Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWSDr. Eric Fribourg-Blanc, a high-ranking EU representative, visited the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS in Halle (Saale) today. The focus was on work in the field of characterization, testing, and reliability (CTR) for advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration in microelectronics. The intensive technical discussions highlighted the key role these approaches play in Europe's technological sovereignty and how important these skills are for successful transfer to the market. The visit also underscored the importance of the European initiative and EU funding, which are making it possible to establish a powerful infrastructure and excellent research contributions in this future-oriented field as part of the pilot line "Advanced Packaging and Heterogeneous Integration for Electronic Components and Systems" (APECS), thereby supporting the European electronics industry.
APECS is the largest project in the history of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. As part of the EU Chips Act, a comprehensive pilot line for resilient and trustworthy heterogeneous systems will be established in the coming years, promoting the innovative capacity of the European electronics industry. APECS is being implemented by the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD), a collaboration of 13 Fraunhofer Institutes, including Fraunhofer IMWS, and the Leibniz Institutes FBH and IHP.
Dr. Eric Fribourg-Blanc, Senior Program Officer at the EU's Chips Joint Undertaking, visited Halle (Saale) to learn about the current state of affairs. In talks with Dr. Dirk Schumann, Director APECS, Johannes Rittner, Projektleiter Technology APECS, and Gunnar Becker, Projektleiter Infrastruktur APECS, the contributions of the institute and the CTR platform to the European advanced packaging landscape and to APECS were highlighted – always with a view to the targeted development of a research and pilot infrastructure geared to the requirements of future industrial technologies.
The focus was on new requirements for defect localization and failure diagnostics in hybrid bonding and complex 3D-integrated chip structures, methodological developments, and the interaction of the participating institutes within the CTR platform. A lab tour provided an opportunity to view the newly commissioned analysis technology and experience the analysis techniques addressed in the presentations in action.
"Advanced packaging is the decisive field of innovation for Europe in microelectronics," emphasizes Frank Altmann, head of the "Electronic Materials and Components " business unit at Fraunhofer IMWS and head of the CTR work package in APECS. "With our contributions to APECS and the FMD, we are laying a strong foundation here, because the CTR platform is the key to the successful development and market launch of these new technologies."
During the discussions, powerful methods for characterization, testing, and quality control proved to be a central element in making the complexity of modern component concepts manageable. Only if failure risks and error mechanisms are identified at an early stage, processes are understood in detail, and reliability is proven to be robust can the potential of advanced packaging and heterointegration be fully exploited for Europe.
"In the APECS project, we at Fraunhofer IMWS are specifically expanding our infrastructure and expertise in the field of process characterization and failure diagnostics. In doing so, we are making an important contribution within the CTR platform to fostering key technologies in the field of advanced packaging and ensuring the reliability of highly integrated components," said PD Dr. Christian Schmelzer, acting director of Fraunhofer IMWS, who welcomed Dr. Eric Fribourg-Blanc. “We are very grateful for the EU funding for the pilot lines under the EU Chips Act – and this visit has shown how committed we are to working on innovative analytics and making them available for the APECS pilot line and our industry partners.”
(March 5, 2026)