Page 24 - Spring Summer 2026

Industry News
FRAUNHOFER IPMS
DEVELOPS HIGH-DENSITY
CHIPLET AT WAFER LEVEL
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic
Microsystems have developed a technique that
allows different chip components to be to be fused
almost seamlessly into a single unit. By precisely
embedding small chiplets into specially structured
silicon pockets the team successfully combined
the advantages of a compact single chip with the
flexibility of modular systems for the first time.
This achievement demonstrates the feasibility of
quasi-monolithic integration and bridges the gap
between traditional chip packaging and cutting-
edge semiconductor manufacturing. The aim is to
integrate various chip components, such as control
electronics, sensors and micromechanical systems
(MEMS) at the wafer level, whilst at the same time
retaining the benefits of a compact single chip.
Advantages are realised over conventional packaging
processes due to the way chiplets are arranged on
an active or passive wafer substrate with a shared
interconnect stack. Since the interconnects are
formed in the front-end-of-line process, much higher
connection densities can be achieved than with
traditional methods.
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Quasi-monolithic integration is envisaged to be ideal
for applications such as highly integrated system-on-
chip solutions for artificial intelligence systems and
high-bandwidth smart transceivers.
Dr. Lukas Lorenz, Group Leader at Fraunhofer IPMS,
states:
“ The basis of QMI is silicon wafers with structural
recesses, or pockets. For the first time, dummy
chiplets have been inserted into these pocket
wafers and the surface has been levelled with a
passivation layer in preparation for subsequent
back-end-of-line wiring. This creates a nearly
monolithic system architecture that combines the
highest integration density with modular scalability.
Although the current demonstrator is based on
dummy structures, the process chain can be
transferred to real-world customer applications.
This enables a scalable integration architecture for
future heterogeneous system solutions. “
Reference: ‘The Future of Chip Integration: Fraunhofer IPMS develops
High-density Chiplet Systems at the Wafer Level’, Commercial Micro
Manufacturing International, 19th. May
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Industry News
MED-TECH UPDATE
New implantable Device to improve Outcomes for expected, reliably producing singlet oxygen on demand
Bladder Cancer and confirming the potential for the system to be used
as an implantable device to support photodynamic
Engineers and scientists at the University of Glasgow
therapy.
have developed an implantable device which is hoped
to improve outcomes for bladder cancer patients by Dr. Rolan Mansour of the James Watt School of
maximising the effectiveness of light-sensitive drugs. Engineering at the University of Glasgow states:
Wirelessly powered micro-LEDs are used to enhance the “ Today bladder cancers cause 16 deaths a day in the
delivery of light through tissue-mimicking models in the UK alone according to figures from Cancer Research
lab. UK. However, bladder cancer, like many others, is
potentially curable if it is diagnosed and treated
The principle deployed is that of photodynamic therapy,
early, before metastatic spread or invasion into other
which uses light-sensitive drugs called photosensitisers organs. Given that photodynamic therapy has the
to selectively destroy cancer cells. It is commonly used potential for less side effects and could improve
in the treatment of skin cancer, but its effectiveness is cancer treatment outcomes, our work is focused on
currently constrained by the physical properties of body
improving the effectiveness of delivering light where
tissues. The tissues tend to absorb light, making it more it’s most needed, to the photosensitisers which tackle
challenging for doctors to access some types of tumours and kill cancer cells. “
which grow deeper in the body, as, for example, in the
bladder.
The new device is designed to be flexible and small
enough to be implanted next to tumours so that light can
reach treatment sites more directly, minimising the need
for invasive procedures, whilst by drawing power from a
wireless source the need for external power is removed.
The device is disc-shaped and 40mm wide. It was
fabricated at the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre
and uses four micro-LEDs on a flexible substrate of
Paryline C, a biocompatible polymer used for medical
implants. Using power drawn wirelessly via resonant
inductive coupling, the LEDs can deliver optical outputs in
excess of five megawatts.
In laboratory tests using materials designed to closely Professor David Flynn, leader of the EPSRC PATIENT
mimic human tissues, it was shown that light could project at the James Watt School of Engineering, adds:
be sent with minimal loss through slices of synthetic
tissues up to 50mm thick. A photosensitiser solution “ These are very encouraging results, which
demonstrate how flexible bioelectronics, wireless
was also used to test how the system could be used
to generate singlet oxygen, which is a highly-reactive, power delivery and photonics can be combined to
create advanced, minimally invasive treatments,
cancer-destroying molecule that is produced by the
interaction between photosensitisers and light. Findings which could improve the clinical outcomes of
photodynamic therapies.
showed that the solution reacted to light from the LEDs as
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