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idw - Informationsdienst
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Many innovative European companies working on edge AI technologies have, until now, been dependent on international supply chains. To reduce this dependence, research organizations from four EU countries – including Fraunhofer – are setting up a European pilot line for next-generation edge AI technologies.
Edge AI applications process data where it is generated. This offers advantages in terms of the security and speed of AI systems, and it is increasingly being used in areas such as robotics, autonomous driving, and medical technology. Edge AI enables real-time decision-making with very low latency. Access to these advanced semiconductor technologies can be challenging for innovative European companies because they often rely on suppliers from Asia and the US due to a lack of in-house manufacturing capacity.
To enable research institutions, universities, start-ups, and SMEs to develop next-generation edge AI systems in the future, the PREVAIL consortium has spent the past two years establishing a pilot line for producing this technology in Europe. The four participating research institutions aim to facilitate access to these future technologies and ensure Europe's technological sovereignty.
𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
The research and technology organizations (RTOs) involved in the PREVAIL project – CEA-Leti (France), Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Germany), imec (Belgium), and VTT (Finland) – complement each other in their areas of focus. As a result, the project strengthens scientific cooperation at the European level and can cover the entire spectrum of technologies relevant to edge AI.
These include the areas of “embedded non-volatile memories,” “3D integration,” and “silicon photonics and connectivity.” As part of the PREVAIL project, an early-stage technology demonstrator is being developed for each topic. The project partners are collaborating to contribute their expertise. Each demonstrator is being developed jointly by at least two RTOs.
As an example of the topic area “3D integration,” the aim is to show how various mix-pitch connection technologies can be implemented on an advanced silicon interposer substrate. In addition to CEA-Leti and imec, Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID and Fraunhofer EMFT are contributing on this demonstrator.
Four Fraunhofer institutes from the Fraunhofer Microelectronics Group and the Research Factory Microelectronics Germany (FMD) are involved in the PREVAIL project:
• 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐙𝐌-𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐃 – 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐞𝐧, a leader in 300 mm technologies in the field of advanced packaging and 3D wafer-level system integration, contributes to the field of 3D integration.
• The 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 (𝐂𝐍𝐓) 𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐏𝐌𝐒 is contributing its 300 mm CMOS-compatible nanoelectronic technologies based on ferroelectric materials for embedded non-volatile memory, among other things.
• 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐌𝐅𝐓 will contribute chip-to-film integration and physical analysis for Trust.
• 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐈𝐒 will contribute to the design, measurement, and testing of integrated CMOS circuits, drawing on its many years of experience with advanced semiconductor technologies down to structure sizes of 22 nm.
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦-𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬
To implement these cutting-edge technologies, Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID procured six new systems, which are now being integrated into the existing 200/300 mm process line for 2.5D/3D system integration. Participating countries and the European Commission provided a total of €155.99 million in funding to establish the “Multi-hub Test and Experimentation Facility (TEF) for edge AI hardware.” More than 80 percent of this was invested in new equipment.
This infrastructure is therefore particularly available to external partners and companies interested in edge AI technologies. The broad-based PREVAIL consortium is capable of handling a wide range of potential development projects. The pilot line covers everything from design development, prototyping, and small-batch hardware production to validation and analysis.
Interested parties can obtain more information directly from the participating RTOs at 𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐚 in Munich from November 18 to 21, or visit the website https://prevail-project.eu/. 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐙𝐌-𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐃 will be represented at the 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐱𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝟏, 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝟏𝟐𝟐𝟏-𝟐.
(Text: Steffen Schindler)
Funding code:
Co-funded by the European Union in the call “DIGITAL-2021-CLOUD-AI-01” (Grant Agreement No. 101083307) and in Germany by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Reference 16ME0834).
Dr. Frank Windrich l Telefon +49 351 795572-49 l frank.windrich@assid.izm.fraunhofer.de I Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM l Dresden Branch of the institute „All Silicon System Integration Dresden – ASSID“ I Ringstraße 12 | 01468 Dresden-Moritzburg l Germany | www.izm.fraunhofer.de
https://www.izm.fraunhofer.de/en/news_events/tech_news/prevail.html
Funding from the PREVAIL project enabled Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID to purchase six new machines that will ...
Source: Silvia Wolf
Copyright: Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID
Funding from the PREVAIL project enabled Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID to purchase six new machines that will ...
Source: Silvia Wolf
Copyright: Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID
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