Projects

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FastPIC - Flexibly adaptable and scalable technologies for photonic integrated circuits

The digital transformation of our society requires the processing of enormous amounts of data. Applications that continuously learn using artificial intelligence require enormous computing power, as do new technologies for medical diagnosis, the control of industrial robots, and innovative technologies for safe autonomous driving. Conventional computer architectures are reaching their limits in terms of both storage speed and the energy required to calculate the enormous amounts of data.

In the FastPIC (Flexibly Adaptable and Scalable Technologies for Photonically Integrated Circuits) research group, scientists will develop optical distribution systems that overcome these limitations. The innovative photonic integrated circuits, or PICs for short, consist of a large number of optical switching elements that are flexibly networked with each other via electrical control signals. This enables them to process an enormous range of data with extremely low energy consumption and minimal latency, i.e., very little delay between a digital command and its execution. However, current technologies have only allowed this principle to be demonstrated in a few photonic components so far. Since powerful systems require a large number of such components, new ways of expanding photonic circuits are now being sought.

In the FastPIC project of the Thuringian Innovation Center for Quantum Optics and Sensor Technology, an interdisciplinary research team from the Technical University of Ilmenau and Friedrich Schiller University Jena will work hand in hand. At the Technical University of Ilmenau, Professor Jens Müller, spokesperson for the research group and head of the Electronics Technology department, and Professor Andreas Bund, head of the Electrochemistry and Electroplating department, are working together on the development of a new technology for the realization of a highly integrated 3D wiring carrier based on ceramics.
Professor Matthias Hein, head of the High Frequency and Microwave Technology department, is responsible for the design of the circuit for the fast control of the photonic elements. Professor Matthias Hein, head of the Department of High Frequency and Microwave Technology, is responsible for designing the circuit for fast control of the photonic elements. At the Abbe Center of Photonics at the University of Jena, Dr. Falk Eilenberger and Dr. Reinhard Geiß are developing the platform and interfaces for the scalable photonic circuit.

A wide range of sectors in industry, business, and society will benefit from the new components: electronics manufacturers who develop hardware for technology applications and can adapt it to new applications, as well as manufacturers of end products and startups who can use the new technologies to manufacture innovative products and design highly integrated, sustainable systems.

Project duration: January 1, 2026 - August 31, 2028
Funding code: 2025 FGR 0044
Project manager: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Müller
Research assistant: M. Sc. Norayr Nessimian

“Funded by the Free State of Thuringia with funds from the European Social Fund Plus.”

Ceramic multilayer support materials for ultra-high frequency components of superconducting quantum systems (KeraMiQ)

Sub-project: LTCC multilayer interposer for cryo-electronics

In the dynamic growth field of quantum technologies, superconducting circuits are predestined for the realization of large-scale quantum systems. As the susceptibility to noise and external influences increases significantly with the scaling of these quantum systems, the engineering underpinning of quantum technologies is the decisive factor in transferring them to application. High-frequency packaging in particular represents a major challenge for superconducting quantum systems.

This is where this project proposal comes in: ceramic multilayer circuit carriers are state-of-the-art for the realization of microwave circuits and components, but have only been tested in the temperature range from -40°C to 300°C. The project investigates the properties of these materials at temperatures down to the mK range and, based on the findings, realizes a microwave integration platform for future scaling of superconducting quantum systems.

Research is being conducted into the extent to which microwave components can be implemented: passive components, amplifiers, connectors, cables with matching circuits and low crosstalk, interposers for signal fanning as well as cavities and housings, e.g. to protect quantum sensors or quantum bits in QPUs from external influences.
Concepts for the analysis and characterization of ceramic multilayer circuits at low temperatures are being developed.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Heike Bartsch, M. Sc. Sesha Gopal Selvakumar

Project duration: 01.08.2024 - 31.07.2027

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

Project partner: IMST GmbH Kamp-Lintfort, supracon AG Jena, Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology e.V. Jena

Memristive materials for neuromorphic electronics (MemWerk)

TU Ilmenau, Heike Bartsch

LTCC wafers with vertical contacts (vias) and a surface suitable for lithography

The aim of the MemWerk (Memristive Materials for Neuromorphic Electronics) project is to develop new functional memristic materials for energy-efficient neuromorphic electronics, i.e. electronic systems whose principle is based on paradigms of biological information processing.

Memristive materials have a memory effect and can change their electronic properties (electrical resistance) by external signals (e.g. electrical current or voltage, gases, light, temperature, etc.). Consequently, these materials enable the creation of devices whose functions are in many respects similar to those of synapses in neural networks. They thus form the central plastic building block in artificial neural networks (ANNs).

The development focus of the subproject is on system integration. Connection and contact concepts are developed and tested that electrically address a larger field or cluster of memristive components without recourse to intersection structures.

The following concepts will be considered in the implementation of this task:

a) Construction of flip-chip memristive matrices on a multilayer LTCC substrate.

b) Direct integration of memristors on a suitable pre-assembled substrate with already implemented wiring. This approach uses low-temperature single-fired ceramic substrates (LTCC) with adapted expansion coefficients. The technology enabled the wiring of up to 100 layers. The smoothing of the sintered LTCC surface is a main focus of development. Polishing processes on different surfaces are used for smoothing.

Subproject manager: Jens Müller

Funding: Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung

Term: 04/2020 - 03/2026

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Heike Bartsch

Link: https://memwerk.de/

µRase - MEMS space sensing radar sensor technology

Space sensing sensor technology plays a crucial role in the design and implementation of autonomous systems. Advanced sensor technology enables autonomous systems to detect other objects, assign velocities and distances, and provide reaction recommendations to the systems' control unit in case of danger to themselves or neighboring objects. The combination of THz radar system, innovative assembly, interconnection and MEMS technology, and silicon-ceramic composite technology can overcome previous limitations.
The goal of the project is to combine and establish individual technology modules of the project partners into a superior radar module with high cost efficiency and high imaging resolution. This project will be realized by combining modular subsystems:

pivoting MEMS structures for THz antennas on SiCer substrates
radar concepts and signal processing
design and construction of ultra-high frequency systems

Contact person: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Müller

Scientific assistant: Dr. Nesrine Jaziri

Project duration: 01/2023 - 03/2026

Sponsor: BMBF

Project partners: Fraunhofer FHR, Ruhr University Bochum, Technical University Berlin

Reactive microjoining and packaging – mechanical, thermal and electrical functionalities (Part II)

TU Ilmenau, FG Elektroniktechnologie

Al/Ni reactive nultilayer systems in LTCC substrate with embedded Pt temperature sensor, (a) before the reaction, (b) after the reaction.

Reactive multilayer systems (RMS) are new developed die attaching methods, allowing the creation of fast, hermetic and homogenous joining between the circuit carrier and the components. This project work focuses on the development of adhesion mechanisms for RMS-bonding of thermally low-conductive substrates such as glass-ceramics. A model is to be developed to describe the mutual relationships between boundary conditions (thermal conductivity, roughness, layer thicknesses, etc.) and process parameters (reaction rate and temperature) and their effect on the joint adhesion. On the experimental side, this is accompanied by the development of a novel in-situ test substrate, which should allow direct temperature measurement during the reaction at the joint using thermocouples instead of embedded and isolated thermistors. In addition, the second phase targets structured, localized RMS bonding for functional characterization.

Project leader: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Müller

Contact person: Dr.-Ing. Nesrine Jaziri

Project duration: from 01/2024 - 12/2026

Funding: DFG

Partners: Saarland University, Department of Systems Engineering, Chair of Microintegration and Reliability

Other completed projects

2D and 3D material morphologies for reactive microjoining in electronics (3DWeMo)

i-FPS Kompakte, performante und hoch-integrierte Faint Pulse Source bei 850 nm; Teilvorhaben: E/O-Hardware-Plattform für Faint Pulse Source

Quanten HUB Thuringia

Silicon-ceramic hybrid substrate as integration platform for photoacoustic and optical applications (PaSiC)

E-PhoQuant research group

Reactive micro-joining and packaging - mechanical, thermal and electrical functionalities

VEDIAS - digital, internationally oriented study programmes with social virtual reality application (VEDIAS-VR)