The Fraunhofer IMS offers a special combination of an in-house CMOS clean room certified to automotive industry standards and a microsystems technology Lab&Fab, offering a wide range of manufacturing processes for the realization of new technologies. Based on our extensive microelectronic expertise in the semiconductor, CMOS and MEMS fields, innovative and compact microsystems can be manufactured up to pilot series production.
The business unit "Devices and Technologies" at the Fraunhofer IMS comprises several core technologies, developed from the expertise gained in the fields of CMOS, MEMS and NEMS.
Custom CMOS Process and MEMS Technology
One example is post-CMOS for sensor integration. Planarized CMOS circuit wafers out of our CMOS line are further processed in the microsystems technology Lab&Fab to create new additional devices by layer deposition and structuring. The form and functions of the new devices can be used, for example, in gas sensor technology, optics or pressure sensor technology. This combination of CMOS and MEMS (or NEMS) results in innovative and extremely compact microsystems for use in medicine, industry, automotive, aerospace and consumer applications.
3D Integration, BSI Sensor and ALD Structures
In order to continue the trend of compact and powerful devices in micro technology ("More than Moore"), the Fraunhofer IMS offers various 3D-Integrations-technologies. By utilizing the third dimension, structures can be built on top of each other to achieve short connection paths, higher integration density and a cost reduction. The Fraunhofer IMS offers two powerful processes: chip-to-wafer and wafer-to-wafer bonding. These methods are currently used in the manufacturing of efficient and compact detectors consisting of backside illumination and readout electronics. In the special case of the wafer-to-wafer process, sensor and circuit wafers from the company's own CMOS line are precisely bonded in the microsystem technology Lab&Fab and electrically contacted via an ALD-optimized material stack. In addition to electrical contacts, ALD technology can also be used to produce protective layers, optical coatings, NEMS devices for gas sensors, biosensors with nanowires and ultra-thin free-standing membranes.
High Temperature SOI CMOS Technology
As part of industry 4.0, industrial processes are increasingly monitored via intelligent sensor systems. Monitoring in extremely harsh environments with mechanical and physical loads and in the temperature range between -50°C and +300°C poses a particular challenge. The Fraunhofer IMS offers a high temperature 0.35 µm SOI-CMOS technology as a basis for complex integrated circuits for the mentioned temperature range. In addition, an extensive range of know-how and services in the field of application-specific high temperature integrated circuits (high temperature ICs) can be offered.