PhoenixD | 52 million euros, 110 scientists, one common goal: the technological revolution in optics. In the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD, researchers are working on small and inexpensive high-performance optics that open up completely new fields of application.

PhoenixD | Dr Reinhard Caspary is the technology coordinator of the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD at Leibniz University Hannover. The graduate physicist and doctor of electrical engineering wishes the cluster members to develop a collective identity as "optics researchers".

IFW | From design to quality control, everything is done digitally. The Institute of Production Engineering and Machine Tools (IFW) simulates the additive manufacturing of glass to optimally plan the processes for the production of precision optics.

IW | Which novel carrier materials are suitable for optoelectronic components – and how can they be provided with conductor paths and metallization? The Institute of Materials Science (IW) is investigating these questions in the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD.

PhoenixD | Dr Marc-André Dittrich heads Task Group F2 – Expert Systems for Quality Control at PhoenixD. The interdisciplinary cooperation in the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD opens the doors for entirely new solutions.

match | In order to position components for optical microsystems quickly and precisely, self-assembly techniques are the ideal solution. The Institute of Assembly Technology (match) is researching this innovative process in the PhoenixD cluster of excellence.

IFA | What will the production of optical systems look like in the future? In the PhoenixD cluster of excellence, scientists are not only concerned with the further development of production technology, but also with the design of supply chains and production planning and control (PPC).

PhoenixD | The Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD of Leibniz University Hannover hosts the "PhoenixD Laser Day". Invited are scientists and representatives of the industry with interest in optics and photonics.

PhoenixD | The Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD cluster (Photonics Optics Engineering – Innovation Across Disciplines) receives 52 million euros in federal and state funding. How the approximately 110 researchers are using this money, explain the cluster's executive board members, Professor Dr Uwe Morgner and Professor Dr Ludger Overmeyer.

LZH | So far, 3D printing processes for glass materials have been rare. The LZH is developing a laser-based process for the Additive Manufacturing of glass components. Quartz glass components for optics and medical technology can be manufactured using laser deposition welding the future.

match | In the precision assembly of hybrid microsystems, the shrinkage of adhesives is undesirable because it causes internal stresses and assembly errors. A simulation model makes it possible to predict and counteract positional deviations.

IMPT | Manufacturing of high-precision microsystems quickly and cost-effectively: This is what the IMPT is working on. Based on plastic injection molding and various coating techniques, an optical platform is being created.

ITA | Printed optical waveguides could replace electrical circuit boards in the future. This is demonstrated by scientists at the Institute of Transport and Automation Technology (ITA) in the PhoenixD Cluster of Excellence using the example of an optical decimal binary converter.

IFW | In the production of optical components, the substrate must be precisely and dynamically aligned – until now a contradiction. The Institute of Production Engineering and Machine Tools (IFW) is researching magnetically levitated actuators that combine dynamics and precision.

IFUM | The fast and cost-effective production of optical systems is the goal of the PhoenixD Cluster of Excellence. A promising solution is the exact molding of micro- and nanostructures in a precisely controllable embossing process.