IWE1 – Institute of Materials in Electrical Engineering 1
The institute’s activities are focused on the development of micro- and nanosystems for biomedicine and life sciences as well as for environmental sensing and industry 4.0 applications. There is a strong aspect of developing and using silicon, 2D materials, heterostructures, composite materials and conductive polymers as thin films and as nanostructured, optoelectronic active elements in micro- and nanosystems. The team also focusses on fundamental science aspects with particular emphasize to material combinations in novel sensors.
Main activities lie on coupling of biological systems such as living cells, cellular compartments like membranes, proteins, antibodies and DNA to technical systems, development of “intelligent” implants and prostheses and microfluidic systems for biotechnology and biomedical diagnostics. For these applications inductive and telemetric readout principles are used. The institute has a strong focus on biosensor development and applications for various aspects and has established collaborations with many national and international partners. For the development of micro- and nanosystems, thin film technologies, silicon micromechanics, micro electroplating, nanoimprint lithography as well as advanced packaging technologies are used in a clean room area of about 1000 m2. This infrastructure is complemented with interdisciplinary technology laboratories of about 400 m2 including electronic and biosensor laboratories and an S1 cell culture laboratory for electrophysiology and cell-sensor coupling experiments.
IWE2 – Institute of Materials in Electrical Engineering 2
The Institute of Materials in Electrical Engineering 2 (IWE 2) at RWTH Aachen University has a close collaboration with the Institute of Electronic Materials (PGI-7) of the Peter Grünberg Institute at Forsungszentrum Jülich. Together they form the Electronic Materials Research Lab (EMRL). Both EMRL sites are operated under the co-directorship of Prof. Dr. Rainer Waser, and have been founding members of the section Fundamentals of Future Information Technology of the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA-FIT).
CST – Teaching and Research Group Compound Semiconductor Technology
The research group Compound Semiconductor Technology (CST) performs fundamental and application-oriented research on the deposition and characterization of compound and organic semiconductor materials and their electronic and optoelectronic devices. The research goals lie in the development of energy-efficient devices for power electronics, diplays, solid state lighting and organic photovoltaics.
IHT – Institute of Semiconductor Electronics
The Institute of Semiconductor Electronicsresearch (IHT) carries out research in the areas of quantum technology, nanoelectronics devices, nano-electromechanical systems as well as neuromorphic hardware.
PGS – Institute for Power Generation and Storage Systems
ISEA – Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives
The Institute for Power Generation and Storage Systems (PGS), together with the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA), researches, develops and characterizes power semiconductor devices for high-power applications. Using multi-physics semiconductor device simulation tools, the switching and conduction behavior of silicon and SiC power devices, e.g. gate-commutated thyristors (GCTs) or insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), are analyzed and optimized for specific applications, such as high-power DC converters, battery chargers and converters for electric propulsion systems. With the infrastructure at CMNT, prototypes of modern GCT power semiconductors can be manufactured and subsequently packaged and tested. The institute also offers laboratory sessions for students to gain experience in the manufacturing processes of power semiconductors and their performance in power converters.
IPH – Institute of Integrated Photonics
Steady progress during half a century of development in silicon integrated circuits has resulted in fabrication techniques that allow the large scale fabrication of billions of transistors in a single chip and their miniaturization to deep submicron dimensions. The realization of photonic components and systems in Silicon allows leveraging these extraordinary fabrication capabilities to realize complex integrated optical systems at the chip scale.
The Institute of Integrated Photonics (IPH) works on the development of silicon photonics devices and systems with activities ranging from core device development to system integration, with applications in communications, biosensing and instrumentation.
QuTech – Quantum Technology Group
Quantum computing is expected to enable an exponential speedup for certain problems. The quantum technology group studies the physics governing quantum bits in semiconductors and pursues their technological development.