APECS: Europe’s Bridge to Chip Sovereignty

Why Europe needs APECS

Strengthening Europe’s innovative strength and edge in semiconductor development over the long term and safeguarding its technological resilience and global competitiveness requires the necessary research and manufacturing capacity to be built and established that will ensure a strong and independent chip industry – both now and looking to the future.

Many future applications also require complex modules in which high-speed logic, wireless technologies, optics, sensors, power electronics or MEMS work together in the smallest of spaces. It is generally no longer an efficient option to implement this on one chip, making sophisticated chip concepts and chiplet innovations a necessity.

Until now, industrial companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as start-ups have not had straightforward access to cutting-edge technologies, especially in relation to heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging, which make key innovations in the European microelectronics sector possible.

From a technological perspective, APECS is focusing on exactly this aspect and addressing these gaps.

Fraunhofer ENAS – a partner in the pilot line

Fraunhofer ENAS is part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and is involved in APECS as it is one of the research institutes cooperating in FMD. The institute is contributing its expertise in wafer and chip integration, interposer and chiplet technologies including flexible interposers, and the production of compatible contacting materials (such as electrochemically deposited aluminum) and linking them with new fields such as neuromorphic computing and quantum technologies. As an APECS partner, Fraunhofer ENAS is helping to design the core building blocks of the pilot line and is heavily involved in STCO design, developing chiplet integration processes and setting up test structures.

Complex integration and packaging technologies for industry, SMEs and start-ups

The APECS pilot line is making complex technologies accessible to industrial companies, SMEs and start-ups. As an open platform, it is creating the ideal foundations for companies to guide their technological innovations to market maturity and scale them to industrial level at a faster rate.

Companies can join at various points, such as during the STCO design, technology development and integration, or during testing and reliability services.

If you would like to find out more or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.