The Initial Training Network entitled "Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters for Self-Powered Automotive Sensors: from Advanced Lead-Free Materials to Smart Systems (ENHANCE)" will provide Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) with broad and intensive training within a multidisciplinary research and teaching environment. Key training topics will include development of energy harvesters compatible with MEMS technology and able to power wireless sensor. Applied to automobiles, such technology will allow for 50 kg of weight saving, connection simplification, space reduction, and reduced maintenance costs - all major steps towards creating green vehicles. Other important topics include technology innovation, education and intellectual asset management. ENHANCE links world-leading research groups at academic institutions to give a combined, integrated approach of synthesis/fabrication, characterization, modelling/theory linked to concepts for materials integration in devices and systems. Such a science-supported total engineering approach will lead towards efficient piezoelectric energy harvesters viable for the automotive industry. ESRs will focus on this common research objective, applying a multidisciplinary bottom-up approach, which can be summarized by: "engineered molecule- advanced material- designed device - smart system". The main purpose of the ENHANCE project is to create a multidisciplinary joint research activity, implying chemistry, materials science, physics, mechanics, engineering and electronics to create harvesters with high-power density and their systems offering stabilized output voltage in 1-3 V range and adapted to specific needs of sensors with high autonomy and working in temperature ranges from room temperature (RT) to 600 °C in vehicles. We propose to develop hybrid scavenging of energies available in the cars (heat (Th) light (Lt) – vibration (vi)) and/or to use multiple conversions effects (piezoelectric (Pi) – pyroelectric (Py) – electromagnetic (EM) – photovoltaic (PV) by the same transducer - heterostructure based on piezoelectric/ferroelectric/multiferroic crystals, films or nanostructures and not by adding multiple individual transducers into one package – a common approach used in literature. The approach of hybrid energy harvesting by single transducer, offering time efficient and simplified fabrication of hybrid system, is in line with the final goals of the project – creation of the systems of vibrational/thermal/light energy scavengers not only with sufficient efficiency of energy scavenging (300-500 μW/cm2/g2), but also with reasonable price and viable technologies of fabrication and integration for real industrial applications.

Further information

Video

Modern society relies on a multitude of electrical and electronic devices, from communication to industrial production and e-mobility. About 80% of them require the conversion of primary electricity into another form of electricity. Therefore, highly efficient electrical energy conversion is critical. This mainly depends on the power switching transistors used, which should have a as low as possible resistance in the on state and  a high reverse breakdown voltage at the same time. New semiconductor materials with a wide-band gap (WBG) such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) achieve a higher breakdown field strength than silicon and therefore devices can be made much more compact. Power electronic converters with higher efficiency than silicon based circuits have already been demonstrated on this basis.  

The new semiconductor material gallium oxide (Ga2O3) with its breakthrough field strength more than twice as high as that of SiC and GaN has the potential to further increase the efficiency of power converters equipped with it. For about six years, there has therefore been worldwide interest in research into new power electronic semiconductor components based on Ga2O3. The goal of ForMikro-GoNext is to demonstrate fully functional vertical Ga2O3 transistors. To achieve this goal, crystal growth, epitaxy and process technology will be further developed and coordinated. 

Project partners:  Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ) / Ferdinand Braun Institute (FBH) / University of Bremen / ABB / AIXTRON SE.

The joint project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Press Release

Production of graphene on an industrial scale

Graphene consists of only one layer of carbon atoms and has been considered a "wonder material" since its discovery. Of particular interest is the extreme strength combined with the material's flexibility. It also has a higher electrical conductivity than metals and is also transparent. The unique properties of the thinnest material in the world could enable a wide range of applications, but very few products are currently on the market. Some improvements could, for example, lead to a significantly increased sensitivity of sensors. Transistors, the heart of communications engineering or computer systems, could also be realized with particularly high clock frequencies. So far, however, these have only been laboratory demonstrations, not processes suitable for production. The most urgent problem is the not perfectly defined and reproducible quality of the graphene layers. However, a high and reliably reproducible quality of the electrically functional materials is an indispensable prerequisite for implementation on an industrial scale.

In principle, vapor phase deposition provides a scalable process for the production of large-area graphene layers. In the GIMMIK project, the production of graphene layers is to be evaluated under industrial conditions for the first time. The weak points in the corresponding processing will be identified and ways of eliminating the sources of error will be developed. Furthermore, the transfer of the properties of graphene to electrical components by integration into a material environment will be tested. This aspect will be investigated with focus on the evaluation of graphene quality, but also with regard to the improvement of component properties. In parallel, methods for the large-area, contact-free characterization of graphene will be developed, which do not yet exist at present. The aim of the project is the development of methodologies to ensure a consistently high graphene quality as a basis for production suitability for deposition and integration processes.

The GIMMIK research project aims to expand graphene technology for electronic components and to bring it up to a production-relevant level. If successful, the project will lead to an international breakthrough in the industrial application of graphene, which will strengthen the participating companies and Germany internationally as a scientific and business location due to its high exploitation potential.

Participants: AIXTRON SE, Germany (Herzogenrath) / Infineon Technologies AG, Germany (Neubiberg) / IHP GmbH - Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik, Germany (Frankfurt, Oder) / Protemics GmbH, Germany (Aachen) / LayTec AG, Germany (Berlin) / RWTH Aachen, Germany (Aachen)

Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Press Release

The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom / University of Cambridge, United Kingdom / AIXTRON SE, Germany / Cambridge CMOS Sensors Limited, United Kingdom / Commissariat a l’ Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, France / INTEL Performance Learning Solutions Limited, Ireland / Thales SA, France / Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France / Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne, Switzerland / Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Denmark / Philips Technologie GmbH, Germany / Max Planck Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften e.V., Germany / Gesellschaft fuer angewandte Mikro- und Optoelektronik mit beschränkter Haftung AMO GmbH, Germany / The Provost, Fellows, Foundation Scholars & the other Members of Board of the College of the Holy & Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, Ireland / Graphenea S.A., Spain

Das Graphene-Flaggschiff ist Europas 10-jähriges, mit 1 Mrd. Euro gefördertes Programm, das im Oktober 2013 angelaufen ist. Das Flaggschiff stellt eine neue Form der gemeinsamen, koordinierten Forschung in einem noch nie dagewesenen Ausmaß dar und bildet die größte europäische Forschungsinitiative aller Zeiten. Das Programm wird in Form von Kurzprojekten finanziert, und wir befinden uns jetzt in der "Core 2"-Phase.

Das Graphen-Flaggschiff hat die Aufgabe, akademische und industrielle Forscher zusammenzubringen, um innerhalb von 10 Jahren Graphen aus dem Bereich der akademischen Laboratorien in die europäische Gesellschaft zu bringen und so Wirtschaftswachstum, neue Arbeitsplätze und neue Möglichkeiten zu schaffen.

Bei diesem Projekt hat AIXTRON zwei wichtige technische Aufgaben:
(1) die Entwicklung eines automatisierten Transfersystems zur Realisierung der Backend-Integration von Graphen auf 300-mm-Wafern;
(2) die Entwicklung eines Rolle-zu-Rolle-Wachstums von Graphen auf Kabeln zur Verbesserung des Korrosionsschutzes und der elektrischen Leistung;

Was die Leitung des Projekts betrifft, so ist Dr. Ken Teo der Vorsitzende des Exekutivausschusses, der das Entscheidungsgremium des Flaggschiffs ist; Dr. Alex Jouvray leitet das Arbeitspaket Produktion.


Weitere Informationen: Graphene Flagship

The partners have already achieved promising results in the development of III-V multi-junction solar cells on silicon. However, further improvements in component performance and production costs need to be achieved before industrial use can take place. This includes a reduction of the dislocation density in the III-V solar cell layers from today 108 cm^-2 to the range of 1-5*10⁶ cm^-2, the demonstration of solar cells with efficiencies > 30 % and the optimization of the economic efficiency of the MOVPE growth processes. This "MehrSi" project addresses the most important development steps along this path. In particular, the following objectives should be achieved:
 

• Improved understanding of the nucleation of GaP or Al_xGa1-_xP on silicon including the influence of arsenic and n-dopants like Si or Te;
• Development of fast III-V nucleation processes by variation of Si pretreatment, temperature, heating and cooling rates;
• Development of transition layers in the lattice constant from Si to the III-V solar cell layers with < 5*10⁶ dislocations/cm²;
• Worldwide for the first time production of III-V multiple solar cells on Si with > 30 % efficiency;
• Cost analysis for the use of III-V-Si multiple solar cells in photovoltaic flat modules and development of a utilization strategy with German and/or European solar companies;
• Development of cost-effective MOVPE separation processes with the potential to scale to large areas;
• Education of master and doctoral students in an excellent scientific environment and publication of important results in respected scientific journals.

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New facility will be the incubator of the photonics multinationals of the future.

Photonics is an emerging technology with a potential multitrillion market. Innovative small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are at the forefront of this development, but the R&D costs are prohibitive for them. That’s why 12 partners from northwestern Europe are creating an open access pilot line that will drastically reduce costs and time for the pilot production of new products. This new facility is projected to be the incubator of a thousand new companies and thousands of jobs. The 14 million euro project (OIP4NWE) is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and kicks off this week in Eindhoven.

Photonics is much like electronics, but instead of electrons it uses light (photons) as its workhorse. It uses much less energy, it is faster, and it opens up a wealth of new opportunities. One of the key problems photonics will help tackle is the exploding energy consumption of data centers, as photonic microchips consume much less energy than their electronic predecessors. Another example is a high-precision monitoring system for aircraft wings, bridges or tall buildings.

After two decades of basic photonics research, the first companies producing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are now taking off – sparsely. One of the main hurdles is the high cost involved in R&D. Not only does the PIC production require expensive high-tech equipment installed in cleanrooms, but currently the production processes still have a high defect rate and are too slow. This was workable for basic research but not for commercial R&D. The technology readiness level, which ranges from 1 to 9, needs to be jacked up from the current 4 to 7.

The new project, led by photonics stronghold Eindhoven University of Technology (in collaboration with its Photonic Integration Technology Center), consists of the realization of an efficient pilot production line for shared use by European SMEs. It should take the defect rate in pilot production down and the throughput time will be shorter. All in all, this should lead to a cost reduction which significantly lowers the threshold for developing new photonic products. This should help establish a thousand integrated photonics firms within ten years after the project.

The front-end process (production of PICs on indium phosphide wafers) will be realized in the existing NanoLab@TU/e cleanroom facility at Eindhoven University. The PICs of different companies will be combined on one wafer to keep costs low. The back-end process is done at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Optics for beam shaping and light coupling) and at Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland (Assembly of fiber-optic connections and electronics in the package). All steps require nanoscale precision to avoid product defects.

The first stage of the project is equipment installation. The second stage focusses on automation of the equipment while a third stage will involve intensive industrial research together with equipment manufacturers to optimize and develop new processes. The line should be fully in operation in 2022. To incentivize the initial uptake by SMEs, a voucher scheme for external SMEs will be set up.

The other parties involved are the companies AIXTRON SE (Germany), Oxford Instruments nanotechnology Tools (United Kingdom), SMART Photonics, VTEC Lasers & Sensors, Technobis Fibre Technologies (all Netherlands) and mBryonics Limited (Ireland) along with research centers Photonics Bretagne (France), Cluster NanoMikroWerkstoffePhotonik.NRW (Germany) and Photon Delta Cooperatie (Netherlands).

The project has a total budget of 13.9 million euros. Of this, the EU is funding 8.3 million, with the remainder coming from the participating parties.

Project details

Project Newsletter (April 2019)

eBulletin (06-2020)

The demands on electric vehicles are increasing nowadays. As an essential component, high-performance batteries in great demand, which require specific technical characteristics and precise manufacturing. The characteristics of pantographs determine to a large extent the performance of the power battery. Conventional metal foils can only withstand weak bonding of the active material and are very susceptible to sulry/electrolyte. To solve this technical problem, we have performed a condensation deposition of carbon nanotube (CNT) forest by CVD, which can be scaled from roll to roll using our unique technology. The CNT deposition layer can protect both acid sulry and organic electrolytes from direct contact with metal foil. In addition, it can also provide a better mechanical bond between CNT and electrode-active materials and thus offer better electrochemical performance for power batteries. In this project we want to combine AIXTRON's advantages in CVD and CNT deposition technology with the manufacturing and market advantages of the other project partners.

The aim of the project is to innovate a new product (nano-carbon coated current collectors) for high performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs) for electric vehicles (EVs). This product is a necessary accessory for high-end battery manufacturers and thus represents a unique and profitable market opportunity for Weimu with relatively low sales effort. To achieve a successful R&D output, the main goals and activities are listed below:
 
Objectives:
1. to develop manufacturing equipment and techniques for specific industrial requirements
2. convincing samples with better performance than current LIBs
3. demonstration of scalability for manufacturing and production.
Activities:
1. production of nanocarbon coated samples based on requirements that can be performed in batch mode using the existing AIXTRON research tool
2. review and test coated samples in LIB button cells,
3. expanding the process by developing a roll-to-roll production line,
4. producing conventional LIBs on a scale for further testing, 5. ensuring the final product, costs and properties.

The innovation that this project demonstrates is the implementation of a dry process for coating LIB pantographs with carbon nanotubes (CNT). In current LIBs, current collectors are mainly aluminium oxide foils for the cathode, copper foils for the anode. Bare metal foils are susceptible to oxidation and corrosion. They are also weakly bonded to the adjacent electrode layer. To solve this problem, solutions with a thin carbon layer 2~5μm are currently offered to improve the interface properties. However, this process is a wet process, which requires a long processing time and an additional solvent mixture. Therefore, there are many advantages in replacing such a wet process with a dry process based on our unique nano-carbon deposition method. The steps could be reduced, so that the production time is relatively short compared to current solutions. In addition, the deleted nano-carbon coating would also have better properties, which are more valuable than previous solutions.

The new product aims to improve product properties as well as production efficiency in large-scale production.

The main objectives of the SiTaSol project are:
 

• to demonstrate a two-junction, two-terminal III-V/Si tandem solar cell with > 26% efficiency and a target of 30%, using less than 5 µm of III-V compound semiconductor material. This cell will allow a drop-in replacement for today's c-Si solar cells with minimum changes to the PV cell and module.
• to demonstrate PV prototype modules (including 2-10 cells in series) with > 24% efficiency
• to validate processes for the preparation of the growth substrate which are compatible with the cost targets of 0.05 € per 243 cm² wafer
• to validate scalable epitaxy processes for the III-V absorber layer deposition at a growth rate of 100 µm/h, deposition efficiency of 35% and V/III ratio of 3, compatible with the cost targets of 0.62 € per 243 cm² wafer and building a prototype reactor with minimum 100 cm2 deposition area.
• to investigate waste treatment and recycling methods for hydrogen and metals originating from the III-V growth which are compatible with the cost targets of 0.1 € per 243 cm² wafer
• to validate scalable processing routes for III-V/Si tandem solar cells which are compatible with the performance and cost targets
• to perform a detailed life-cycle assessment including socio-economic and environmental aspects
• to establish a theoretical model for the energy harvesting of PV modules with 2-terminal III‑V/Si tandem cells in different European locations

It should be noted that the project is focused on key drivers for realizing a cost competitive c-Si based tandem solar cell technology with outstanding efficiency potential well beyond the limits of single-junction devices.

Participants: AIXTRON SE, Germany / AIXTRON Ltd, United Kingdom / AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH, Germany / Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Germany / JOHANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Austria / Leiden University, The Netherlands / Topsil Semiconductor Materials A/S, Denmark

More information

SKYTOP aims empowering the combination of topological state both in real and reciprocal space through the use of Topological Materials (TM) such as Topological Insulators and/or Weyl semimetals and magnetic Skyrmions. The objective is to develop a Skyrmion-TM based platform and realize devices with intertwined electronic-spin and topology for enhanced efficiency and new functionality that could lead to a new paradigm for ultra-dense low power nanoelectronics. The three key objectives behind this vision are: elaborating TM materials for highly efficient spin current generation and magnetization control; developing a functional TM-Skyrmion platform pushing skyrmions one step forward; demonstrating the potential of this platform through the realization of two exemplary unconventional devices: a reconfigurable radio-frequency Skyrmion filter and a Skyrmion-gas based neuromorphic device. SKYTOP will also expected to open a route for exploitation of the emerging Weyl semimetal materials which are currently being investigated at the basic research level.

Participants: National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (NCSRD, Greece, Coordinator) / Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France) / Thales (France) / Max-Planck-Insituts (MPI, Germany) / Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerch –Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (CNR-IMM, Italy) / Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Center (Imec, Belgium) / AIXTRON (Germany)

Funded by the European Commission

SKYTOP Project EU: Skyrmion-Topological insulator and Weyl semimetal technology (Video)

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece / University of Patras, Greece / University of Oxford, UK
University of Surrey, UK / University of Ioannina, Greece / Ecole Polytechnique, France / University of Stuttgart, Germany / Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Germany / Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Germany / Centro Ricerche Fiat, Italy / Centre for Research and Technology – Hellas, Greece / Horiba Jobin Yvon, France / Advent Technologies, Greece / COATEMA, Germany / COMPUCON Greece / AIXTRON Germany / Konarka, Germany / Oxford Lasers Ltd., UK

Digitalisation and the underlying key technologies are an essential part of the answers to many of the daunting challenges that societies are facing today. The core enablers for this digital transformation are Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) used in applications, information highways and data centres. These information highways and data centres are the “backbone” of the entire digitalisation (5G) and electrical energy is the essential resource powering them. Due to the steadily increasing demand for data traffic, -storage and -processing, higher energy efficiency is inevitable. This is also true for energy conversion in terms of Smart Grids and Smart Mobility.

Whenever Silicon (Si) based semiconductor devices reach their limits, Gallium Nitride (GaN) based power semiconductors are promising candidates enabling much higher switching frequencies together with highest energy conversion efficiencies. Several FP7 and H2020 projects, among them the ECSEL pilot-line project “PowerBase”, have proven these assumptions and serve as the basis for the availability of the first generation of European GaN-devices. Besides proving the ability to achieve more efficient and more compact applications by the use of GaN devices, these projects made clearly evident, that the challenges of the GaN technologies have been heavily underestimated. This clearly results in the necessity to further investigate GaN and focus the research activities on size reduction, cost effectiveness and reliability while dealing with severe challenges:
 

• Higher electric fields (Drift phenomena impacting lifetime),

• Higher current densities (Electro-migration impacting lifetime),

• Higher power densities (Thermal issues limiting the compactness potential).

These challenges are forming a “red brick wall” for the next GaN on Si technology generations that hampers shrinking of GaN devices which is necessary to improve their affordability and thus increase the range of potential applications.

The RIA project proposal UltimateGaN will overcome the red brick wall and focus on the next generation GaN technology particularly addressing six major objectives along and across the entire vertical value chain of power and radio frequency (RF) electronics:

• Research on vertical power GaN processes and devices pushing performance beyond current state-of-the-art,

• Research on lateral GaN technologies and devices to achieve best in class power density and efficiency while optimizing cost vs. performance,

• Bringing GaN on Silicon RF performance close to GaN on Silicon Carbide thus enabling an affordable 5G rollout,

• Breaking the packaging limits – size, electrical and thermal constraints - for high performance GaN power products,

• Close the reliability and defect density gap for most innovative GaN devices,

• Demonstrate European leadership in high performance power electronics and RF application domains.

The first three objectives are GaN technology related meant to explore the limits by alternative device and process concepts. The fourth objective will address the fact that the outstanding semiconductor performance of GaN can only be harvested when assembly/packaging, interconnections and enhanced thermal management are optimized in a holistic approach. The packages, fully utilizing the unique performance of power GaN devices, are not ready today and therefore require further investigation.

Crystal defect formation, especially at the GaN on Si-interface, is one of the major obstacles toward yield and reliability levels of competing Si based technologies. Therefore, another main objective addressed by UltimateGaN is to prevent these defects in the next generation GaN on Si devices.

The research results coming from the technology and packaging objectives will be used and demonstrated in the course of the last objective dealing with demanding fields of applications for these high performance devices. Amongst many others these application areas are:

• Extremely efficient server power supply enabling lower energy consumption in data centres (5G: digitalisation backbone),

• Benchmark Photovoltaic inverters in terms of efficiency and size to foster the use of renewable energies (Smart Grids: energy backbone),

• Affordable 5G-Amplifiers up to mm-wave enabling a faster 5G rollout (5G: digitalisation backbone),

• GaN enabled ultra-fast switching LIDAR application to enable autonomous driving (Smart Mobility),

• Highest efficiency μ-Grid-converters and On-Board Chargers (Smart Grids; Smart Mobility).

The project UltimateGaN will enable highest efficiencies in the specific fields of the chosen applications and will lead to a significant reduction of the CO2 footprint of digitalisation, smart grids and smart mobility. To strengthen Europe’s role in the future of GaN business, significant effort must be spent to achieve affordable next generation GaN on Si transistors. As US and Asian companies are also heavily investing in this direction, it is of highest importance for Europe to speed up progress towards the next technology generations.

Participants: Austria - Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG, Infineon Technologies Austria
AG, Fronius International GmbH, CTR Carinthian Tech Research AG, Graz University of Technology |
Belgium - IMEC | Germany - AIXTRON SE, Infineon Technologies AG, Siltronic AG, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research e.V., Chemnitz University of Technology, NaMLab GmbH | Italy - Università degli studi di Padova, Infineon Technologies Italia, Universita di Milano Bicocca | Norway - Eltek AS | Slovakia - Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Nano Design SRO | Switzerland - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL, Attolight SA | Spain - IKERLAN, For Optimal Renewable Energy, LEAR | Sweden - RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB, SweGaN AB

Funded by the European Union’s Programme ECSEL JU (Electronic Component Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking) and co-funded by FFG (The Austrian Research Promotion Agency).

Press Release