Fraunhofer EAS

Functional integration on the micro/nano scales enables smart functionalities within mechanical engineering systems. However, while deploying a continuous condition monitoring of difficult accessibly machine parts the necessary sensors and actors cannot be integrated as usual. A solution is offered through the integration of components within the structure avoiding negative effects on the machine. In this context, it is essential to design sensor systems which are miniaturized, durable, wirelessly connected and energy-efficient. Therefore, Fraunhofer IIS/EAS designs, develops and tests the integration of sensors and actuators within machine parts offering a development platform in order to create intelligent components for “Industry 4.0” applications. With the aid of a “ball-screw-drive demonstrator” by the implementation of a sensor ring this integration can be showcased.

The “intelligent” ball-screw-drive is a result of a collaboration of the “Functional integration for micro- and Nanoelectronics” performance center in Dresden and Chemnitz.

With the increasing scope of functionality of electronic systems and advances in miniaturization, traditional chip designs are coming ever closer to their technological and economic limits. Through novel integration concepts – such as chip stacking or the use of interposers – it is possible to achieve higher data throughput while simultaneously lowering energy consumption and reducing space requirements. Modern packaging solutions also enable the integration of diverse component types, such as processors, sensors and wireless interfaces, in a single module. This is the only way to meet the increasing system requirements in industries like telecommunications, aerospace and medical technologies.

Particular challenges in the design process include mastering complexity, optimal utilization of the additional degrees of freedom and consideration of the close thermal, mechanical and electrical coupling in the stacked system. Fraunhofer IIS/EAS can assist you in solving these challenges for an optimized system packaging.

Our Services:

We accompany and support you in your modern packaging technology projects from the conception to the prototype. We offer you:

• Consulting on currently available solutions for high levels of integration
• Conducting of preliminary studies to assess system performance and costs
• Selection of the best integration technology (e.g. interposers based on Fraunhofer technology) according to customer requirements and application conditions
• Support from the design to prototype manufacturing and all the way to series production
• Simulation of thermal, electrical and mechanical effects for complex packages
• Assembly Design Kit (ADK) for verification to ensure that a package meets manufacturability and performance requirements
• Design of high frequency systems up to 110Ghz from the chip to the packages (also with integrated antennas)
• Planning and organizing the prototype production at our partners

Your Added Value:

Our years of experience in system integration as well as our extensive network make us a valuable partner in the customer-specific design of integration solutions.

• Higher system performance combined with low energy consumption
• Maximum miniaturization of complex systems, such as sensor systems
• Cost savings compared with comparable ASIC implementation, in particular for small quantities
• Manufacturer-independent evaluation of available integration solutions
• Reduced risk in the introduction of new packaging solutions
• On-time implementation of prototypes and small series
• Central point of contact from conception to design and prototype manufacturing

The efficient design of integrated circuits and systems is practically only possible with the use of software solutions. While the design of digital circuits is largely automated, analog components of mixed-signal systems are for the most part still designed manually. With increasing miniaturization, this task is both becoming increasingly complex and more prone to errors. This results in long development cycles and high cost. »Intelligent IPs« (IIP)  realize the automation of analog integrated circuit design as well as its systematic structuring. With IIP your IPs are designed faster, safer, and reusable.

»Intelligent IP« is an innovative solution to implement the schematic in a reusable way as well as to generate layout components automatically within seconds. With IIP the most frequently used analog building blocks are migrated automatically into multiple technologies and nodes. User-driven automation ensures optimal control of generation that creates schematic, symbol, and layout from a single source.

With »Intelligent IPs«, Fraunhofer IIS/EAS offers an applied solution for the automation of analog integrated circuit design.

Your Added Value:

Through the automatic migration of analog components, we increase the reliability of your design and lower the risk of introducing new products:

• Reusability of analog IP when changing semiconductor manufacturer and/or technology node
• Up to 80% reduction in your development time and costs through intelligent porting and full-custom IIP
• High design reliability through automated IP generation

Features of our Intelligent IPs:

• Design porting of analog circuits at the push of a button
• Flexibility with regard to electrical, geometric and topological requirements
• Configurable for various applications and technologies
• Highly automated design of the entire design data (circuit diagram, layout, simulation model, test bench, etc.)

Support for technologies in the range from 350 nm to 22 nm