Imec (Leuven, Belgium), a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, presents the successful integration of a pinned photodiode structure in thin-film image sensors. With the addition of a pinned-photogate and a transfer gate, the superior absorption qualities of thin-film imagers – beyond one µm wavelength – can finally be exploited, unlocking the potential of sensing light beyond the visible in a cost-efficient way.
The processing of ultra-thin glass requires specialised handling to avoid glass breakage during production. Until now, this has been a major obstacle for the entry of this innovative material into new applications. Therefore, a unique process chain for ultra-thin glass processing has been implemented at Fraunhofer FEP (Dresden, Germany): starting with adapted cleaning processes up to the final inspection. The results have been funded within the project CUSTOM (grant no. AiF 21708 BR) by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection BMWK and the project Glass4Flex (grant no. 13N14615) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF.
New technologies such as augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing are rapidly opening up opportunities for entirely new business models and the future of work in industry. However, internet-based services also bring additional challenges in terms of data security and user acceptance. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding various interdisciplinary projects. At the closing conference, the joint project "secureAR" won the Technology Award with its open, cloud-based service platform and a new AR assistance system equipped with OLED microdisplays from Fraunhofer FEP (Dresden, Germany).
