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Ultrashort Laser Pulses Revolutionizing Production
Researchers from TRUMPF, Bosch and the University of Jena are
nominated for the Federal President's German Future Prize 2013
Ditzingen, October 2, 2013 – "Being nominated for the German Future Prize is a great honor," says
Dr.-Ing. E.h. Peter Leibinger, head of the TRUMPF Laser Technology/Electronics Division. "We're
very happy that the German President is honoring the entrepreneurial daring we showed over
many years in driving this highly complex research topic of the ultrashort pulse laser to industrial
maturity."
TRUMPF is the world's largest manufacturer of lasers for industrial production. Ultrashort pulse
lasers used for the micro-processing of all kinds of different materials – from glass smartphone
covers to medical implants and injection valves – are an important and fast-growing market. The
fact that the ultrashort pulse laser has such a broad application here – while still being only on the
threshold of its full potential – is primarily the achievement of joint research and development work
by TRUMPF, Bosch and the University of Jena.
"The route taken by the ultrashort pulse laser is a perfect example of the German research model,"
explains Dr. Peter Leibinger. "Universities do the basic research, companies develop the results in
accordance with market requirements, and the value-added remains in Germany." Dr. Jens König
from Bosch, Dr. Dirk Sutter from TRUMPF, Professor Dr. Stefan Nolte from the University of Jena
and Fraunhofer IOF were thus all nominated for the German Future Prize, which is awarded by the
German President.
Innovation without limits
The most important technical innovations in history were a means to an end – they were tools.
"They have changed the course of technological history far more than individual products," says
Dr. Peter Leibinger. "Because tools determine what can be produced in the first place, as well as in
what quantities, and at what price. The ultrashort pulse laser is that kind of tool." Long celebrated in
theory by the experts, the ultrashort pulse laser – thanks to TRUMPF and Bosch – is now showing
what it can actually do in factories, and how it is changing the face of industrial mass production.
Back in 1999, the two companies joined forces in a development venture. The University of Jena
supplied the theoretical models and the basic experiments. Bosch developed the industrial
process, while TRUMPF realized the requirements placed on an industry-suitable beam source.
During the project the partners registered a total of 51 patent families, and relied on a type of laser
that was different from all the others: the disk laser. Today they have made the average output of
ultrashort pulse lasers more than ten times as powerful – essential for the throughput rates
required by industry.
Mass-produced small miracles
"Today’s production of high-precision structural components forces our brain to tune out all its
everyday notions of what the word 'duration' means," says nominated TRUMPF expert Dr. Dirk
Sutter. "Because with the ultrashort pulse laser, production has entered the unimaginable realms
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of the temporally tiny. 'Ultrashort' here means a pulse lasting only picoseconds (10 - ¹² seconds)."
While a ray of light needs around one second to get from the Earth to the Moon, within one
picosecond it only travels a distance of 0.3 millimeters. Concentration of laser radiation into such
brief time periods leads to enormous peaks in performance.
Hundreds of thousands of these tiny laser flashes are generated every second, and this sequence
of pulses has a further effect. When material is under fire at picosecond intervals it has no time to
melt, instead it actually sublimates. Skillful selection of pulse duration, pulse energy, cycle rate and
the right focus heats up the material so quickly and powerfully that it breaks off and vaporizes
without melting – and can then be simply sucked away using a stream of air. This enables ablation
in the very finest ranges of just a few millionths of a millimeter (i.e. nanometers) – without any burr
formation from residual melt, or any heat transfer to the material that would impair its quality. In
production, this is referred to as “cold processing”; the process transfers no heat, and leaves no
residue behind.
Contribution toward gasoline saving
Until only a few years ago, this small miracle only occurred in research chambers at universities,
under laboratory conditions. Today Bosch is mass-producing structural components in their
millions with the ultrashort pulse laser for sectors such as the automotive industry. One example is
a direct injection valve for gasoline: Here, the ultrashort pulse laser drills geometrically complex
injection holes with smooth walls. This distributes the gasoline more efficiently in the combustion
chamber, contributing toward fuel savings of up to 20 percent. Thanks to the new production
process this optimization can also be achieved in engines with medium, smalls and ultra-small
displacements. The advantages of direct injection – less consumption and fewer emissions – are
therefore available for all vehicle classes now.
Ultrashort pulse lasers are also suitable for the high-precision machining of almost all materials,
including ceramics, sapphire, carbon fiber, plastics or glass. A second example from practice:
cover screens on smartphones, which have to be extremely thin and very hard at the same time. If
they are cut out using diamond saws or other methods, microscopic cracks often appear in the
glass. With the ultrashort pulse laser this danger can be avoided – which is why it has developed
into the tool of choice for the world's largest manufacturers.
There are also the minimal invasive processes used in medical technology – in the production of
stents, for example, which are used to keep blood vessels open. To prevent them from damaging
the vessels and to stop any blood clots from forming, stents have to be absolutely burr-free. Today,
they are made from nitinol, for instance, a shape-memory alloy. With the fusion cutting method
used so far, stents had to be deburred. Now, with the ultrashort pulse laser, stents can be
produced without the need for refinishing work – and this also makes them far cheaper. Clinical
studies are currently being carried out on bioresorbable coronary stents made from polymer, which
dissolves in the body after a certain time period. The production of stents like these is only possible
with ultrashort pulse lasers.
>
A finger on the pulse of the times
These three examples alone demonstrate how industry is making use of the ultrashort pulse laser.
TRUMPF has standardized the laser sources and is now supplying them to industry. The
manufacturers certainly have their finger on the ultrashort pulse of the times: Sectors such as the
automotive industry, semiconductor production, industrial technology, medical technology, the
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photovoltaic sector and the electronics industry are all developing applications for ultrashort pulse
lasers. By the end of 2013, Bosch will have delivered 30 million components fabricated using
ultrashort pulse technology to its customers worldwide. By the year 2020 the number of
picosecond lasers in use at Bosch is expected to have more than tripled.
TRUMPF is the world leader with regard to the average power, modulation capability and pulse
stability of this laser. "Apart from the disk laser technology, what is unique here above all is the
safe and precise control technology. The patented double control loop monitors every single
picosecond pulse and keeps the power and the pulse energy at exactly the level required,
independent of external influences", explains Dr. Dirk Sutter. This is done by means of an external
modulator which decouples the pulse build-up from the power control, so it always delivers
precisely the power and pulse energy needed – while beam quality and pulse duration remain
constant.
With this development TRUMPF offers an extremely robust laser concept, specially designed to
make it ideal for operation in today's three-shift production. No need to sacrifice quality for
economic efficiency here: With average outputs of over 150 watts, the TRUMPF picosecond lasers
are among the fastest and most powerful in the world.
Right of usage:
Attached to this press release are digital photos at resolution suitable for printing. They
may only be used for editorial purposes. Use is free of charge when credit is given as
“Photo: TRUMPF Group” and a complimentary copy is sent to the above address.
Graphic editing – except for the purpose of extracting the main motive – are prohibited.
Additional photos can be accessed on the company website:
www.trumpf.com/presse/medienservice
Dr.-Ing. E.h. Peter Leibinger
"Being nominated for the German Future
Prize is a great honor", says Dr.-Ing.
E.h. Peter Leibinger, head of TRUMPF's
Laser Technology/Electronics Division.
The nominated team
Dr. Dirk Sutter, TRUMPF (left), Dr. Jens
König, Bosch (middle), and Professor
Stefan Nolte, University of Jena and
Fraunhofer IOF have been nominated
for the German Future Prize, awarded
by the German President.
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Glass cutting
Cover screens on smartphones are
extremely hard and thin. Cutting them
with ultrashort pulse lasers successfully
prevents microscopic cracks on the
edges – leading to longer service life.
Stent production
To prevent injury to blood vessels,
stents have to be absolutely burr-free.
Today's stents are made from nitinol,
for instance, a shape-memory alloy.
The ultrashort pulse laser eliminates
the need for refinishing work – making
production far cheaper.
About TRUMPF
TRUMPF is a leading global technology company with Machine Tools, Laser Technology, Electronics and
Medical Technology as its business fields. Products manufactured with the company's technology can be
found in almost every sector of industry. TRUMPF is the world technological and market leader for machine
tools used in flexible sheet metal processing, and also for industrial lasers.
In 2012/13 the company – which has approximately 9,900 employees – achieved sales of 2.35 billion Euros
(preliminary figures for the 2012/13 fiscal year). With around 60 subsidiaries and branches, the TRUMPF
Group is represented in almost all the countries of Europe, North and South America, and Asia. It has
production facilities in Germany, China, France, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, Austria, Poland, Switzerland,
Singapore, the Czech Republic and the USA.
For more information about TRUMPF go to www.trumpf.com
For interview questions for Dr. Peter Leibinger or Dr. Dirk Sutter
and other press questions please contact:
Verena Buttler
Anke Roser
Press Officer, Laser Technology
Deputy Press Officer
+49 7156 303-31559 +49 7156 303-30992
Verena.Buttler@de.trumpf.com
Anke.Roser@de.trumpf.com
TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG
Johann-Maus-Strasse 2
71254 Ditzingen
Germany
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More information about ultrashort pulse lasers and the institutions
nominated for the German Future Prize can be found here:
www.trumpf-laser.com
www.laser-community.de
www.bosch.com
www.uni-jena.de
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