RSSBack

1 May 2014

TRUMPF and partners win German Future Prize

For their entry "Production with light flashes – ultrashort pulse lasers for industrial mass production", researchers from TRUMPF, Bosch and the University of Jena have been awarded the prestigious German Future Prize of the German Federal President. The award ceremony took place in Berlin on the evening of December 4, 2013 as part of a gala event hosted by presenter Maybrit Illner. German President Joachim Gauck awarded the prize to the winning team in person.

The three researchers Dr. Dirk Sutter (TRUMPF), Dr. Jens König (Bosch) and Professor Stefan Nolte (Friedrich Schiller University, Jena and Fraunhofer IOF, Jena) have turned ultrashort laser pulses into a new tool for industrial mass production. This has paved the way for ultraprecise production of tiny structures – and for the manufacture of entirely new products. Numerous sectors such as the automotive industry, semiconductor production, industrial technology, the photovoltaic sector or the electrical industry are all now developing applications for ultrashort pulse lasers. Examples include the cutting of silicone wafers into individual chips, or the cutting of shatterproof touchscreen glass – and there is no way of predicting how many more sectors this new tool will certainly be penetrating over the next few years.

The story of the ultrashort pulse laser is a textbook example of how the success of the German research model is based on publicly funded joint projects. Stefan Nolte laid the foundations for the use of ultrashort pulse lasers in his research into their fundamental physical effects. Dirk Sutter and his team went on to develop the world's first and hitherto most powerful ultrashort pulse laser for industrial use. Jens König and his team at Bosch studied the precise requirements of material processing; and Bosch also designed the systems technology for reliable industrial production of numerous products – one example being extremely fine injection apertures for engine injection valves. Thanks to these, fuel savings of up to 20 percent are possible – and this too is a major benefit of the highly precise ultrashort pulse laser.
 

Photo: TRUMPF
Dr. Dirk Sutter, Head of Research and Development for Ultrashort Pulse Lasers at TRUMPF Laser GmbH + Co. KG in Schramberg, with the award.

 


Back to top