Microstructured glass surfaces: FBK researches new manufacturing technologies
Glass is transparent, chemically resistant, thermally stable, and electrically insulating – making it a key material for numerous future technologies. At the same time, high-precision processing of glass at the micrometer scale remains a major challenge to this day. This is precisely where the new research project "Microstructuring and Surface Functionalization of Glass Substrate Materials," or MOGS for short, at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau comes in. The project is funded through state funds and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with a total budget of approximately 1.5 million euros. The state is investing around 825,000 euros, the EU approximately 600,000 euros, and RPTU is contributing 75,000 euros of its own funds.
"As the Ministry of Economic Affairs, we are making our contribution to promoting innovation in Rhineland-Palatinate. The Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau is conducting important research for our businesses. Through new, innovative solutions and close collaboration, industry and science are driving innovation, growth, jobs, and value creation in the state. We as the state government are very pleased to support this," said Minister of Economic Affairs Daniela Schmitt on the occasion of the project launch in early May.
At the heart of the project is the question of how glass surfaces can be structured and functionalized with high precision and combined with other materials. To this end, researchers at RPTU are investigating various high-tech manufacturing processes: micro-grinding, micro-laser processing, and 3D micro-printing. The goal is not only to further develop these processes individually, but to connect them into interlocking process chains. This is intended to produce novel microstructured components that integrate optical or electronic functions, or heat conduction and fluid control, directly on or in glass.
"Glass has enormous application potential – from precision optics and biosensing to power electronics. For this, the material must be processable in a reliable, precise, and cost-effective manner," says Prof. Jan Aurich, project leader at RPTU. "With MOGS, we want to lay the foundations for making better use of glass as a functional substrate for new industrial applications."
In micro-grinding, glass substrates are to be processed in such a way that defect-free structures with high surface quality are produced. Micro-laser processing makes it possible to introduce even finer structures into glass. 3D micro-printing, in addition, opens up the possibility of integrating metallic conductor tracks, sensors, or microstructures directly onto or into glass substrates.
"The strength of the project lies in the combination of processes," explains Dr. Julian Hering-Stratemeier, co-project leader alongside Prof. Aurich, from the Optical Technologies and Photonics research group at RPTU. "By combining micro-grinding, micro-laser processing, and 3D micro-printing, structures can be created that would be nearly impossible to realize with a single process alone."
Possible applications range from anti-reflective or water-repellent glass surfaces to small systems that control liquids or enable complete mini-laboratories on a chip, through to glass-metal hybrids for electronics, sensor technology, or high-performance antennas.
The project has a duration of 36 months. It is accompanied by an industrial project advisory board comprising companies from Rhineland-Palatinate, including Schott AG, Philipp Persch Nachf. KG – Diamond Tools, K.-H. Müller Präzisionswerkzeuge GmbH, and Xiton Photonics GmbH. The advisory board ensures that industrial requirements are incorporated into the research at an early stage and that the project results are evaluated in a practice-oriented manner.
In addition to scientific publications and conference contributions, an active transfer into industry is planned. Among other things, workshops and information events are scheduled. The results are also intended to be incorporated into teaching. In this way, the project not only creates new technological foundations, but also contributes to strengthening Rhineland-Palatinate as a research and innovation hub.