19 years of Prof. Dr. Joachim Burghartz

All of us at Institut für Mikroelektronik Stuttgart would like to thank Prof. Dr. Burghartz for his many years of commitment and the valuable time together, during which he shaped the institute with great dedication and visionary foresight. He was not only a respected director, but also a valued colleague and reliable mentor. With his passion for research and innovation, he made the institute fit for the future.

Technology in the field of microelectronics has developed rapidly in recent decades. Chip structures have become smaller and smaller, while the silicon wafers from which the chips are made have become larger and larger. In the 1960s, at the beginning of the microelectronics revolution, wafers had a diameter of just 50 mm. Two decades later, they had already reached 150 mm. Today, the standard diameter of wafers for high-volume production is 300 mm, while 200 mm wafers are now common for small series and research and development. Professor Burghartz was also a pioneering part in this technological change at the IMS, which has completely converted its clean room production to 200 mm wafers in recent years. In addition, the institute can also process substrates with sizes of 300 mm and 430 mm in the field of nano structuring.

Under the leadership of Prof. Burghartz, the IMS was also continuously involved in important European technology research projects in which lithography processes were further developed for ever smaller structures – initially for 7-nanometer technologies, later for 5-nanometer and 3-nanometer technologies and most recently for the 2-nanometer range. Among other prizes, Prof. Burghartz was awarded the State Research Prize in 2010 and the internationally renowned and prestigious J.J. Ebers Award by the IEEE Electron Devices Society in 2014 for his innovative method to produce extremely thin silicon chips, which are up to 50 times thinner than conventional microchips.

Prof. Dr. Burghartz was head of the IMS since October 2005 and has made a significant contribution to the international recognition of the institute. Prior to this, he gained valuable international experience, including at IBM in the USA and at TU Delft in the Netherland. As successor to Prof. Dr. Bernd Höfflinger, he took over the management at IMS and turned it into a globally respected research partner and leading provider of innovative, high-precision, nano-structured components in 19 years.

Under his leadership, the IMS provided decisive scientific impetus and developed into an indispensable partner in the international research landscape. The highly-precision, nano-structured components developed at the IMS have established themselves as key elements of modern semiconductor production. Most recently, Prof. Burghartz laid the foundation for significant advances in quantum technology: the future realization of a pilot line for components based on quantum effects opens up promising applications in sensor and information technology.

Until a successor is appointed, Prof. Dr. Jens Anders, Stuttgart Professor and Director of the Institute for Intelligent Sensor Technology and Theoretical Electrical Engineering (IIS), will take over as Managing Director of the IMS. Prof. Anders has already been working as Co-Director at the IMS since October 2022 and will continue the vision and innovative strength of the IMS in accordance with Joachim Burghartz vision. Everyone at Institut für Mikroelektronik Stuttgart looks back with gratitude on the outstanding achievements of Prof. Dr. Joachim Burghartz and wishes him all the best for his new phase of life.