Cleanest manufacturing conditions A place for investing in microtechnology & photovoltaics

Erfurt – cleanest environment for investing in high technology Special applications in the smallest of spaces One step ahead with experts from Erfurt

When semiconductor components started The universities and universities of applied being produced in the first clean-room complex sciences in Erfurt, Jena, Ilmenau, Weimar and in 1966, the “Funkwerk Erfurt” became the Nordhausen offer special Bachelors and Mas- main producer of integrated circuits in what ters courses to guarantee the availability of was then the GDR, thus giving rise to three mo- young specialists in the future. The main focus dern chip factories, with research centres, here areas here are semiconductor technology, in the 1980s. Inspired by scientific, technical photovoltaics and renewable energy. know-how and the specialist potential, a num- Based in south-eastern Erfurt, the “Thurin- ber of other high-technology companies also gian Skills Centre for High-Technology and the established themselves here after 1990. Solar Industry” – so far a unique educational Today, Erfurt’s technology services cover micro- and advanced training institution in Germany system engineering and microelectronics, – acts as a second cornerstone for producing sensor technology and photovoltaics. The new experts. With its 351 top apprenticeship businesses act independently on the markets, training positions, it helps acquire well-quali- but also successfully benefit one another as fied specialists in 34 high-technology-related part of co-operations and networks. The Er- professions, and can produce up to 2,500 gradu- furt Research and Industrial Centre (FIZ), and ates a year. the cluster initiatives “Mikro-Nanotechnolo- The CiS Research Institute for Micro Sensor gie-Thüringen e. V.”, Solarlnput and Solarval- Technology and Photovoltaics, the IMMS In- ley Mitteldeutschland attest to the excellent stitute for Microelectronics and Mechatro- partnerships, and help Thuringia develop nic Systems, and the Application Centre for into one of the world’s most important solar Micro-System Engineering (AZM) shorten the industry hubs. transfer between economics and science. As Erfurt-based photovoltaics companies, to- the first independent test laboratory for solar gether with companies from the Erfurt-Jena- modules in central Germany, the “solar test Ilmenau technology triangle, which includes lab” run jointly by the CiS Research Institute the Erfurter Kreuz and Arnstadt locations, and the Thuringia Technical Inspection Agency cover the entire value-added chain for photo- also stands for verified quality, while the an- voltaic systems. They also produce and nual Bauhaus.SOLAR conference and the Erfurt conduct research in the areas of solar heat, Technology Dialogue provide innovative ideas crystalline silicon technology and thin-film and stimuli. They link current global issues technology. with Thuringia’s resources, and particularly with the high-technology region that is Erfurt. Special applications in the smallest of spaces Invest in the city of pioneers One step ahead with experts from Erfurt Did you know...

... that your mobile phone probably contains a ... that solar modules can be integrated into a SIM card from Erfurt? car in such a way that they become the roof?

Since its founding in 1999, CircleSmartCard Depending on their control system, the GmbH today produces around 300 million domed solar modules developed by asola chip-card elements, primarily for SIM cards. Advanced and Automotive Solar Systems 85 percent of production is exported throug- GmbH support air-conditioning units, hout the entire world, e. g. to India, Russia, radios, seat warmers or auxiliary heating Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria or Slovakia. systems. The largest, highest-performance module around at the moment charges the ... that 0.2-millimetre-thin silicon wafers are drive battery of the Fisker Karma hybrid made from 300-kg silicon blocks? sports car (serial production). PV Silicon Forschungs- und Produk­tions ... that Bosch Solar Energy AG produced solar GmbH passes a super-thin, kilometre-long cells for Europe’s highest solar power plant? steel wire through the silicon at a speed of 50 km/h, transporting a mixture of glycol and Bosch Solar Energy supplied highly effici- very small silicon carbide grains. These tear ent monocrystalline solar cells for the 108 tiny silicon particles off the block, breaking 3S Swiss Solar Systems solar panels, which it down into thin slices in a process lasting were integrated into a building façade on several hours. Switzerland’s Small Matterhorn at an alti- tude of just under 4,000 metres. ... that the term “foundry” commonly used for chip factories translates to “Gießerei” in German? ... that almost all the world’s vehicle manufac- turers rely on integrated circuits developed The term contained in the company name X- by Melexis GmbH? FAB Semiconductor Foundries AG refers to the fact that electronic components such as Circuits for remote-control central locking, transistors, diodes and resistors are cast on electric seat and mirror adjustment, ESP, power monocrystalline silicon sheets. As one of the windows, retractable roofs, speedometers world’s leading manufacturers of combined and fuel display, or the tyre pressure control analogue-digital circuits, the X-FAB chip fac- system are, depending on customer require- tories have customers from the automotive, ments, embedded into the appropriate casing communication, consumer-goods and indus- and dispatched from Erfurt to all corners of trial sectors . the globe, ready for installation. Erfurt – cleanest environment for investing in high technology

Thuringia’s state capital provides lots of opportun- ities as an innovative location for microtechnology & photovoltaics. Count on us, we look forward to hearing from you!

Contact State Capital Erfurt City Administration Economic Promotion Authority 1st English translation based on 2nd revised German edition Fischmarkt 11, 99084 Erfurt March 2011 Telephone: +49 (0) 361 655-4433 Production: www.neumeister.de Fax: +49 (0) 361 655-6880 Photos: the companies stated in the brochure, Economic Promotion Authority Email: [email protected] and Ronald Neumeister