Business Unit of Fraunhofer FEP Integrated into Fraunhofer PMS

The business unit „Microdisplays and Sensors“ at the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP) will be integrated into the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS). This step will be taken with retroactive effect from January 1, 2024.

Both institutes are closely connected, particularly within this business unit, and share infrastructure at the Dresden site in Germany. "By integrating the Fraunhofer FEP Microdisplays and Sensors business unit into Fraunhofer IPMS, we are pooling our expertise and ensuring the best possible use of our infrastructure. This will also increase our chances to win projects with the Microelectronics group", says Prof. Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

There is rapid development in the market for the microdisplays used in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) applications (often collectively referred to as XR) and Fraunhofer sees this as an important growth market of the future. The integration of OLED and µLED frontplane technologies in CMOS backplanes was not only the key to success in this sector but also the technological basis for near-to-eye visualization of information, state the Fraunhofer institutes. With the integration Fraunhofer IPMS and Fraunhofer FEP aim at leveraging synergies in the area of infrastructure, pool expertise and establish a unique profile for both institutes. Fraunhofer IPMS has long been one of the leading institutes in microelectronics and microsystems engineering.

Transferring the Microdisplays and Sensors business unit to Fraunhofer IPMS "will open up additional development potential for the business unit and enable Fraunhofer FEP to focus on strategic topics in the field of electron beam and plasma technologies," says Elizabeth von Hauff, Director of Fraunhofer FEP. This transfer shall provide technological solutions for the growing demand in the fields of energy, sustainability, life sciences and environmental technologies for industry and society.

Harald Schenk, Director of Fraunhofer IPMS, adds: "In the future, Fraunhofer IPMS will increase its activities in this area and focus more on the heterogeneous integration of various chiplet technologies in conjunction with CMOS microelectronics. This future-oriented technology includes the integration of organic semiconductors (e.g., OLEDs) and novel emitter technologies (e.g., µLEDs), which will open up new avenues in micro/optoelectronics and microsystems engineering."

Caption: The microdisplays & sensors business unit of Fraunhofer FEP, which is being integrated into Fraunhofer IPMS, is developing OLED and µLED displays. (Picture: Fraunhofer IPMS/Claudia Jacquemin)