University-Institute Research Alliance

In the spring of 2016 it was possible to gain the services of Prof. Marc Tornow to head up the Silicon Technologies and Devices department together with Prof. Ignaz Eisele (in retirement since 2020). Marc Tornow holds the Professorship in Molecular Electronics at Technical University of Munich and is involved in research into nanoscale components in molecular electronics and biosensorics.

Through the Chair for Technical Electrophysics there is also close collaboration with Dr. Gabriele Schrag and Prof. Gerhard Wachutka. Research there focuses on physically based modeling, numerical simulation and the characterization and diagnosis of production processes and the operating response of microstructured components. Collaborative research aims to further strengthen Fraunhofer EMFT expertise in this area. Joint doctoral dissertations on various preliminary research topics further enrich collaboration.

Prof. Amelie Hagelauer is a new director of the Fraunhofer EMFT. Since September 1, 2021 she leads the research institution together with Prof. Christoph Kutter. 

In her university chair for Micro- and Nanosystems Technology at TUM, Amelie Hagelauer's research and lecturing focusses on e.g. integrated and discrete circuits for microelectronic systems in communication, radar, automotive, medical and sensor technology. 

The basics for concepts and application of microelectronic systems is provided by circuit technology, especially with novel memory technologies, high frequency, sender/receiver, radar, semiconductor, microsystem and antenna technologies.

Besides modelling and simulation of integrated circuits and complex SiP, the focus here lies also e.g. on characterization of the drafted circuits and systems.

Fraunhofer EMFT has engaged in longstanding collaboration with the Institute for Analytical Chemistry, Chemo- and Biosensors at the University of Regensburg. Since January 1, 2017, Prof. Joachim Wegener has been in charge of the Fraunhofer EMFT group Cell-Based Sensors (ZBS) in Regensburg. Joachim Wegener is Professor of Bioanalytics and Biosensors, and the work he does with his group mainly focuses on developing physical sensors that allow living cells to be examined on a non-invasive, label-free basis. The aim of this new initiative is to harness Fraunhofer EMFT expertise in the areas of microelectronics and polymer electronics for cell-based sensors, thereby penetrating new areas of application in bioanalytics and biotechnology.

Fraunhofer EMFT Business Developer Dr. Karin Bauer is also a lecturer and associate lecturer at the Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences and Mechatronics. There she offers the Microfluidics and Applications course for the Master's degree in Micro and Nano Technology and the international Micro and Nanotechnology course. In the lecture, students deal with Applied Micro-Nano-Technology and Systems.

There are close links between the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the University of the German Federal Armed Fordes in Munich and Fraunhofer EMFT, not least as a result of staffing connections: Prof. Linus Maurer (Professorship for Integrated Circuits and Electronic Components) has taught at the university since 2012, along with Prof. Christoph Kutter (Professorship for Polytronics). The cooperation originated under Prof. Ignaz Eisele, who was appointed the university’s first Emeritus of Excellence and up until 2020 headed up the business area Silicon Technologies and Devices at Fraunhofer EMFT. Dr. Sabine Trupp, Head of the Performance Centre "Safe Intelligent Systems", was accepted as a post-doctoral researcher in the field of gas sensors at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in 2015. 

Fraunhofer EMFT and the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich complement each other ideally due to the nature of their respective cleanroom facilities. The close connection between the university and Fraunhofer EMFT is also reflected in their collaboration on the integration of new, innovative functionalities and components in existing silicon standard technologies. Here, Fraunhofer EMFT contributes its expertise in the area of add-on technologies and their combination with standard technologies. The goal is to collaborate with industry partners so as to advance new developments – from high-risk research through to product maturity and implementation.

The master's degree program in electrical wiring system deveolopment in the University of Applied Sciences Landshut was initiated in the winter of 2016. Dr.-Ing. Frank Ansorge focusses in his lectures on Electrical Connection Methods on the basics of contact physics, contact materials and contact methods. The different contact methods in electrical wiring systems are the subject of intensive discussion. Technologies for failure analysis and analysis methods of wiring components complete the picture.

The teaching assignment of Frank Ansorge in the faculty for electrical engineering is the basis for the cooperation between Fraunhofer EMFT and the University for Applied Sciences Landshut. The mentioned topics are deepened in Fraunhofer EMFT research projects together with the industry, thus enabling innovative results with new approaches. The cooperation includes also common supervision of Master's theses of the students.

The teaching assignment of Dr. Erkan Isa in the department for Electrical Engineering and Data Sciences in the University of Kassel is the basis for the cooperation between Fraunhofer EMFT and the University. 

The lectures of Erkan Isa concentrate on integrated HF sensor systems, beginning from the basiscs of FMCW radars, and illuminates then the relationship between technological and commercial challenges in the value chain of such systems. The contents of the lectures are supported by input from current european publicly funded projects, reflecting the Fraunhofer EMFT research know-how.