"Microelectronics is no longer just about chips and wafers; it is the nervous system of our modern society," Kutter stated. "From the transition to renewable energy to the automation of our industries and the safety of our vehicles, nothing moves without semiconductor technology. Our task at Fraunhofer is to ensure that Europe not only participates in this evolution but leads it."
Kutter concluded by highlighting the hidden weapon: (measurement science). Fraunhofer IIS/EAS is developing ultra-fast X-ray tomography for inline inspection of 1000-layer packages.
Deploying smart sensor solutions to adjust building temperatures based on real-time occupancy, drastically reducing unnecessary energy waste. 3. Innovation in Flexible and Hybrid Electronics "Microelectronics is no longer just about chips and
Prof. Kutter opened by acknowledging the €43 billion EU Chips Act as a necessary tourniquet, but warned that it fails to address the "mid-end gap."
Prof. Kutter, who also serves as the Managing Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB, opened the briefing by reframing the narrative around microelectronics. Innovation in Flexible and Hybrid Electronics Prof
"You cannot inspect what you cannot measure. If we control the standards of measurement for chiplet interfaces, we control the standards of the industry."
Using sensors to record exact yields in fields to optimize fertilizer use and prevent nitrate pollution in rivers. Dr. Christoph Kutter
Against the trend of gigafabs costing $20B, Kutter advocates for .
With the explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), energy demand is skyrocketing. Kutter stressed that Fraunhofer is prioritizing "Green Microelectronics." He noted, "We are developing technologies that compute more with less. Whether it is through new transistor structures, specialized AI accelerators, or energy-harvesting sensors, sustainability is a core driver of our research."
Prof. Dr. Christoph Kutter, Chair of the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics (FMD)—Europe’s largest research alliance for applied micro- and nanoelectronics—has issued a stark recalibration of the continent’s semiconductor strategy. Moving beyond the anxiety of chip shortages, Kutter’s latest briefing focuses on a structural reality: