Research Fab Microelectronics Germany

Since April 2017, Fraunhofer IIS and 12 other member institutes have been part of the cross-site collaboration Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD). With over 2000 scientists from the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics and the Leibniz institutes FBH and IHP, this research association is the largest of its kind and leads the world in R&D on applications and systems in micro- and nanoelectronics.

Consolidating the FMD

The FMD’s goal is to conduct research and development in Germany across several locations. Its inauguration phase, which concluded in 2020, was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with around 350 million euros. This mainly involved modernizing the research equipment of the 13 participating institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Leibniz Association. A key element of the FMD’s strategic development in 2020 was drawing up and agreeing on a concept for sustainable operation once the initial project phase was complete.

Versatile cooperation opportunities

In addition to the range of services for its customers from industry, FMD also offers a wide variety of cooperation opportunities for its partners in science. Among the highlights are services that aim directly at processing research questions cooperatively, for example through collaborative work in joint projects and the operation of what are known as Joint Labs. In addition, it is possible to commission FMD institutes to test basic research concepts in the institutes’ facilities with regard to their suitability in more application-oriented environments. Good examples of cooperation between FMD and universities as well as other institutions of higher education include the ASCENT+ project, the “iCampµs” research collaboration and the SmartBeam-Lab Joint Lab in Duisburg.