Würth Elektronik is one of 31 European partners who are jointly launching the new project 'Advanced packaging for photonics, optics and electronics for low cost manufacturing in Europe' (APPLAUSE). It aims to strengthen the semiconductor value chain in Europe by developing new tools, methods and processes for series production. All project partners are competence leaders in the fields of electronics packaging, optics and photonics as well as leading equipment manufacturers and test experts. The three-year project with a total budget of €34 million is being funded as part of the ECSEL JU (Electronics Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking) project within the EU's Horizon 2020 funding program. Additional funding is provided by national research funding programs and from industry. The APPLAUSE project is an innovation action (IA) of the European Commission in the field of electronics research.
APPLAUSE is coordinated by ICOS Division of the KLA-Tencor group of companies from Belgium and has partners from 11 countries, including 10 large companies, 11 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 10 research and technology companies. "In addition to achieving the overall objectives of APPLAUSE, Würth Elektronik is focusing on further developments in the areas of electronics packaging and individual sensor systems," explains Dr. Jan Kostelnik, Head of Research and Development at Würth Elektronik Circuit Board Technology (CBT). The subject areas are structured into six use cases, each of which is led by an industrial user. Würth Elektronik is involved in two of the six use cases. The first use case aims to enable cost-effective thermal imaging devices. In the second use case, cardiac monitoring systems are being developed in the form of a stretchable patch.
"We are delighted to be able to participate in the international research project with our expertise in the field of PCB-based systems based on TWINflex, TWINflex-Stretch and wire bonding," says Kostelnik. The innovations from the project could enable the project partners to increase sales by over €300 million by 2025.
