Fraunhofer ENAS and equipment manufacturer ELES announce cooperation: Strategic partnership boosts new center of expertise for semiconductor testing

The “Test and Reliability Center” (TRC) being built in the heart of Chemnitz, Germany, represents a research and development facility unique in Europe for testing and assessing the reliability of semiconductor components. Italian technology company ELES S.P.A., a leading provider of reliability testing equipment, has become a major initial working partner to the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS during the center’s development phase. ELES S.P.A. will supply a state-of-the-art system for assessing electrical reliability, thereby creating ideal infrastructure conditions for the work of the TRC in helping the semiconductor industry to meet the highest quality standards in the future. The partnership will also jointly develop innovative automated testing methods for the chip industry.

© ELES S.P.A.
Antonio Zaffarami (President of ELES S.P.A.) and Prof. Dr. Harald Kuhn (Director of Fraunhofer ENAS)

Ensuring high levels of quality in manufacturing semiconductors is essential for many of today’s electronic products and systems to function properly. The TRC will mean semiconductor manufacturers in Germany and Europe acquire a strong partner for testing and assessing the reliability of highly stable semiconductor products. The center of expertise will combine research and development at the Chemnitz site, and support chip manufacturers in meeting their quality standards.

The Italian test equipment manufacturer ELES S.P.A. is expanding the TRC’s infrastructure, which is currently in development, with its “burn-in test system”. The new facility will mean electronic systems including processors (CPUs), electronic memory, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and sensor technologies can be tested for functionality, stability and quality. By exposing components and assemblies to extreme temperature fluctuations under operational conditions – meaning while powered – and so artificially simulating accelerated aging processes, defects can be identified and potential early failures revealed. TRC customers, such as small and medium-sized companies in the semiconductor industry, will in future be able to benefit from this experimental testing service from the TRC.

 

Strategic partner: High quality and reliability from the outset

Fraunhofer ENAS and ELES S.P.A. are also looking to work even more closely together in the area of ​​quality assurance for semiconductor components and assemblies, and pool their testing know-how. Together, they will combine error detection with machine learning techniques.

“We are delighted that here at the TRC, we have been able to join with ELES S.P.A., a partner with proven expertise and more than three decades of experience in the field of electrical reliability testing. In the future, the use of artificial intelligence will make it possible to identify patterns in large volumes of test data. This means it will be possible to identify errors and sources of error in semiconductor products and make predictions about potential failures. This will allow us to offer TRC customers a full range of services in the area of ​​testing for the next generation of chips,” explains the initiator of the TRC and Director of Fraunhofer ENAS, Prof. Dr. Harald Kuhn.

Francesca Zaffarami, Managing Director of ELES S.P.A., envisions great added value for chip manufacturers from the partnership with Fraunhofer ENAS: “Our new test methods for error analysis and eliminating sources of error through continuous learning from test results, also known as the ´learn-from-failure´ principle, will enable us to identify potential failures not only much faster and better, but above all, automatically and early in the product design and development process. Subsequent design corrections ensure that only error-free and extremely long-lasting semiconductor innovations are scaled. This improves manufacturing efficiency, reduces design and test costs, speeds up time to market and prevents later failures in use.”

 

Development stage begins: New center of expertise in Saxony

The TRC, which is currently in development, brings together the expertise of several well-known players in the field of testing and reliability assessment of semiconductor components, and will be a major step forward in quality assurance for semiconductor chips in Germany and Europe. Services offered include testing in the field of power electronics, photonics, quantum and sensor technologies, and research facilities for innovative test methods. Besides enhancing the economic appeal of Saxony as a location, the new center will boost European independence in semiconductor manufacture. Furthermore, training specialists and young talent for the highly dynamic semiconductor sector will ensure the region’s innovative and competitive appeal.

 

About Fraunhofer ENAS

The particular strength of the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS lies in the development of smart systems for various applications. These systems combine electronic components, micro and nano sensors, and actuators with interfaces for communication. Fraunhofer ENAS develops individual components and the technologies to produce them, along with system concepts and system integration technologies, and then translates them to real-world use. The institute works on customer projects from the idea and draft stage, through technology development or implementation using existing technologies and beyond, to the tested prototype phase. 

 

About ELES S.P.A.

Technology firm ELES S.P.A., based in Todi (Italy), designs and manufactures equipment for testing the performance and reliability of semiconductor materials and offers a variety of testing services to the semiconductor industry. The company’s range of services is rounded off by specific solutions for the design, qualification and manufacture of memory, systems-on-chips (SoC), advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for applications in the automotive, aerospace and communications sectors, as well as the Internet of Things (IoT). www.eles.com

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