Press releases 2015

Within the joint project “EUV-projection optics for 14 nanometer resolution (ETIK)“, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Fraunhofer IWS scientists achieved substantial progress in the research of reflection layers for extreme ultraviolet radiation. The extraordinary result is the new world record for the reflectance value and directly implies the increased productivity of EUV lithography systems. In addition, further layer properties could be significantly improved, so that they now enable the application of EUV mirrors for higher numerical aperture at simultaneously lower scattered radiation.

The Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS Dresden along with ten further industrial and scientific research partners receive a € 7.2 million funding grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The Ministry supports the research project, which focusses on energy reduction in dry and minimal-lubricated tribological systems. The alliance is developing material solutions for friction-reducing effects within the next three years.

Diamonds are rapidly emerging as one of the most exciting materials on earth, with technical applications that can take electrical, mechanical, thermal, and other properties to industry extremes. Likewise, new coatings technologies can deposit thin film materials that improve wear and corrosion resistance, and create new functionalities. Research advances in both fields are about to shine with the establishment of the Michigan State University-Fraunhofer Center for Coatings and Diamond Technologies.

The intensive research work of the Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS Dresden with respect to the reduction of the manufacturing costs in the field of battery cells fabrication has again provided impressive results. Within the framework of the research project DryLIZ , funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (project number 02PJ2302) our scientists once again succeeded in reducing the processing time and costs for the electrode packaging process.

The Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS is receiving an EU grant for a Marie Sklodowska-Curie project titled 'Laser4Fun' involving the machining of surfaces with lasers. Researchers of the Fraunhofer IWS are becoming increasingly successful in adding a particular function to an existing surface using direct laser interference patterning (DLIP). This results, for example, in bacteria-free medical equipment in hospitals, or water and oil repellent products in the packaging industry.

Als eines der führenden Laseranwendungsinstitute der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft verstärkt das Fraunhofer IWS seine Aktivitäten auf dem Gebiet des Faserverbund-Leichtbaus. Ein Grund mehr, sich auf der diesjährigen „Composites Europe“ - Messe zu präsentieren. Besonderer Anziehungspunkt für die Besucher wird dabei das Hochgeschwindigkeitsfügen von thermoplastischen Polymeren durch den Einsatz von Reaktiv-Folien sein.

Material fatigue, a gradually progressing damage process, occurs under particular environmental influences, such as mechanical load, altering temperatures, UV-radiation or the influence of a corrosive medium. A static load which does not cause damage in an individual case may cause a component’s total failure under repeated strain. The following question occurs often: How many repetitions can a component bear? Or: How must the component be designed so that it can bear limitless cycles, that is, to be of everlasting fatigue strength. In cooperation with the company Russenberger Prüfmaschinen Fraunhofer IWS scientists have implemented the latest generation of a resonance pulsator the “RUMUL-GIGAFORTE”. The electro-magnetically driven resonance pulse test unit enables a test frequency of about 1000 Hz and thus decisively reduces the measuring time for the detection of fatigue strength.

Wear-reducing PVD-coatings have been successfully applied in the machining, forming and plastics engineering sector for decades. Many applications do not require thicknesses of more than 3 - 5 µm. Thick hard wear protective coatings, however, offer a better protection than thin coatings do. On the other hand, their fabrication of thick hard coatings is considerably difficult. Experts of the Fraunhofer IWS Dresden are going to present a novel approach which enables a fabrication of hard coatings in a thickness range of more than 100 µm. The IWS approach offers very promising perspectives for, in particular the tool making industry.

Fraunhofer IWS scientists have developed an n-type conductive polymer, which shows an electrical conductivity of more than one order of magnitude higher than conventional n-type conductive polymers. These novel polymers open up completely new perspectives for applications in the field of flexible, organic electronics.

Coating engine components with hard carbon reduces friction to almost zero – a development that could save billions of liters of fuel worldwide every year. Now researchers have developed a new laser method to apply the coating on the production line.