFX: the ability to make specialised III-V chip technologies accessible to industry through pilot lines. III-V compound semiconductors such as GaN and InGaAs are key technologies for 5G/6G networks, autonomous driving, satellite communication, and modern defecse systems — areas in which Europe must not be dependent on non-European supply chains.
The exhibits presented will range from epitaxy and process development to design and characterisation, to modules and advanced prototyping based on III-V compound semiconductors.
Fraunhofer IAF also contributes this expertise as a cooperating institute of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD). Within this consortium of 13 Fraunhofer Institutes and the Leibniz Institutes FBH and IHP, Fraunhofer IAF provides the III-V expertise for high-frequency, power, and optoelectronics. In this way, together with its strong network partners, the institute makes a direct contribution to resilient, European manufacturing capacities in electronics manufacturing, thereby creating the foundation for mastering critical high technologies independently – from the laboratory to industrial production.
“With our presence at EFX, we are demonstrating how closely AI and microelectronics already interact today—from intelligent chip design to powerful hardware for AI applications,” says Rüdiger Quay, director of Fraunhofer IAF. “At the same time, our institute, with its III-V pilot lines and its role in the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany, stands for the industrial transfer of these technologies in Germany and Europe.”
