Articles on Advanced electronics

The path for Sweden and Europe to establish their own competitive electronics value chain lies in new materials, manufacturing methods and a fundamentally circular approach. “We don’t need to try to be like Asia,” says Astrid Armgarth, director of the Bio- and Organic Electronics Unit at RISE.

Do you manufacture machinery? If so, EU regulations will probably be familiar to you. The EU has had common requirements for machinery in place for over 30 years to improve safety, facilitate free trade and reduce risks to workers. However, stricter requirements will apply from 2027 when the Machinery Regulation replaces the Machinery Directive.

AlixLabs, a Lund-based company, has developed technology that will streamline the manufacture of future semiconductor chips. With its base at RISE's ProNano technology infrastructure and close collaboration with the facility's experts, the conditions for scaling up are favourable.

Polar Light Technologies (PLT) has revolutionized the manufacturing of pyramid-shaped microLEDs through a new bottom-up method. This method enables controlled crystal growth atom layer by atom layer, which has eliminated the destructive etching used in today's top-down methods. This has resulted in unsurpassed pixel size, brightness, and energy efficiency.

The alarm sounds – and the transmission must not fail. Ensuring that vital emergency communications information gets through can mean the difference between life and death. As the current communication system is replaced by a new one based on 5G, the testing methods for a more robust system are already in place.

Robotic additive manufacturing might sound like something confined to the world of high-tech labs or niche industries, and until recently, that assumption wouldn’t have been far off the mark. But in the past few years, the technology has made impressive leaps forward, and it’s now being trialled in a wide range of fields.

In the summer of 2023, Polar Light Technologies achieved a highly controlled blue light from microLEDs in the shape of small pyramids for the first time. Just three months later they also managed to achieve green light. With an ambition to produce red light, the most difficult to achieve, before the end of 2024 they did just that, and presented red light the 18th of December, setting a new course for the global display market.

Hyundai Mobis from South Korea has collaborated over a two-year period on the development of power electronics semiconductors. The collaboration is based at the Electrum Laboratory, part of 'Silicon Carbide Valley'. Mobis has had developers on site in Sweden and worked closely with RISE experts on design and processing.

At RISE, we have been working for over 20 years on research concerning silicon carbide and other WBG materials. We have two large laboratories to support this work. Our researchers possess deep expertise in the field, and you can read our publications and collaborate with us on applied development projects.

For over four decades, Dr Mietek Bakowski has worked with research and development in semiconductor materials for high-voltage environments, making him an international authority in Power Electronics - a field that has slowly made its way into powertrains for electric cars, boats, and aircraft. The field is based on the need for tougher materials to withstand the high voltages required as our world becomes increasingly electrified.

On April 5, 2024, ADAXIS officially entered into partnership with the Application Center for Additive Manufacturing (AM Center) at RISE, becoming its 20th member. 

In the summer of 2023, a highly controlled blue light from Polar Light Technologies' microLEDs in the shape of small pyramids appeared for the first time. The breakthrough could mean a revolution in the global display market, which is about to undergo a transformation – both in terms of technology and sustainability.

This summer, Melker of Sweden partnered up with RISE for an unprecedented venture: employing an industrial robot to print a full-sized kayak, cut open hatches, print on hatch rings, drill holes for deck fasteners, and prepare the hull bottom for milling. In one constant motion.

Silicon carbide is a material used to create new types of energy-efficient semiconductors that can save up to 20 percent of the battery time for electric cars. The Swedish startup Ascatron manufactures wafers and components in silicon carbide. In 2020, the semiconductor developer was acquired by the American electronics giant II-VI. But their journey began as a part of RISE. 

To meet our climate goals, we need to make more efficient use of the energy we have. Part of this will be the development of smarter and more efficient power electronics – the components that convert electrical power into usable forms. Moreover, this is an area in which Swedish industry may have a competitive edge.