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Graphene layers promise great progress and increased efficiency in solar applications, energy storage and smart glass applications due to their outstanding properties, including transparency, barrier effect and conductivity. The lack of scalable deposition processes with consistently high layer quality at cost-efficient throughputs has so far prevented the breakthrough of this promising material. As part of the funded EU project NewSkin (GA No. 862100), the Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP has developed an innovative PECVD process that enables the deposition of graphene at high process speeds and offers higher production throughputs and a wider range of substrates at lower process temperatures. The researchers will present the process at Manufacturing World Tokyo from June 19 - 21, 2024 at booth No. E 53-11 in Tokyo, Japan.

On the evening of June 14, 2024 Dresden will once again be a hive of activity and many young as well as old night owls will be able to experience science and research interactively at Dresden's universities, research institutions and scientific companies and laboratories. In keeping with the motto of this year's 21st Dresden Science Night – United By Science – the Fraunhofer Institutes FEP, IFAM, IKTS and IWS will once again be jointly opening the doors to the Fraunhofer Campus at Winterbergstrasse 28.

Working together to expedite technological innovations in the fields of battery cell and semiconductor technology: That is the aim of a comprehensive international collaboration program funded by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, with eight of its institutes, is their partner in Germany. On Wednesday, the collaboration was sealed with a letter of agreement and the opening of a coordination hub

The Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP expands its campus with the RESource-Efficient Energy Technologies (RESET) research center in Dresden. With state-of-the-art laboratory facilities for sputter epitaxy, biomedical applications and electron beam technologies, the institute aims to set new standards in research. The strategic research focus for activities in the building are the development of innovative process technologies, for example for the generation, storage and processing of hydrogen (power-to-X) and for the deposition of high-precision gallium nitride (GaN) layers on silicon wafers. The opening was attended by high-ranking guests from industry and politics.

With effect from April 17, 2024, the Fraunhofer FEP bears the long name Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP.

The Microdisplays and Sensors business unit at the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP will be integrated into the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS with retroactive effect from January 1, 2024. Both institutes are closely connected, particularly within this business unit, and share infrastructure at the Dresden site. By pooling expertise and streamlining structures, we anticipate the creation of synergies that will strengthen the research field, expedite development and thus benefit customers and partners.

High-resolution light modulators determine the graphical experience in virtual reality (VR) glasses or the performance in optical communication. A new backplane architecture for light modulation has been developed at Fraunhofer FEP, thanks to which extremely high refresh rates now lead to improved image quality and optical modulation. The new backplane architecture and the high-resolution displays developed for it will be presented from 30 January to 1 February 2024 in San Francisco, USA, at Photonics West 2024, booth no. 4136 and at SPIE AR/VR/MR, booth no. 6200.

Conservation of resources and reliable yields are just as essential in plant cultivation as in other branches of agriculture. In order to optimize fertilization processes in ornamental plant cultivation in the future and thus protect the environment, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP together with the Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) have been researching a technology for the early detection of nutrient deficiencies or surpluses in ornamental plants in the ZierSens project (financed by funds from the Free State of Saxony). The use of bidirectional OLED microdisplays in combination with neural networks should make it possible to optimize fertilization processes in the future. Initial results will be presented at the W3+ Fair in Jena from November 29 - 30, 2023, at booth no. C12.

Optical sensors for determining oxygen concentration can be used in the biomedical, pharmaceutical or even food industries and for monitoring conditions in water or bioreactors. Depending on the application, parameters such as the size of the overall system of control and readout unit and price play a decisive role in the selection of the sensor solution. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, the processing of miniaturized phosphorescence sensors based on OLED-on-silicon technology and with the smallest chip area was developed further. The resulting universal gas sensor platform with improved thin-film encapsulation will be presented at IEEE Sensors 2023 in Vienna, Austria, from October 29 to November 1, 2023.