Inkjet printing of functional materials and structures in 2D and 3D

Our key services and competences

At Fraunhofer IOF, the entire process chain from preparing substrates, to the development of printing processes, up to the targeted post-treatment of printed structures, is researched and developed. Our many years of experience lead to the targeted optimization of parameters for the entire printing process

Markets and applications

3D inkjet printing of optical elements and functional materials is interesting for many applications, especially for the production of small series and individualized products. At Fraunhofer IOF, applications in the fields of medical technology, life sciences and the automotive industry are already being developed. Inkjet printing enables flexible solutions for the challenges of our customers.

In many projects at Fraunhofer IOF, tailor-made micro- and macro-optical components and systems for use in illumination and imaging optics have been realized. Furthermore, functions for use in microfluidic chips and for the development of a lab-on-a-chip for near-patient diagnostics have been developed and tested in practical use. The fully inkjet-printed developed functionalities include:

• LED lightguides
• Optical waveguides
• Freeform refractive optics for illumination
• Microlens arrays
• Transparent heating structures
• Electrodes for electrophoresis
• Fluorescence detectors (OLEDs, photodiodes) (German press release on fluorescence chips)
• Optically active surfaces (mirrors, optical filters)
• Micropumps
• Different sensor surfaces
• Digital microfluidics

In addition to these applications, Fraunhofer IOF is also working on the 3D printing of eyeglass lenses (more information below).

Your advantages of working with us

We develop highly customized 2D structures on diverse materials as well as feature integration on diverse materials using inkjet printing technology.

The inkjet printing process usually takes place in a normal atmosphere and at low process temperatures. This makes the entire process very cost-effective. It is also particularly suitable for the production of single components and rapid prototyping due to the high potential to customize the individual printed structures. Scaling up to high volumes is easily possible due to the digital design.

The combination of our experience and passion for challenging technological boundaries enables us to develop exceptional, customized multilayer and multimaterial functionalities on a variety of substrates.

The advantages of our 3D printing technology at a glance

• Cost-effective material application
  
• Digital printing technology
  
  • Material savings
    
  • Easy design change
    
  • Capability of rapid prototyping
• Mask-free, contactless deposition
  
• Deposition at normal atmosphere
  
• Processing at room temperature
  
• Compatible with substance of glass, polymers and paper

Technical equipment in the field of inkjet printing

• For cleaning and activation of various substrates (glass, plastics, metal, ceramics, paper) we have a wet chemical cleaning line and plasma ovens at our disposal.
• For printing, we use commercial inkjet printers in desktop format.
• The use of laminar flow box modules enables almost particle-free printing results.
• Inks that require an inert atmosphere are printed in a nitrogen atmosphere with the exclusion of oxygen and water.
• The use of different industrial print heads from renowned manufacturers enables us to use a wide range of inks in a large viscosity range.
• Heatable substrate tables lead to an optimized printing result. UV lamps with different wavelengths allow curing of UV-crosslinking materials.
• UV lamps with different wavelengths allow curing of UV-crosslinking materials.
• For post-treatment we use heating and plasma ovens as well as vacuum chambers to achieve the desired properties.