The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft undertakes applied research that drives economic development and serves the wider benefit of society. Its services are solicited by customers and contractual partners in industry, the service sector and public administration

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is a recognized non-profit organization that takes its name from Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787–1826), the illustrious Munich researcher, inventor and entrepreneur. With its clearly defined mission of application-oriented research and its focus on key technologies of relevance to the future, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft plays a prominent role in the German and European innovation process. At present, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft maintains 67 institutes and research units, each of them operating as a technical business center within its own specific research field. With respect to the institutes participating in Powerbase, the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Halle focuses its strategic research on securing the reliability, safety, life time and functionality of materials and components during manufacturing and application. The Fraunhofer Technology Center Semiconductor Materials (THM) in Freiberg is concerned with research on fabrication and processing of single crystalline materials including crystal growth, wafering and epitaxy. Based on a deep knowledge of the world of microelectronics and microsystem technology, the core competences of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFT in Munich are related to individual process and system integration developments in silicon and semiconductor technologies.

Role:

The role of the three Fraunhofer institutes within Powerbase consists in supporting key technology developments of their industry collaboration partners by advanced material characterization methods, failure analysis, in-line inspection and process optimization, focusing on optimum manufacturing yield, process quality and application reliability of future advanced power electronics materials and components.  Within this context, Fraunhofer will also act as task leader within the work package 6 focusing on GaN reliability.

Key Contribution:

FhG-IWM Halle will complement the quality and reliability investigations of new GaN on Si semiconductor components by providing new and advanced new physical failure diagnostics approaches.  The institute will also support the packaging technology developments for GaN power electronics components by applying its specific capabilities and competences in material characterization methods.

In close collaboration with the Siltronic AG, FhG-THM Freiberg will contribute to realize the industrial growth of heavily doped very low resistivity silicon crystals with 300 mm diameter by characterization of the solid-liquid interface of heavily doped silicon crystals using photoluminescence measurements and defect selective etching methods.

The task of FhG-EMFT Munich is to provide a suitable methodology for the inline analysis and a detailed defect characterisation of high resistance materials and processed silicon wafers up to 300 mm diameter. The investigations of THM and EMFT are focusing on benchmarking GaN devices with the best Silicon devices in terms of technical performance and cost-effectiveness.

Contact

	Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V.
Hansastraße 27c
80686 München, Germany
www.fraunhofer.de