Microsystems Technology

Microsystems technology plays an increasingly important role for growth and employment in Germany. 680,000 jobs are directly linked to microsystems technology - with an upwards trend. Developments in microsystems technology must be rapidly translated into products and marketed so that German industry can maintain and enhance its leading position in international competition. The BMBF provides at total of about €260 million under its Microsystems framework programme from 2004 to 2009.

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The characteristics of microsystems technology are in its name: Because of their small size, microsystems save space and weight. This is used, for example, in the automotive industry where a large number of technical functions must also be accommodated in little space available in small cars. Due to their small size, microsystems are mobile and flexible and can therefore be used, for example, in environmental technology for the analysis of water samples. In addition, microsystems are energy-conserving, resource-conserving and have low production costs.

All microsystems have in common that different functions, materials, components and technologies are interlinked in one system. Microsystems technology is bringing together such different basic technologies as mechanics, optics, fluidics, polymer electronics or new materials. Furthermore, microsystems technology provides the interfaces which are needed to integrate in the products innovative developments in new fields of technology such as biotechnology or nanotechnology. Most new developments in nanotechnology could not be used without microsystems technology. Nanotechnology, which operates in minute structures, only becomes tangible through microsystems technology interfaces and can thus be used in different products.

Microsystems technology is becoming increasingly important for German industry. A growing number of companies - mainly SMEs - use it for the development of new or the improvement of existing products and processes. There are already countless devices and applications in which microsystems play a central role. Although microsystems are almost invisible and go largely unnoticed , they fulfil important tasks, for example in communications technology, mechanical and plant engineering, environmental technology, in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, in energy technology, logistics, domestic and facility technology, automotive construction and medical technology.
In 2000, German industry achieved a turnover of €4.2 billion with MST components and complete microsystems. The economic impact of microsystems technology is up to sixty times above the so-called leverage effect as soon as it reaches the stage of application, because many products cannot be sold without MST components. It is currently hardly possible to satisfy the demand for skilled labour which is caused by the dynamic development of MST: 84 percent of MST higher education graduates find a position within three months of graduating (compared to 52 percent of all engineers).

Funding

The Microsystems framework programme provides targeted funding for areas in which a leverage effect can be achieved in terms of growth and employment and in which German research and industry can be strengthened in international competition. The concept is very open and flexible regarding its thematic priorities and is to live up to the dynamic developments in technology and industry.

Due to its integrating character, microsystems technology requires a high degree of interdisciplinary cooperation. Funding is therefore focused on collaborative projects which provide a framework for tapping the scientific potential of R&D institutions and establishing networks between companies.

Besides project funding under the Microsystems framework programme, measures to support innovations are used for a targeted reduction of existing innovation barriers. They are to create transparency in the concepts, processes and results of funding, take account of the international integration of German microsystems technology, anchor the topic of initial and continuing vocational training and initiate and promote the dialogue with research and industry.

Areas of innovation

The BMBF funds microsystems technology in four areas of innovation which are important in terms of industrial and social policy:

Life Sciences

The area of life sciences deals with preventive healthcare/wellness, diagnosis and individualized therapies of diseases as well as with microsurgery and intelligent implants. Health and fitness can be controlled with monitoring systems. Biochips, which can be used anywhere, supply diagnostic results rapidly and make costly lab analyses unnecessary. This is also of great importance for the monitoring of food production and processing.

Industrial production

The investments goods industry increasingly profits from process innovations by MST. Microprocess technology makes a "new chemistry" possible. Technical, dynamic three-dimensional viewing creates new perspectives in the area of automation and robotics. New production and integration processes enable compact, hybrid systems. The mechanical and plant engineering industry, which is important for Germany, needs innovation impetus, which MST can provide.

Mobility

Microsystems technology makes technology, flows of goods and people mobile. The miniaturized energy supply with micro fuel cells makes technical systems independent of grids and thus mobile. The "Internet of Things" (envisaged initially for the area of logistics) becomes feasible with systems with self-sufficient energy supply and low-cost RFID labels. Assistance systems for car drivers increase safety on roads.

System Integration

System integration includes MST technologies for the integration of components into an intelligent overall system, for example in order to link the nano- with the microworld and the micro- with the macro-world. Important topics include construction and connection technology, micro-nano-integration, reliability checks, measuring and testing technologies as well as simulation and design questions.

The following ten priority topics have been identified so far:

• Microprocess technology: Microprocess technology is one of the technologies of the future. Development and production with reactors, mixers and heat exchangers with structure sizes between a few micrometers and a few millimetres are becoming increasingly important for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry as well as for biotechnology and nanotechnology. The BMBF funds industrially led collaborative projects which aim at a targeted transfer from microprocess technology to industrial production.
• Measuring and testing technology: Measuring and testing technology is of great importance for the competitive production of microsystems. It is important that components are of first-class quality. Applicants are threatened with a bottleneck in industrial production because the concepts known from microelectronics, precision mechanics and material analysis can only be applied to microsystems technology to a limited extent. The BMBF supports industrially led collaborative projects for the development of innovative solutions for microsystems.
• Computer-aided tools for the design and simulation of microsystems technology: The development of efficient microsystems technology products is a complex process because many different microtechnologies and physical principles must be aligned. Computer-aided development tools and methods are an indispensable precondition. The BMBF supports small and medium-sized enterprises when they introduce such tools for the first time in order to strengthen their competitiveness.
• Smart label applications in logistics: Smart labels provide the core branches of German industry, i.e. trade, consumer goods industry, automotive industry and electronic industry, with new paths for optimizing logistic processes. The BMBF helps industry to overcome currently visible technological bottlenecks in order to create the technological conditions for a broad use of smart labels and to strengthen the competitiveness of German industry in this segment.
• Driver assistance systems: Driver assistance systems increase safety on roads and contribute to reducing the number of accidents and their impact. They continue to work reliably when the driver's performance slackens. The BMBF supports the further development of sensor and actor technology in order to increase the performance and attractiveness of driver assistance systems. Good opportunities will open up first and foremost for SME suppliers.
• Preventive micro-medicine: Cardio-vascular diseases are the most common disease in Germany. An efficient treatment requires early diagnosis and continuous monitoring of the patients. The BMBF supports the development of monitoring systems for prevention and diagnostic monitoring of cardio-vascular patients. These systems enable, for example, 24/7 monitoring of blood pressure, pulse, heart rhythm or breathing without patients having to spend time in hospital.
• Integrated microsystems for biotechnological applications (bioMST): Microsystems technology can facilitate the diagnosis of diseases and infections and speed up the development of medical drugs. With microsystems technology, very small amounts of viruses or infected cells are sufficient to diagnose diseases. The BMBF supports the development of integrated microsystems for biotechnological applications.
• Micro-fuel cells: In the foreseeable future, micro-fuel cells operated with hydrogen or methanol are to replace traditional energy supply systems, such as lithium ion accumulators, in many portable electronic devices. Interaction between the key technologies, i.e. materials sciences, microsystems technology and production processes, are necessary to achieve maturity of promising approaches. The BMBF supports the development of the Micro-Fuel Cell lead innovation under the framework programmes "Materials innovations for industry and society", "Microsystems" and "Research for the production of tomorrow".
• Intelligent technical textiles: Interaction between cutting-edge technologies of microsystems and textile technology provides enormous opportunities for the SME-based German textile industry. Today, German companies already hold an international top position in the area of technical textiles. These companies depend on the continuous development of new, innovative products in order to maintain and further enhance their technological lead. Healthcare and security are promising fields of application. The BMBF supports the development of novel microsystem technology solutions.
• Microsystems with self-sufficient energy supply: Microsystems with self-sufficient energy supply are self-sufficient, mobile and easily retrofittable microsystems which draw from their environment the wireless energy which they need for operation and data and information exchange. Promising applications are emerging in the areas of intelligent textiles, medicine, the automotive industry, aerospace, domestic technology, measuring technology, information technology, production and logistics. However, some basic questions must be answered before the industrial production of microsystems with self-sufficient energy supply can begin. The BMBF supports the development of novel concepts for the energy conversion principles to be used, energy management, the miniaturization and system integration of the individual components, as well as production.

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