LASER World of PHOTONICS 2023

How do you decide whether a pedestrian needs to wait or it’s safe for them to cross the road in front of a car? In today’s world, car drivers and pedestrians simply exchange a brief eye contact or small hand gestures to express their intentions to one another. But how will future autonomous cars communicate? Researchers involved in the MaMeK project are seeking to answer that question.

At the Fraunhofer IST, systems for improved process control and the automated process management of coating processes are developed on the basis of a holistic understanding of the process. One example is the MOCCA^+® software, which will be demonstrated live at LASER 2023.

An electric snowmobile at LASER World of PHOTONICS 2023 in the summer! Why? Trade show visitors have the Finnish startup Aurora Powertrains Oy from Rovaniemi to thank for this premiere of the Arctic kind. Aurora has developed cold-resistant batteries with extremely high energy density for the Arctic temperatures of this region, and the customized joining technology required for this comes from the laser welding experts at the Fraunhofer ILT.

Weather reports, climate models or rocket launches – they all need precise data from the atmosphere. To acquire such data, scientists can use LIDAR systems to shoot laser beams into the sky. A team from the Fraunhofer ILT and the Leibniz Institute for Atmospheric Physics IAP has developed a portable LIDAR system that works autonomously.  

The potential of micro scanners in medical technology is immense. Fraunhofer IPMS is continuously expanding the application range of scanner mirror technology with novel and patented design solutions and technology modules as well as the integration of artificial intelligence.

Fraunhofer IPMS uses optical microsystems to enable fast and high-resolution light control. By using small, movable mirrors, the institute's photonic systems can modulate light to create unique images and structures. The institute's researchers are implementing 1-axis- and 2-axis tilting mirrors as well as piston mirrors. The mirrors are monolithically integrated on so-called CMOS backplanes.

Periodically-poled lithium niobate (PPLN) is a nonlinear-optical crystal with specific photonic properties. It is suitable for example for the frequency conversion of laser light. Researchers at Fraunhofer IPM in collaboration with the University of Freiburg have developed a new technique that allows them to structure PPLN with full flexibility and without masks.