On Thursday, July 15, 2021, the new CiS Analytics Competence Center was opened by Minister of Economics Wolfgang Tiefensee at a ceremony at the CiS Research Institute in Erfurt. “As a business-oriented research institution in the field of microelectronics and sensor technology, the CiS Research Institute has an important hinge function between science and marketable applications,” said Tiefensee. “With the new competence center, the CiS Research Institute can significantly expand its range of services in materials and solid-state analysis with immediate effect.”
The centerpiece of the competence center is a high-resolution 3-dimensional secondary ion mass spectrometry system (SIMS Analysis Cluster), which can be considered the most advanced of its kind within a radius of several hundred kilometers. The SIMS can be used to measure and analyze 3-dimensional elemental distributions, primarily in the trace and ultra-trace range. The new competence center thus offers a unique combination of the latest technology and highly qualified personnel. In the future, both research institutions and industrial customers will be able to access the extensive services of the CiS Analytics Competence Center in order to further expand and consolidate their competitive position in innovative material and product developments.
The modern equipment offers the possibility to perform complex metrological investigations and special material and surface analyses. In addition to the classical semiconductor industry, other industries can also benefit from the CiS Analytical Competence Center (CAK), including the analysis of metallic materials, investigations in battery research as well as inorganic and biomedical surface coatings, or technical glasses in the optical industry.
The high-resolution 3-dimensional secondary ion mass spectrometry system (SIMS Analysis Clusters) ideally complements the existing portfolio of investigation methods such as scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It allows to obtain precise information about qualitative and quantitative composition of near-surface layers and depth profiles.
The Thuringian Ministry of Economics supported the acquisition of the new instrument with around 2 million euros from ERDF and state funds as part of the “WiNaFo-Invest” funding program.
The importance of the new competence center was underscored in further welcoming speeches by business representatives: Hans-Jürgen Straub, Chairman of FIZ e.V. considers the new competence center to be a further locational advantage for the industrial area in Erfurt’s southeast. Jörg Doblaski, CTO of X-FAB Semiconductor Foundries GmbH, emphasized that this competence analytics center now offers excellent conditions for optimizing product and process quality in semiconductor manufacturing. Representing Thuringia’s small and medium-sized enterprises, Dr. Knut Baumgärtel, Managing Director of Micro-Hybrid Electronic GmbH, made it clear that many medium-sized Thuringian companies with limited development capacities can link research and development with analysis services at the CiS Research Institute for Microsensorics, for example for design and material adaptations in sensor technology.
