Schlagwort: ‘Zukunft’
Welcome to my work – Interview with Rebecca Rodrigo
Fast, faster, the speed of light – a characteristic of modern data communication and the reason why a physicist found her way into the electrical engineering world.
Rebecca is a physicist and has been working as a cleanroom engineer at the Institute of Integrated Photonics at RWTH Aachen University since 2020. Here she gives an exclusive insight into her everyday working life.
Career guidance is often a challenge for school students. Rebecca, how did you find your way?
“Even in primary school I was very interested and enthusiastic about STEM subjects. Thanks to a dedicated and motivated physics teacher at secondary school, I decided to study physics instead of maths and physics as a teacher. I wanted to keep my options open for the future. I ‘fell in love’ with research during my bachelor’s thesis and have stayed with it ever since.”
Photonics is the technical mastery of light, which has many fascinating properties. What is photonic-electronic integration?
“Most people are familiar with electronic microchips. Integrated photonics is now concerned with implementing these functionalities on photonic microchips, where photonic signals are carried, manipulated and measured instead of electrical signals. The two microchips can also be combined or integrated to take advantage of the best features of both technologies.”
A personnel airlock leads into the cleanroom. Rebecca wears abrasion-resistant clothing to protect the ultra-sensitive microchips.
The cleanroom provides a controlled environment for specialised manufacturing processes such as the production of photonic integrated circuits on computer chips. What conditions are required in the cleanroom and why?
“The extremely low-particle environment is obviously very important, because even the smallest dust particle that gets on a microchip during the manufacturing process can affect its functionality. In our cleanroom, for example, we have only 100,000 particles larger than 0.1 micrometres per cubic metre, compared to 150 to 1000 times more in normal ambient air. The relative humidity and temperature in the cleanroom are also strictly monitored and kept constant, as the chip manufacturing processes are very sensitive.”
Rebecca works on the die-bonder using flip-chip technology: for chips to work properly, they need to be assembled and interconnected. The design and manufacture of these connections is known as packaging.
Photonic-electronic integration is a key technology for digitalisation. It meets the challenge of transporting and processing more and more data as we move towards a new information society. How exactly does this technology contribute to the solution?
“Most people are familiar with fibre optic technology from everyday life. Its advantages in data transmission lie primarily in its speed, but also in its energy efficiency compared to copper technology. We use the same principle, just miniaturised on a chip. It is no longer called fibre optics, but waveguides – but the basic principle is the same!
The advantage of photonics in data communications, whether over long distances as fibre-optic cables or miniaturised in chips for data centres, is therefore speed: we are unlikely to go faster than the speed of light in the foreseeable future. Parallelisation is also a clear advantage: different signals can be transmitted in parallel at different wavelengths or polarisations.”
What groundbreaking developments is the Institute of Integrated Photonics involved in? Which projects are you especially excited about?
“We have a lot of exciting projects and my role has the advantage that I am basically involved in all of them. There are certainly two projects that are particularly exciting in terms of these future technologies.
In the ML4Q cluster, we are involved in the development of a quantum computer. Many people are probably aware of the importance of this technology, for example in the field of quantum cryptography and supercomputing. Our specific task in this project is to realise a highly efficient photonic interface between spin qubits.
In the NeuroSys cluster, the IPH is working on a physical neural network based on photonic neurons. It is therefore a photonic AI. However, due to the size of such neural networks integrated on chips, it is not so much an AI like Chat GPT, but rather highly specialised and trained networks that score points in data centres for their enormous speed.”
Rebecca’s office is a space for dynamic workflows and creative ideas.
What is your typical working day like?
“On a day-to-day basis, I sometimes work very application-oriented directly in chip production on the systems and also train other employees in the application. At the same time, a large part of my work consists of designing new production processes, advising my colleagues as an expert in clean room technology, scientific research and coordinating a lot of maintenance work, for example. I also have management responsibility for my small cleanroom team, which consists of one permanent employee and several students. Supervision of final theses is also part of my job.”
What does work-life balance mean to you?
“Work-life balance is very important to me. For me personally, it is really about balance. Last autumn, I had the privilege of becoming a mother to a beautiful little girl who is, of course, my world. Together with my partner, we have decided to share caring and paid work 50:50. For me, this is the perfect solution and the best of both worlds: playing and exploring with my daughter is great fun and keeps me grounded, while my job helps me to get out of the baby bubble and focus on intellectual issues.”
Are you in the process of career exploration? Stay tuned and be inspired by further insights into the working life of academics at RWTH Aachen University. Visit our website and find out more about our degree programmes.
New Perspectives for Communication Technology: A German-Japanese Partnership
A delegation from the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) in Japan visited RWTH Aachen University for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. © RWTH Aachen University
RWTH University has started an exciting cooperation in the field of 5G/6G mobile communications technology with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) in Japan. This was sealed by a memorandum of understanding that Professor Ulrich Rüdiger and Professor Hideyuki Tokuda, President of NICT, signed together in June. They received a delegation from NICT at RWTH Aachen University.
The Memorandum of Understanding is intended to strengthen and expand academic cooperation between both partner institutions. This includes the exchange of scientists and students, collaborative research projects, publications and the transfer of knowledge on 5G/6G mobile communications technology.
The cooperation was initiated as part of the BMBF-funded research programme “6GEM Research Hub”, which is coordinated by Professor Haris Gačanin from the Chair of Distributed Signal Processing at RWTH. In this project, RWTH Aachen University, Ruhr University Bochum, Dortmund University of Technology and the University of Duisburg-Essen, as well as the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems, the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques and the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy are researching future communication technologies in 6G mobile communications technology.
Source: RWTH press release: Research Partnership With NICT in Japan – RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY – English (rwth-aachen.de)
Energy Park Herzogenrath: Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems is involved in research
© Michael Förtsch by Unsplash
The project for CO2-neutral energy supply in Herzogenrath, the first city in NRW to strive for this goal, is accompanied by a consortium of four chairs and institutes, including the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology.
Herzogenrath wants to achieve CO2-neutral energy supply by 2030. A consortium of Siemens Energy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen University of Applied Sciences and the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences is conducting research on the project “Energy Park Herzogenrath Research & Development”, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection with 2.7 million euros. The project is also closely interlinked with other ongoing research and funding projects: at the local flat glass manufacturer Saint Gobain, CO2-free production is being researched, in which the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology at the E.ON Energy Research Center (ERC) of RWTH Aachen University is involved. The aim is to recycle the heat generated during glass production in Herzogenrath and Kerkrade in the Netherlands as green heating energy.
The project uses a digital twin that virtually maps and simulates the energy supply. In this way, different scenarios can be tested and optimised. The project looks at generation, consumption and marketing options across sectors. RWTH is receiving around 918,000 euros in funding for this.
More information on the project can be found at Energiepark Herzogenrath – Strukturwandel Rheinisches Revier (revier-gestalten.nrw) and at CO2-neutral bis 2030: Forschungsprojekt Energiepark Herzogenrath mit rund 2,7 Millionen Euro gefördert | Wirtschaft NRW.
Climate protection through electrical engineering – Professor Dirk Uwe Sauer’s lecture at the Children’s University
Kinder im Hörsaal. ©RWTH Aachen University
Whether drought, floods or forest fires – the consequences of global warming are dramatic for nature and people. The countries of the global south are being hit particularly hard, but the effects are also being felt here. We experienced this at the latest with the devastating floods in July 2021. That is why we urgently need to address the issue of climate change.
This is also what Dirk Uwe Sauer, Professor of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology at RWTH Aachen University, is doing. He has been researching new energy systems for over 30 years and advises politicians on the energy transition.
„We see in all places that climate change is happening – with many negative consequences. And we urgently need a radical change in the way we have supplied ourselves with energy so far.“
This does not only affect us adults, but especially the children and young people of today. They will have to live with the limitations that climate change will bring. “I don’t think we should underestimate what children know and what they are capable of,” says Professor Sauer.
It is not too late to make a difference
In his lecture, the physicist not only explained the dangers of climate change, but also made the necessary changes understandable. He used various materials such as videos, slides and interactive presentations to show the physical basics and the possibilities through timely action: “I also want to spread optimism and show that things can also get better than they currently are. Because if we still grab the wheel in time, then we still have the possibility to avoid worse things.” For this to happen, however, society must overcome its fear of new technologies. The professor said that there is too much talk about the risks instead of seeing the opportunities. “And we simply can’t afford that now either.” A ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2021 has obliged politicians, and thus the population, to act more quickly. The slower progress is made, the more the living conditions of the next generations are restricted. That is why the previous federal government tightened the climate protection targets and the Climate Protection Act. “We have the opportunity to achieve these goals. We have the necessary technologies to supply all eight billion people in the world properly with renewable energy,” Sauer said.
Climate change is an important issue that concerns us all. But what does it actually mean and how can we work against it? Professor Sauer explained this to the children in his lecture at the Children’s University on 16 June 2023. He showed them how the earth is warming up and what consequences this has for nature and people. He also presented solutions on how we can protect the climate with renewable energies and new technologies. For example, with solar cells that generate electricity from sunlight, or with electric cars that emit no exhaust gases. Professor Sauer showed the children not only the problems of climate change, but also the opportunities that arise from it. He showed them that we can not only influence the climate with our energy supply, but also promote biodiversity.
„I would like to show the children that, for example, large photovoltaic systems on open fields not only generate electricity, but also create space for extensive agriculture, for insects that can live and flourish in these areas again.“
Climate change is a major challenge that we can only overcome together. For this, we need an awareness of the connections between energy and the environment that starts with children. Another goal of the Children’s University event was to get the children excited about scientific topics. “Physics has the great advantage that it can illustrate things very vividly and also show connections,” said Sauer. Using simple means, Professor Sauer showed where research starts and what possibilities can arise through technical progress.
Source: Aachener Zeitung, 16 June 2023
Encouraging women to take up MINT professions – support for ZDF heute journal
BA student Helena in an interview with the ZDF heute journal team. Photo: C. Antweiler
At the end of January, the team from ZDF heute journal visited the Institute for Communication Systems at RWTH Aachen University for a report. The report provides insights into the topic of “women in MINT subjects”, which are sometimes chosen even less by women and girls, such as mathematics, computer science, natural science and technology. Editor Peter Böhmer from the North Rhine-Westphalia State Studio researched the reasons for the low quota of women at RWTH Aachen University and what approaches could be taken to change this.
Through interviews with various female RWTH students, including our BA student Helena, as well as with Univ. Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Aloys Krieg, Prorector for Teaching, the heute journal team was able to gain an impression. The Institute for Communication Systems and a lecture by Prof. Peter Jax provided the pictorial framework for the report.
You can find the report in the ZDF Mediathek.
Review of the 150th anniversary exhibition of the RWTH
From October 30, 2021 to February 13, 2022, the 150th anniversary exhibition of the RWTH took place at the Centre de Charlemagne in Aachen. ISEA – the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives – also contributed with some exhibits to illustrate the highlights from research and the development of RWTH since its foundation in October 1870.
For all those who could not be there and see this wonderful exhibition for themselves, we have a short review.
Among others, the IKS was also involved. The project “Virtual visit” dealt with the 3D telephony of the future: Who hasn’t had the wish to beam to the other side while talking on the phone? At least via audio, this would be possible in the future; for example, one could already sit virtually in the middle of a concert of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra.
Prof. Dr. Peter Jax presented the state of the art as well as current research topics in his lecture and invited to an exciting discussion afterwards.
It was very interesting to get to know a current research project of the IKS and to experience the research live.
The content of the lecture was further illustrated in the exhibition by virtually sitting in the middle of the concert of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra. The aim was to perceive the sound in 3 dimensions. To experience this phenomenon, all one had to do was put on a pair of virtual reality glasses and enjoy the sounds of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra.
It was particularly fascinating to be able to hear the sounds from all directions and at the same time to be able to identify the direction from which they came. It was easy to follow the sounds more closely by turning around to look at them with the glasses. It was really a great insight into the research of the IKS.
SOGNO – Service Oriented Grid for the Network of the Future
Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems
RWTH Aachen University recently had a major role in the EU project „Service Oriented Grid for the Network of the Future“ (SOGNO). RWTH was represented by the Institute of Automation of Complex Power Systems (ACS), the Institute of Theoretical Information Technology (TI), and the Chair of Management Accounting. Moreover, Prof. Monti and Dr. Marco Pau from the Institute of Automation of Complex Power Systems served as technical managers of the project, thus coordinating the technical activities within the consortium.
The project SOGNO aims at developing a new concept of distribution grid management, based on the use of 5G communication, advanced deep learning techniques, and cloud virtualization to provide the intelligence needed to control future smart grids as a service for distribution system operators.
