Applications & Market

Display

The display industry is one of the fastest growing high-tech industries. Flat screens are getting bigger, smart phones, watches and tablets become more and more compact. In display technology higher standards are demanded, which results in meeting higher requirements such as thin and lightweight construction, low energy consumption, as well as excellent readability even in bright sunlight. Micro- and nanostructures offer energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions for any of these requirements. Optical components with sophisticated light management functionality can be manufactured using roll-to-roll or roll-to-plate UV-Nanoimprint processes.

Solar

Micro- and nanostructures play an important role in the application fields Photonics and Electronics, in particular in the conversion of photons into electrons or vice versa. In solar applications micro- and nanostructures are utilized for trapping, coupling or concentration of sunlight on crystalline, thin film or organic photovoltaic cells. Microstructure technology makes PV technology more efficient and improves the energy yield.

Printed Electronics

Organic and printed electronics are the key to a new generation of ubiquitous electronic products and applications in our life. They are thin, light-weight, flexible, robust and they are produced at low cost. Typically a conductive coating or structure is applied to a flexible organic substrate. Nanoimprinting and nanostructuring processes are used to achieve the conductive circuits.

Bionics

Bionic structures are copied from nature to optimize technical applications. Nature is full of many different solutions. Customized microstructures can be used to manipulate hydrophobic/hydrophilic surface characteristics (water-repellent or absorbing surfaces, Lotus effect) or oleophobic surface characteristics (oil-repellent surfaces, anti-fingerprint). Appropriate surface patterning can reduce wind resistance of airplanes, cars or wind turbines, imitating the shark skin effect. Frictional resistance of interacting components can be decreased. The reverse effect of highly adhesive surfaces (Gecko-effect) is also based on micro- and nanostructured surfaces. Based on the shark skin model, micro-bridges which are arranged side by side like fish scales induce anti-bacterial effects, making it more difficult for bacteria to stick, thrive and extend. Antibacterial surfaces are very interesting e.g. for medical facilities, hygienic areas and the food industry.

Life Science

When developing active pharmaceutical ingredients, the so-called Lab-on-Chip technology of microfluidic structures helps shortening developmentalal periods and cutting material consumption early on in the drug development process. In addition to this, these chip-systems can make examinations more comfortable for patients as they can be carried out faster or require less sample quantity. Microfluidic elements such as filters, mixers, channels or selectively structured surfaces are necessary to handle and define the volume of a liquid right from the very first drop.