Press releases 2014

The German Society for Materials Science (DGM), the German Association for Materials Research and Testing (DVM) and The Steel Institute VDEh jointly awarded Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martina Zimmermann with the Galileo Prize for her outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of materials testing research.

Surface coating, component repair and the generation of complex structures are the challenging applications fields of modern laser technologies. Most different metallic and ceramic materials in the form of powder or wire are available as additional materials for these technologies. Users increasingly favor wires due to their various advantages. The Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS Dresden presents the latest model of the laser processing optics COAXwire at the EuroMold in Frankfurt. This optics is most suitable for the precise generation of metal structures with wire and cored wires.

The interconnectability of different materials is of the utmost importance for lightweight constructions; however, realizing these joints is uniquely difficult. Traditional thermal joining procedures, e.g. welding techniques, are often inapplicable as they create broad zones at intermetallic zones, which show a brittle behavior. The Fraunhofer IWS scientists have now succeeded in generating a steel-aluminum mixed compound with excellent mechanical properties. The key to this success, which will prepare the way for numerous applications, is the combination of two different joining techniques.

Prof. Andreas Leson, Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer IWS, was honored for his extraordinary dedication in the field of Thin Films at the 11th Symposiom of European Vaccum Coaters in Anzio (Italy) on September 28, 2014.

Almost every electronic device contains a transformer. An important material used in their construction is electrical steel. Researchers have found a way to improve the performance of electrical steel and manufacture it more efficiently, using an optimized laser process.

Lithium-sulfur batteries carry great potential for the rather slowly developing electro mobility market. In the future, specific energy densities of more than 600 Wh/kg are expected, a density which, compared to that of lithium-ion cells (max. 250 Wh/kg), makes a decisive increase to the range of electric cars.

Structures in micro and submicro scale are quickly growing application fields. Scientists of the Fraunhofer IWS have developed a unique solution for the fabrication of these structures. For the very first time, our scientists have a technology at their disposal, which allows for the structuring of areas up to 500 x 500 mm² in only a few minutes. The Fraunhofer IWS will present its novel compact system for metal micro structuring processes and surface functionalization at the “Lasermesse LASYS” Stuttgart. The compact system can be adjusted to precisely meet individual customer’s requirements and can be used for the fabrication of arrays with structure widths from 150 nm to 20 µm.

Progress in the field of nanotechnology can only be achieved, if analytical methods for the characterization of nanostructures continuously improve. Due to the structure’s small size visible light cannot be utilized for nanoanalytical techniques. In point of fact, microscopic methods with electron waves or X-rays must be applied here, as the wavelengths, they work with, are small enough. Multilayer Laue lenses (MLL) offer a most promising approach to developing highest resolution X-ray optics.

Nanofair 2014, to be held on July 1 - 3, 2014, at ICC Dresden focusses on the extensive exchange of recent research results and the presentation of R&D work in the field of nanotechnology.

Lower surface roughness and higher microstructure homogeneity demonstrate the advantages of suspension sprayed coatings over conventional powder sprayed coatings. The suspension spraying technology applies finely dispersed sub-micro-sized and nanoscale powders rather than coating powders with particle sizes of 5 to 50 µm. Up to now, hardware components for suspension spraying have only been available on a laboratory scale. The Fraunhofer IWS Dresden presents system components, necessary for the conversion of industrial spraying facilities to the suspension technology at the Hannover Messe Industrie for the very first time.