Third Party Funds Group - Sub project
Acronym: FOR 1660
Start date : 01.11.2014
End date : 31.12.2017
Website: http://www.optaver.de/startseite/startseite.html
The „Agenda Photonics 2020“, an initiative supported by the BMBF and led by the industry,
compiles that the leading markets in the photonics industry in the fields of manufacturing,
healthcare, communications, lighting and energy, must be sustainably promoted in order to keep
Germany as a business location competitive for international competition in the future. Similarly,
the increasing spreading of photonic networks in industrial and infrastructural sectors leads to the
demand for new developments in the optical assembly and interconnection technology. Thus,
opportunities to develop further applications for passive and active optical functionalized system
components are opened up.
The potential of precise space-resolved strain measurements or the capacity to transmit very large
amounts of data are two examples of the beneficial use of optical systems. Apart from the general
advantages of the optical signal line, like as far as possible immunity to electromagnetic radiation,
being non-sparking for the use in potentially explosive areas or the low weight compared to copper
cables, modern technologies make use of the possibilities to integrate optical waveguides into
structural components. Questions regarding the integration of optical waveguides into fiberglass
composite components or into printed circuit boards are, among others, the subject of current
research.
However, questions regarding the signal transfer at nods in photonic networks are still unsolved.
There are possibilities of optical-electrical and electrical-optical signal conversion. Though an
exclusively passive coupling of optical signals is currently subject to restrictions. This and other
challenges of the optical assembly and interconnection technology are picked up by the dislocated
research group.
The goal of the dislocated research group is to research methods and technologies for the design,
construction and manufacturing of three-dimensional optically functionalized mechatronic
components (3D-opto MID). This includes:
1. development of a technical printing process for coating surfaces with lateral structural
resolutions of less than 1 μm for the subsequent application of optical waveguides
2. technology for manufacturing optical waveguides on 3D-formed surfaces in order to
implement the guidance of optical signals on a structural component
3. passive concept of coupling for a subsequent division of the optical signals along the optical
path of the optical fibers during field mounting
4. concept of coupling for the direct connection of optoelectronic converter components to the
optical fibers during the manufacturing process in order to promote the monolithic
integration of optical system components
5. process for the production of 3D wave-guiding structures for the integration of highly
compressed diode arrays at a microscopic level and their coupling to optical waveguides at
the macroscopic level
6. computer-aided methods for the design and simulation of 3D-opto MIDs.