FAQ

The "Research Fab Microelectronics Germany," FMD for its German acronym, is a cross-location and cross-technology collaboration between 13 Fraunhofer Institutes and 2 Leibniz Institutes in micro- and nanoelectronics. The idea behind it: a one-stop shop for a customized range of services combining the individual expertise of R&D institutes collaborating across Germany.

As a pioneer in cross-location and cross-technology collaboration, FMD actively addresses current and future challenges in electronics research, thereby ensuring that Germany and Europe maintain and expand their technological resilience.

The following Fraunhofer and Leibniz Institutes have been cooperating in the FMD since 2017:

• Ferdinand Braun Institute, Leibniz Institute for Highest Frequency Technology (FBH) in Berlin
• Fraunhofer Institute for Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFT in Munich
• Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS in Chemnitz
• Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR in Wachtberg
• Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute, HHI in Berlin
• Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF in Freiburg
• Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen
• Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB in Erlangen
• Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg
• Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden
• Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT in Itzehoe
• Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin and Moritzburg
• Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP) in Frankfurt/Oder

Since 2024, and as part of the APECS pilot line, the FMD range has been complemented by the

• Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC in Garching near Munich
• Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS in Halle

Fifteen research institutes (thirteen institutes of the Fraunhofer Society and the Leibniz FBH and IHP) currently cooperate in the FMD. The business activities and strategic development of the FMD are coordinated by the central office in Berlin. This serves as the main point of contact for inquiries from industry, research, and politics, as well as for forward-looking inter-institutional research collaborations. In addition, the central office team is responsible for strategy and public relations work across institutions and organizations.

The Research Fab Microelectronics Germany was established in 2017 as a unique platform for the German and European semiconductor and electronics industry – a one-stop shop that connects nationwide application-oriented research capacities in microelectronics and offers them on a customer-specific basis. Around 5,400 employees now contribute their expertise in research and development of micro- and nanosystems across institutes and along the entire value chain.

The FMD now exemplifies how Europe's technological independence arises where a nationally distributed research landscape acts in a unified, coordinated, and cross-technology manner.

Through the targeted development of strategic research and transfer infrastructures, the close integration of research and industry, and active involvement in European initiatives such as the EU Chips Act, the FMD makes a significant contribution to the technological resilience of Germany and Europe. At the same time, it strengthens the innovation and competitiveness of the European semiconductor ecosystem in the long term.

As a one-stop shop, FMD offers a customized range of services that combines the individual expertise of fifteen Fraunhofer and Leibniz institutes cooperating throughout Germany:

• Industrial contract research: design and technology consulting, feasibility studies, technology and process development, testing options for new materials
• Development of demonstrators and prototypes: for large companies, SMEs, start-ups, and academic research
• Design and technology transfer: development and licensing of technologies, processes, and PDKs/ADKs
• Design services: chip/module/system design, access to multi-project wafer services on Si and various compound semiconductor materials
• Services in the field of characterization, testing, and reliability: Diverse electrical (up to the THz range) and mechanical modeling/characterization options for systems, modules, and components, also with regard to IT security
• Cooperation projects: Research and development projects in collaboration with industry and the public sector

The FMD strengthens the technological resilience of Germany and Europe by strategically pooling and developing key microelectronics competencies and making them accessible to industry and research.

The Fraunhofer and Leibniz Institutes cooperating in the FMD work together on various research and development projects aimed at establishing a high-performance, sustainable, and competitive microelectronics and semiconductor landscape in Germany and Europe – from research to industrial application.

With cross-institutional projects such as the APECS pilot line, the German Chips Competence Centre (G3C), the Green ICT @ FMD competence center, and the expansion of FMD with quantum and neuromorphic computing modules (FMD-QNC), as well as networks such as Chipdesign Germany, FMD creates integrated structures from design to manufacturing and integration to system application. This reduces critical dependencies and allows key technologies – for example in the areas of advanced packaging, heterointegration, chiplet technologies, novel computing architectures, and resource-efficient ICT – to be bundled, further developed, and tested in Europe.

As a one-stop shop, FMD translates political objectives, such as those from the EU Chips Act, into practice through pilot lines, demonstrators, open design and manufacturing access, and coordinated cooperation models with industry, SMEs, start-ups, and public actors. In this way, the FMD not only enables innovation at the highest European level, but also ensures that know-how, technologies, and value creation remain anchored in Germany and Europe in the long term.

The broad technology portfolio of the institutes cooperating in the FMD includes sensor systems, power electronics, MEMS, actuators, microwave and terahertz, extended CMOS, optoelectronic systems, advanced system design, and advanced system integration.

Micro- and nanoelectronics is the key industry for all relevant industrial sectors in Germany and Europe. Based on its comprehensive technology and expertise portfolio, FMD offers application solutions in the focus areas of “resource efficiency,” “security,” “next-generation computing,” “mobility,” “production,” and “communication”− all from a single source. It allows customers to implement combined and optimized system solutions with FMD, thereby securing an innovative edge in international competition.

The FMD is represented by its cooperating institutes in the following cities: Berlin, Chemnitz, Duisburg, Dresden, Erlangen, Frankfurt/Oder, Freiburg, Garching near Munich, Halle (Saale), Itzehoe, Munich, Nuremberg, and Wachtberg.

Germany's economy thrives on the export of high-tech, cutting-edge products. Micro- and nanoelectronics is the key industry for all relevant industrial sectors in Germany and Europe. However, the share of German and European microelectronics in the global market has fallen steadily in recent years. It is therefore necessary for us to focus on our existing strengths and implement the necessary innovations in order to expand our position in global competition and advance the technological sovereignty of Germany and Europe.

Approaches and solutions for, for example, sustainable information and communication technologies, trustworthy and secure electronics, or novel computing technologies can only be researched, developed, and implemented through the consistent pooling of expertise.

The Research Fab Microelectronics Germany  (FMD) was launched in 2017. In January 2017, a consortium of eleven Fraunhofer Institutes from the Microelectronics Network and the industry-relevant Leibniz Institutes FBH and IHP presented a joint concept for the FMD to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

On April 6, 2017, the then Federal Minister of Research, Prof. Johanna Wanka, handed over the approval notices for a total of 350 million euros for the modernization of its research infrastructure. This marked the start of this innovative cooperation model for German microelectronics research.

After a development phase lasting around 3.5 years, the FMD was consolidated on April 22, 2021, and officially commenced regular operations. Since then, it has been pooling the expertise of its cooperating institutes along the entire microelectronics value chain – from research to application-oriented development.

On this basis, the FMD is continuously expanding its infrastructure and range of services – for example, in the areas of quantum and neuromorphic computing (project “FMD-QNC,” 2022–2025) and ecologically sustainable information and communication technology (project “Green ICT @ FMD,” 2022–2026).

The establishment of the European APECS pilot line, which started at the end of 2024, represents a further step in the development of the FMD. The pilot line for Advanced Packaging and Heterogeneous Integration for Electronic Components and Systems is an important component of the EU Chips Act to drive chiplet innovation and increase research and manufacturing capacity for semiconductors in Europe.

Coordinated by the FMD office, the FMD institutes are working together with other European partners to set up the APECS pilot line.

Investments in the FMD form the basis for the future viability of applied microelectronics research in Germany. Most of the investment went toward modernizing and expanding the research infrastructure at the participating institutes. The new equipment and facilities have significantly expanded capabilities for developing and manufacturing innovative electronic semiconductor chips and microsystem components, for example for sensor technology. In addition to expanding and renewing the research infrastructure of the institutes cooperating in the FMD, processes were established to enable the joint use and provision of this research equipment (devices, laboratories, clean rooms) for customers.

Furthermore, cross-technology and cross-institute R&D concepts for optimal cooperation with industry and programs for start-ups were developed, and the transition to regular operation from 2021 onwards was prepared. Subsequent large-scale projects, such as the APECS pilot line launched at the end of 2024, “Green ICT @ FMD” (competence center for resource-conscious information and communication technology), and “FMD-QNC” (“Research Fab Microelectronics Germany – Module Quantum and Neuromorphic Computing”) build on the offerings, structures, and competencies created with the FMD and enable the targeted and efficient implementation of the planned projects.

The name “FMD” is a registered word mark (registration number: 302023118127) of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft at the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA). It stands for the bundled scientific expertise and close cooperation of the Fraunhofer and Leibniz Institutes cooperating in the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany, FMD for its German acronym.