Collaborative Research Center/Transregio "Active-3D"

The TRR404 "Next Generation Electronics With Active Devices in Three Dimensions [Active-3D]" is a DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center/Transregio between TUD Dresden University of Technology and Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen). It aims at exploring a completely new approach for microelectronics technology and therefore teams up materialists, electrical engineers, and computer scientists of TUD, RWTH Aachen and Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mikro- und Optoelektronik mbH (AMO) in Aachen, Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics Halle (MPI-MSP), Nanoelectronic Materials Laboratory gGmbH (NaMLab) in Dresden, and Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB).

The initial funding phase runs from April 2025 until December 2028.

Heterogeneous integration has recently enabled the combination of multiple chips and chiplets within a single package. While these approaches improve area utilization, they do not address the key challenge of modern electronics: power consumption. The rapid growth of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has led to a dramatic increase in energy demand, exacerbated by the spatial separation of memory and logic in conventional architectures—the so-called von Neumann bottleneck.

This TRR addresses this challenge by extending integration into the third dimension: active devices will be integrated into the Back-End of Line (BEOL), providing logic, memory, and active interconnect functionality directly above the chip area. Novel devices based on unconventional materials and low-thermal-budget fabrication processes will be developed and co-designed with circuits and systems to achieve unprecedented improvements in power, performance, and area (PPA). By exploiting the unused volume above the chip, Active-3D will unlock new opportunities for future electronics.

Realizing active BEOL integration requires advances in materials, fabrication technologies, device engineering, and circuit design. To achieve this, the TRR brings together internationally recognized experts from Dresden and Aachen, covering the entire innovation chain from materials science and device physics to circuits and systems. Supported by state-of-the-art micro- and nanofabrication infrastructure, the TRR “Next Generation Electronics with Active Devices in Three Dimensions” (Active-3D) will strengthen Germany’s and Europe’s leadership in fundamental microelectronics research.