In a recent interview Prof. Dr. Leson emphasized the outstanding qualities of hydrogen-free carbon coatings: “We concentrate our research on hydrogen-free carbon coatings, because they show extremely high wear resistant properties. Furthermore they achieve very low friction coefficients, especially when combined with adjusted lubricants. Since they offer a large potential to increase the energy efficiency and to minimize the CO₂ emission; these coatings are of particular interest to the automotive industry. There are many further potential applications. In nearly all cases, in which friction and thus wear occurs, these coatings are very advantageous.”

The Fraunhofer IWS has developed a novel Laser-Arc Module (LAM) to deposit hydrogen-free carbon coatings on tools and components. In 2012 two LAM 500 systems were put into practical application and were installed at industrial customers. The systems are used for in-house coatings with particularly thick ta-C films. The second unit includes a plasma filter and is used for contract coatings of high-quality tools and components.

The successful industrial implementation of this technology was supported by the basic and applied research of the “Dresden Innovation Center Energy Efficiency DIZE^EFF”, which has been funded by the Land Saxony and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The center is extending the very successful cooperation between the Technische Universität Dresden and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with topic-specific research.

The “Dresden Innovation Center Energy Efficiency DIZE^EFF” has turned out to be a scientific and economic great success. The IWS and TU Dresden scientists focus their research on the development of low-friction coatings, on reactive multilayer systems and their applications to the joining process of hard-to-weld components, and on investigations in micro and nano structuring procedures for applications in organic photovoltaics. All of these serve as a basis for the additional acquisition of external funds. At the Hannover Messe HMI (April 8 - 12, 2013) our scientists will present the latest research results at hall 2, booth A38.

Energy conversion, storage and efficiency are issues of substantial importance to the IWS and, thus, subject matters of the next conference “Zukunft Energie”, to be held in Dresden from May, 28 – 29, 2013 (www.zukunftenergie-dresden.de). In 8 sessions with 30 talks and an accompanying exhibition, representatives from science and industry will exchange research results and discuss new ideas.