Review 2009

Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT

ALT

Getting the technological edge - an optimistic optics industry meets up in Aachen

Around 120 experts from the optics industry met up for the fifth time on March 18 and 19, 2009 in Aachen: they were invited to the conference on "Optics - Key Technology for the Future" by the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Technology IPT and for Laser Technology ILT as well as Innolite GmbH, the latest spin-off from the Fraunhofer IPT. The aim of the colloquium was to provide participants with an insight into current trends and innovations - the lectures were therefore divided into three topic areas "Markets and Strategy", »Products and Innovation« and "Technology and Production". The program for the two days also included tours of the institutes and a joint dinner, giving everyone plenty of opportunity for lively discussions.

Precision and a command of the entire process will get the industry through the crisis

One central issue kept raising its head, particularly in the first topic area of "Markets and Strategy": what is the future for optical technologies in view of the global economic situation? Dr. Dirk Rothweiler, head of the "Optical Systems" division at Jenoptik AG, was confident that the current crisis does not signify the industry´s downfall - on the contrary, it should be seen as the foundation for future growth. Dr. Bernd Schulte, vice president of the European photonics industry association, Photonics 21, continued in a similar vein: the most effective protection for the photonics market against the effects of the crisis is a wide variety of products which include optical elements - from consumer electronics to automobile sensors or medical technology. The European optical industry already accounts for up to 45 percent of the global optical components market in many sectors. Schulte is also of the opinion that research funding must not be allowed to fall so low as to damage this competitive edge. His emphatic appeal was directed not only to the conference participants representing the industry, but also to the politicians responsible for economic policy within the European Union.

Several other lectures spelt out just how optics research and development can pave the way for leading edge technologies. In his summary at the end of the first day, Professor Fritz Klocke, head of the Fraunhofer IPT, pointed out the most important conclusions: only those companies that manage to provide precision technology for the mass market will survive in the global market against the competition from low-wage countries. In order to do this, all the processes along the entire manufacturing chain must be fully understood and mastered with high precision - from design to tool making and manufacturing to quality assurance.

Europe´s optics industry: strong on many fronts

The examples of this successful high-end technology presented in the lectures were as varied as the fields in which the photonics industry is active. Dr. Dirk Rossberg, department head for the development of driver assistance systems at BMW, highlighted just how strongly the development of robust optical systems for use in vehicles depends on the precise interaction of all the vehicle components. Cameras built into the bodywork of a car already help to protect the driver or are used to create more comfort. These optical systems must be fully functional both at temperatures well below zero (in negative double figures) or in the dry heat of regions further south, as well as, for example, withstanding high pressure cleaning equipment at the car wash.

Miniature cameras used in medical devices, on the other hand, must meet completely different requirements: when one considers the various endoscopy applications, developments must cover both inexpensive optics for disposable products and complex optical systems for use in multiple instruments with high standards in terms of medical disinfection.

Three of the lectures ´shed light´ on the issue of "LEDs" - one of the key topics throughout the event. With a potential for over 25 percent growth per year, this field seems to be developing into THE technology of the coming decade. There are still challenges to be met that go beyond the technology itself. For instance, everywhere where optical technology becomes visible to the consumer, developments must also take looks and design into account. Dr. Michael Kleinkes from Hella KGaA Hueck & Co gave specific examples from the field of automotive engineering and Dr. Wilbert IJzerman, head of the optics research group at Philips Lighting outlined the company´s vision of entirely new lighting systems far removed from the light bulbs and fluorescent lamps of today´s lighting concepts. In his speech, IJzerman explained how LEDs and optics systems will be integrated in future into large surface free form lights with flexible lighting concepts.

Technology as the key to success

The lectures on the second day of the colloquium highlighted what specific requirements manufacturing technologies must meet for the production of optical systems and how these requirements can be met. Professor Reinhart Poprawe, head of the Fraunhofer ILT presented the latest laser technologies for surface treatment. Contact-free surface polishing using lasers would appear to have great potential - roughness values of Ra=50 nanometers on metal surfaces are already possible. Glass and plastic polishing is still being tested, but roughness values of less than 10 nm are already possible. Dr. Steffen Gürtler, managing director at OPTEG GmbH, added to Poprawe´s comments when he informed the conference about an ion beam process already in industrial use with which to ultra precisely correct the shape of optical surfaces.

The manufacture of fine or complex optics via replication processes in glass and plastics was demonstrated by Bernd Bresseler from Aixtooling GmbH and Dr. Christian Wenzel, managing director of Innolite GmbH, two spin-offs from the Fraunhofer IPT. In their talks on replicative techniques for optics manufacturing, they presented the precision molding of complex glass optics and manufacturing techniques for ultra precision metal and plastic optics.