Press Releases

Whether in medical technology, quantum technology or semiconductor production, optical systems are an integral part of many high-tech applications. To ensure that lenses, mirrors and other components meet the highest requirements, manufacturing needs processes that combine precision, efficiency and flexibility. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT develops tailor-made solutions for precisely this purpose, solutions that consist of a few highly efficient and extremely productive individual steps. Laser-based optics manufacturing enables the industry to produce dimensionally accurate and functional components with low roughness, from prototypes to series production, from microlens arrays to macro-optics, from spheres to free-form optics.

Ultrashort pulse lasers have been a hot topic in precision material processing for years. To discuss the later developments, the UKP workshop in Aachen has become the meeting place for the constantly growing community. This year, the major topics were beam sources, system technology, beam shaping and, of course, applications. Many of the innovations presented had a common goal: scaling down to smaller structure sizes and scaling up productivity.

Thanks to synchrotron radiation, welding processes can be observed in greater detail than ever before – live and in real time! Researchers from Fraunhofer ILT and RWTH Aachen University – Chair for Laser Technology University are working at DESY to make vapor capillaries, melt movements and defects visible. Their findings optimize battery and microelectronics production and pave the way for the development of new materials.

The aerospace industry is undergoing profound change. Companies are facing the challenge of having to drastically shorten development cycles, develop more sustainable technologies and reduce costs, all at the same time. In addition, advances in satellite technology require new manufacturing approaches to make systems smaller, lighter and more powerful. While government space programs continue to play a major role here, private players such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Rocket Lab are driving the commercialization of space travel and setting new standards for efficiency and profitability: Competition has never been so fierce.

Battery production is at the heart of industrial and climate policy worldwide. Indeed, the demand for energy storage systems for electromobility and stationary applications is growing globally as is the importance of efficient, sustainable and regionally independent battery production.

In the face of advancing climate change, we drastically need to monitor and understand the various sources and sinks of greenhouse gases worldwide in real time. One focus to accomplish this is to regulate and monitor man-made methane emissions. Laser systems, as developed by researchers at Fraunhofer ILT, offer ways to do exactly this: At the heart of LIDAR instruments, they can precisely determine greenhouse gases in the atmosphere with high spatial and temporal resolution, even from great distances, and do so worldwide.

Electrode drying in the roll-to-roll process (R2R) has so far been one of the most cost- and CO2-intensive manufacturing steps in the production of lithium-ion batteries. A laser-based R2R drying process developed as part of the IDEEL research cooperation could change this in the future. It combines conventional, oven-based convection drying with laser drying using high-power diode lasers and reduces the drying time by more than 60 percent while maintaining the same quality of results.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT has a new managing director: On February 17, 2025, Dr. Jochen Stollenwerk took over as acting director of the institute. He succeeds Prof. Constantin Häfner, who headed Fraunhofer ILT from 2019 to 2025 and has now moved to the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Munich as Director of Research and Transfer.

Whether they are needed for medical technology, telecommunications or aerospace: the demand for high-power lasers is increasing in many industrial sectors. Users are focusing on how cost-effective and stable the systems are. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT has now made significant progress in the development of efficient and stable high-power diode lasers. In principle, it has transferred the writing of fiber Bragg gratings from the world of fiber lasers to that of diode lasers. Dr. Sarah Klein developed the process as part of her dissertation and recently won 3rd place in the prestigious Hugo Geiger Prize.

On April 8 and 9, 2025, the UKP workshop will once again open its doors and bring together experts from industry and research at the venue DAS LIEBIG in Aachen. As the most important platform for material processing with ultrashort pulse lasers, this event not only offers visitors the latest insights into technological advances, but also a unique opportunity to discuss the latest applications and solutions.