Press Releases

Components are protected against corrosion and wear through hard chrome plating, thermal spraying, laser material deposition or other deposition welding techniques. However, there are downsides to these processes – for example, as of September 2017, chromium(VI) coatings will require authorization. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen as well as the RWTH Aachen University have now developed an ultra-high-speed laser material deposition process, known by its German acronym EHLA, to eliminate these drawbacks. On May 30, 2017, the research team was awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for this work.

“The laser is a solution seeking a problem,” said Ted Maiman in 1964. Today, the laser has proven the best solution to an array of problems. At LASER World of PHOTONICS 2017 in Munich/Germany, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT will be demonstrating how it is using process technology to enable efficient laser applications in a range of sectors, thereby driving forward Digital Photonic Production in the 21st century.

On April 26 and 27, 150 experts from research and industry met in Aachen for the 4th UKP-Workshop: Ultrafast Laser Technology. Once again, the workshop – organized by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT – focused on the industrial uses of ultrashort laser pulses. However, it was basic researchers that caused a stir. Using relatively simple formulas, they demonstrated how the much-lauded “cold ablation” of picosecond and femtosecond lasers is by no means cold when the parameters and systems chosen are not matching the physical limitations and conditions of beam-material interactions.

In 2021, the Franco-German satellite MERLIN shall be launched to study methane emissions on Earth. On board is a laser system that works precisely under extreme operating conditions. The technology for this has been developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen and will be presented at the LASER World of Photonics 2017.

Only twice as thick as a strand of hair, or around 100 µm: that’s how thin the transparent, scratchproof and malleable ceramic layers of the future that are meant to protect portable electronics are. Since March 2017, the methods and process chains for producing this material have been in development at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT as part of a three-year research project called CeGlaFlex.

Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT will present laser processes for micro structuring of thin films at LOPEC 2017, trade fair for printed electronics in Munich, Germany. Innovative solutions for application fields like photovoltaics and thin film processing will be shown at COPT.NRW joint stand 405, hall B0, from March 29 to 30.

In the automotive industry, more and more surfaces are getting a microstructure treatment. Whether they are added to cylinders or dashboards, functional surfaces are all the rage. Able to offer virtually unlimited precision, lasers are the right tool for the job. To ensure that productivity matches precision, development is under way on a machine that will be able to efficiently process even large surfaces thanks to a combination of two different pulse types.

The ICTM Conference has established itself as a networking hub for the international turbomachinery industry. For the fourth time in a row, this biennial event was organized by the International Center for Turbomachinery Manufacturing ICTM in Aachen and in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Technology IPT and Laser Technology ILT. This year’s conference took place February 15-16, 2017. More than 250 experts from 19 countries discussed how to more efficiently develop and manufacture turbines for power plants and aircraft in the digital age.

The Chinese market for industrial laser technology is still growing fast and so does the LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA, which has become the most visited trade show for lasers and optical components. At this year’s trade show, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT will be presenting new ideas for industrial laser applications, most of which are focused on increased efficiency of laser micro machining processes (Hall N4, Booth 4243).

At the JEC World Composites Show in Paris in March 2017, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen will be in line with the trend towards hybrid construction: at the joint booth of the Aachen Center for Integrative Lightweight Production (AZL, Hall 6, Booth C79), ILT researchers will be presenting three laser-based processes for use with plastic-metal composites.