Press Releases

Fraunhofer ENAS

Inductive bonding – A new bonding method in microsystems technology

© Fraunhofer ENAS
© Fraunhofer ENAS
© Fraunhofer ENAS

The Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS is developing a new bonding technology for microsystems in cooperation with Chemnitz University of Technology and SHINKO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. The chip-level inductive bonding process will be presented for the first time at MEMS Sensing & Network System 2022 in Tokyo.

 

Inductive joining is a technology that has so far mainly been used only for macroscopic components, such as steel tubes or car doors. Fraunhofer ENAS, together with Chemnitz University of Technology and the Japanese company SHINKO, is now developing a process that enables inductive bonding on the micr o level for the first time. A bonding process based on sintering paste with silver micro particles was developed for the mechanical surface contacting of chips on DBC (direct bonded copper) substrates.

At the trade show MEMS Sensing & Network Systems in Tokyo Big Sight from Jan 26 until 28, the process will be presented at the joint booth of Tohoku University and Fraunhofer ENAS (hall 2, booth 2D-05).

A paper on inductive chip bonding can be requested under the following contact: events@enas.fraunhofer.de (Subject: Paper inductive bonding).

For more information, please refer the press release (pdf).

Fraunhofer IFAM

Launch of offshore technology test facility under real environmental conditions - combining approval of underwater and uncrewed aircraft systems

© Fraunhofer IFAM/Deichblick
© Fraunhofer IFAM/ Tim Strohbach
© Fraunhofer IFAM/Deichblick

Scientist of the Test Center for Maritime Technologies started operation in a unique three million square meter offshore test area in the German North Sea near the offshore island Helgoland. It offers widespread test applications for marine materials and technologies, not only under water but also for aerial applications (e.g. AUVs & UAVs for inspection and maintenance work). Testing is possible under harsh offshore conditions (sea spray, wind, currents) within different temperate ranges for long time series or short-term tests. Due to the proximity of only three nautical miles to Helgoland short reaction times and a cost-efficient logistic infrastructure can be realized.

Dr. Hanno Schnars, Director of the Test Center for Maritime Technologies: “The location with up to 45 meters depth is ideal for such tests, as the conditions close to the island of Helgoland are representative for the North Sea and similar oceans, like the Atlantic Ocean. The harsh environmental conditions mean a high load for materials and technologies and testing the systems under these environmental conditions is, so to say, the ‘baptism of fire’ for them. If they can cope with these harsh conditions, they succeed everywhere else.”

For industrial partners a range of services can be offered by the Test Center for Maritime Technologies, e.g. planning, engineering, logistics, and performance assessments. Expertise in the marine sector is guaranteed by an interdisciplinary research consortium under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM together with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht – Centre for Materials and Coastal Research (HZG), the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg and Jacobs University Bremen. In addition, the consortium receives scientific support from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI).

For further information, please visit the website

Fraunhofer IPT

Augmented reality system facilitates manual manufacturing of products made of fiber-reinforced composite materials

© Fraunhofer IPT

The manufacturing of products made of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) often still involves a number of manual work steps: the position and orientation of the semi-finished fiber-reinforced materials must be aligned precisely by hand to ensure that the product has the required levels of stability and flexibility after lamination and curing. Ultimately, this is the only way of enabling the user to fully exploit the advantages of the FRP material. To support the manual deposition process, known as preforming, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, Germany, has developed intuitive software for commercially available augmented reality glasses: The system specifies the correct deposition of the semi-finished materials as a virtual representation on the mold and can thus significantly improve the quality and performance of FRP production processes. 

For more information, please visit the IPT website.
Augmented reality system facilitates manual manufacturing of products made of fiber-reinforced composite materials

Fraunhofer ILT

Cleaning water with laser-drilled filters: SimConDrill project nominated for Green Award

© Fraunhofer ILT

Microplastics enter our wastewater and the environment on a daily basis. Yet wastewater treatment plants struggle to filter out enough of these tiny plastic particles. Fortunately, help is on hand in the form of the SimConDrill research project, which the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has been funding since 2019. Combining the expertise of five partners from industry and research, the aim of the project is to jointly develop a filter featuring tiny, laser-drilled holes that can remove plastic particles as small as 10 micrometers from wastewater.

For more information, please visit the ILT website.
Cleaning water with laser-drilled filters: SimConDrill project nominated for Green Award

Fraunhofer ILT

Laser Colloquium Hydrogen LKH2: fast and reliable fuel cell manufacturing

© Fraunhofer ILT

Interest in the use of fuel cells is steadily increasing as a result of the shift toward e-mobility and the broader adoption of renewable energy sources. To examine this development, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT is organizing the first Laser Colloquium Hydrogen LKH2, which will take place in Aachen on March 18, 2020. The event will focus not only on laser cutting and welding of fuel cell components, but also on the execution and monitoring of the entire process chain.

For more information, please visit the ILT website.
Laser Colloquium Hydrogen LKH2: fast and reliable fuel cell manufacturing