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Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB
Power Electronics for Energy
Efficiency
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated
Systems and Device Technology IISB per-
forms applied R&D on power electronic
systems for all fields of application, like
industry, household, and consumer ap-
pliances, electric mobility, energy sup-
ply, and power grid technology. The am-
bition of the institute is to make power
electronics more energy and cost effi-
cient, reliable, robust, and compact. The
strength of IISB is based on its competen-
cies in power electronics and mechatron-
ic system integration in conjunction with
its wide experience in materials research
and semiconductor technology for mi-
croelectronics. This includes smart power
ASIC design, innovative circuit topologies
and control algorithms, embedded soft-
ware, system simulation, thermal man-
agement, energy management, new ma-
terials, and interconnect technologies,
active and passive devices, EMC, reliabil-
ity, and failure analysis.
With its power converters, IISB regular-
ly sets international benchmarks, e.g., in
terms of efficiency or power density. The
institute closely collaborates with its indus-
trial partners, e.g., from automotive, ener-
gy system, or semiconductor industry.
Power electronic systems for hybrid
and electric vehicles
For already ten years, IISB has been work-
ing on power electronics for electric mo-
bility. In its laboratories in Erlangen and
Nuremberg, innovative components and
systems for the electric powertrain, for
elctrical energy storages and charging
infrastructure are developed. This also
comprises complete electric powertrain
modeling and concept engineering. IISB
has an extensive test center for electric
cars. It is Competence Center Automotive
in the ECPE and active member in the
Forum Elektromobilität e.V., the Bavarian
Power Electronics Cluster, and the Na-
tional Electric Mobility Platform. Together
with the Federal Ministry of Education
and Research, IISB is the initiator and or-
ganizer of the DRIVE-E student promo-
tion program in electric mobility.
Power electronics for smart grids
Power electronics is getting increasingly
important for future electric energy sup-
ply. IISB develops essential components
of smart and high-performance pow-
er grids, e.g., high power switches for
HVDC. The institute works on new mi-
cro grid concepts based on local DC net-
works and operates an application plat-
form for energy efficient power supply in
a home, office, and lab environment.
