Half of all microchips made in Europe come from Dresden, which enjoys a worldwide reputation as the largest, most innovative microelectronics location on the continent. 1,500 businesses with over 48,000 workers make up Dresden's microelectronics cluster.

In 2010 these companies brought in a total turnover of 8.7 billion euros, showing growth of 48 percent compared with 2006. Dresden's microelectronics / ICT cluster emerged from the 2008 slump on the semiconductor market with new strength.

Dresden is home to the entire microelectronics value-added chain, from microchip design, high-volume wafer production and processing to a wide range of companies in the supply and service sectors and the end-user industry.

Gigafab in Dresden

GLOBALFOUNDRIES in Dresden has high-volume production plant for ultra-modern 300-millimeter microchips. It is one of the world's largest foundries for ultra-modern computer chips, which it produces for over 150 customers. Its primary plant, Fab 1, is in Dresden and has been converted into a gigafab by the end of 2012, with investment of some 1.3 billion euros. Fab 1 in Dresden is capable of producing 80,000 12-inch wafers monthly,

Electronics made of plastic

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) made in Dresden can easily be transferred onto flexible plastic sheets or other surfaces. Organic electronics clears the way for innovative display and lighting applications, or for solar cells which can be printed onto low-cost PET sheets in a roll-to-roll process.

Efficient microelectronics

The leading-edge cluster Cool Silicon aims to satisfy growing energy requirements for microchips using smart technology made in Dresden. The cluster coordinator, Prof. Thomas Mikolajick, talks with Saxon premier Stanislaw Tillich at the Cool Silicon booth at SEMICON in Dresden.

»Leading-Edge-Technology«

Players from the worlds of business and science count on leading-edge technology to tap new markets: 

Energy efficiency

The leading-edge Dresden cluster 'Cool Silicon' works on innovations aimed at slashing energy use in both information and communication technology and sensor technology. The cluster brings together large companies and high-performing small- and medium-sized businesses, with 16 faculties at 3 technological colleges and nine research institutes.

Organic electronics

Organic components based on polymers allow transistors, LEDs and solar cells to be produced very cheaply. A team of scientists from the University of Technology, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems, Novaled AG and Heliatek GmbH is a world market leader in this field and was presented with the German Future Prize in 2011. Europe's leading organic electronics cluster, OES, is based in Dresden.

Nanoelectronics

The next generation of microchips is on its way to improve performance in the field of nanotechnology. The Nanoelectronics Materials Laboratory (NaMLab) carries out investigations into suitable semiconductor materials. The Fraunhofer Center for Nanoelectronic Technologies (CNT) works alongside partners from industry, such as GLOBALFOUNDRIES, to develop process solutions for the production of nanoelectronics systems.

3D system integration

One innovative means of creating better-performing, cheaper electronic products is 3D system integration, where several microchips are combined to produce a single three-dimensional system. The center 'All Silicon System Integration, Dresden' runs a 300-millimeter wafer line for wafer-level packaging and 3D system integration.

Dresden is also at the forefront of innovation in the fields of software, cyber-physical systems, sensor technology and RFID. The local Cluster of Excellence 'Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden' means the city has a unique research center investigating future electronic information processing technologies.