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Whether in medical technology, electronics, or automotive manufacturing, the demands on functional coatings are constantly increasing. In addition to an efficient performance, they must also be highly reliable and wear- and corrosion-resistant under extreme conditions. High-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) is a key technology for solving these challenges. Through the creation of highly ionized plasmas, coatings can be produced which are particularly dense, adherent, and precisely controllable. The 15th International Conference on Fundamentals and Industrial Applications of HIPIMS, which took place in Braunschweig at the end of June, focused on how this technology is developing and where it can be applied in the future.

With the utmost precision, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST has won this year’s Manufacturing Challenge at the Optical Interference Coatings Conference (OIC2025) in the USA. In this international competition, a spectroscopically precisely defined optical filter had to be manufactured as accurately as possible – a task that demands both creativity and the highest precision in design, production, and measurement technology. The first place among the worldwide entries is impressive proof of the institute’s outstanding expertise in the field of optical coatings.

High-performance, environmentally stable infrared optics are essential for modern applications in analytics, security and aerospace. At LASER World of Photonics 2025, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST will be presenting newly developed coating solutions that offer maximum precision and long-term stability – even under extreme conditions.

Around the world, there is a lack of comprehensive medical care for people living in remote areas. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have devised a solution for this in the PreCare project: a flexible, modular health platform that can be installed on the bed of a pickup truck. It is already in use in South Africa and Namibia. The team was presented with the Innovations for a Better Future award from the Fraunhofer-Zukunftsstiftung (Fraunhofer Future Foundation) for this development.

For a long time, hyperspectral imaging was considered complex and space-consuming. New technologies are, however, now paving the way for compact and efficient solutions. Interference filters that can be integrated directly into CMOS image sensors enable customized spectral analyses in the smallest of spaces. They thereby open up new application possibilities in environmental monitoring, agriculture and industrial quality assurance. The Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST will be providing an insight into this key optical-sensor technology on the Fraunhofer joint stand at this year’s LASER World of Photonics in Munich.

For the resource-conserving and, at the same time, economical production of plastic components, the utilization of intelligent, automated processes is crucial. At automatica 2025, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST will be showcasing an innovative sensor system that records process data such as temperature and pressure in real time - directly in the tool. The wear-resistant thin-film sensors and the adoption of machine learning methods enable precise monitoring, automated quality assurance and sustainable optimization of the injection-molding process.

Whether in vacuum coating or water treatment, simulations are indispensable tools for research and development. They make it possible to reduce the number of physical tests, configure processes more efficiently and save valuable resources. Until now, however, their utilization has generally been reserved for specialized experts. The Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST is going to fundamentally change this - with a new approach that takes simulation out of the expert niche and transfers it directly into industrial practice.

Through its expertise, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST has provided a significant contribution towards the successful revision and publication of the international standard ISO 10678. The standard regulates the procedure for determining the photocatalytic activity of surfaces by means of the degradation of methylene blue under UV irradiation. It enables an objective assessment of the self-cleaning properties of surfaces and provides manufacturers of coated materials with a reliable basis for product certification.

At the beginning of March, the third funding period commenced for the Open Hybrid LabFactory (OHLF) research campus, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). In collaboration with Volkswagen, the Technische Universität Braunschweig, the Fraunhofer Center Circular Economy for Mobility CCEM, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences and 35 further partners, practice-oriented and efficient solutions for a sustainable circular economy in the automotive industry are being developed at the OHLF within the scope of this funding phase. For this purpose, the BMBF is providing a funding volume of ten million euros, which will cover three major research projects and a duration of five years. A central component of this initiative is the “CirProTech” project, the kick-off meeting for which took place in Wolfsburg at the end of March.

How is a wafer-thin film created? Why is the correct preparation so important? And how can the quality of a coating be tested? These and many other questions were investigated by 22 curious schoolchildren during this year’s Future Day at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST. In collaboration with the neighboring Fraunhofer WKI, the institute opened its doors to provide the young guests with an exciting insight into the world of research and technology.