R&D Projects
At Menlo Systems, research and development are at the heart of our innovation. Through collaborative R&D projects with leading academic and industrial partners, we drive progress in precision metrology, quantum technologies, and ultrafast photonics. These projects help us translate cutting-edge science into real-world solutions.
Current Projects
Former Projects
Together with a Japanese partner and starting January 1st, 2018, Menlo develops critical components and subsystems for a broadband optical dual-comb spectrometer in the mid-infrared and the UV spectral region. Despite the fact that optical spectroscopy is an established technique with applications, e.g., in chemical process control, there is a huge market potential for a technology that allows for probing along extended pathways with high selectivity and short acquisition times. Applications for such a system range from monitoring hazardous trace gases (CH4 or NOx) to hyperspectral imaging in microscopy.
Project leader at Menlo Systems: Carsten Cleff
Funded in Germany by BMWi in the ZIM program, and in Japan by METI, which is gratefully acknowledged.
Quantum computation is in the focus of science and industry, with huge investments from major companies and research bodies. In order to drive its advancement, research in quantum technology requires the availability of highly precise laser systems. The CaLas research project, granted by the BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung), aims to facilitate the transfer of quantum technology from scientific laboratories to industrial application. The participating companies and research groups are developing an integrated optical platform providing a robust, compact, and highly stable laser system for quantum information processing with calcium ions. They elaborate the key technologies for the simplification, miniaturization, and automation of the complex laser systems to make it easy to operate for users outside the scientific community. The project concentrates on the development of compact optical frequency combs with particularly low phase noise, optical reference systems based on highly reflective mirrors, miniaturized highly stable continuous wave lasers, and novel magneto-optical crystals for micro-integrated optical isolators. The grant will strengthen the unique competences of the German photonics industry within the global development of quantum technology.
Related website:
https://www.quantentechnologien.de/forschung/foerderung/schluesselkomponenten-fuer-quantentechnologien/calas.html
We are grateful for funding provided by BMBF Germany.
This EU Horizon 2020 project comprises of 18 partners from 8 countries. After its successful precursor CLONETS (https://www.clonets.eu/) this project aims at establishing a pan-European time and frequency network and reference system to serve the European science community. Ultrastable time and frequency signals will be disseminated via optical fiber networks across many European countries.
The Design Study consists of several work packages, with Menlo Systems as the leader of the work package geared towards elaborating and understanding the needs of various scientific communities that will benefit from such a network, including optical clocks, geodesy, telecommunications, fundamental science, and many others.
Menlo Systems has been part of some of the groundbreaking experiments in time and frequency networks over the last two decades, and our optical frequency combs and ultrastable lasers play a large role in the dissemination of time and frequency signals between remote locations, even spanning multiple countries.
Related websites:
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/951886
https://clonets-ds.eu/
We gratefully acknowledge funding by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 951886 (CLONETS-DS).
Distribution of high performance time and frequency reference signals over optical fibre networks are foreseen as enabling technology and infrastructure for most demanding actual and future projects and applications, including comparisons of today’s best optical clocks. The CloNets consortium and project aims to prepare the transfer of this new generation of technology to industry and to strengthen the coordination between research infrastructures and the research and education telecommunications networks, preparing the deployment of this technology to create a sustainable, pan-European clock service network. Further, this core network will be designed to be compatible with a global European vision of time and frequency distribution over telecommunications networks, enabling it to provide support to a multitude of lower-performance time services, responding to the rapidly growing needs created by developments such as cloud computing, Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. Menlo is contributing to various work packages within this project.
Funding under H2020-EU.1.4.2.1. – Exploiting the innovation potential of research infrastructures is gratefully acknowledged.
Over the past few years, optical imaging of neural activity in brain tissue in neuroscience has rapidly gained interest and it has helped to better understand complex brain behavior. However, in-vivo brain imaging has been limited to shallow brain regions, which are relatively easily accessible for optics from the outside. At the same time, investigations of brain activities, e.g. in mice, have required for a fixation of the mice, making investigations more complex and altering the mice response to outside stimulus.
The goal of the Deepbrain project is to develop an ultra-thin two-photon endoscope system for deep brain imaging enabling harmless insertion of the endoscope into the brain of freely moving mice. Menlo Systems is developing an innovative, compact, and easy to use high-power femtosecond fiber laser system enabling two-photon excitation and imaging of brain tissue. CNRS Institut Fresnel develops the imaging instrument, a nonlinear flexible ultra-thin lens-less endoscope allowing harmless imaging of mouse brain activity in deeper, so far inaccessible, brain regions. The compact, portable and easy-to-use nonlinear endoscope imaging system aims to open up new opportunities on the market for brain activity imaging and push the boundaries of currently available technologies.
We are grateful for funding provided by Eurostars.
The goal of this joint project is the development of an imaging platform to visualize tumor cells and its surrounding tissue, the so called extra cellular matrix (ECM).
The project herewith aims:
- To visualize and validate the effects of the properties of the tissue on the formation and development of tumor cells
- To develop new therapeutic approaches through targeted agents influencing the tumor-cell-ECM-interaction and evaluate their effects on tumor progression
To this end, a new laser source will be integrated into a compact 2-photon microscope. The potential of the project has been shown in preliminary work.
Cooperation with: LaVision BioTec, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Institut für Bioprozess-und Analysenmestechnik (iba) e.V., Miltenyi Biotec GmbH
This project is supported by VDI Technologiezentrum and funded by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF).
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Mayor and Queloz for the discovery of the first extrasolar planet around a Sun-like star. They achieved this back in 1995 using precise spectroscopic observations. Since then, several thousand other exoplanets have been found, many of them by stellar spectroscopy. During the orbital motion, an exoplanet imprints a tiny reflex movement its host star, which can be observed as tiny periodic Doppler shift in the stellar spectral lines. Continuous spectrograph recalibration with very high precision is needed to detect this, and for making the method sensitive to Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars, traditional calibration methods are no longer sufficient. In order to break this barrier, many cutting edge astronomical spectrographs have been equipped with frequency comb systems in the past years, which employ complex filtering schemes to make the comb structure resolvable with echelle spectrographs. Our joint collaboration with EPFL (T. Kippenberg) seeks to harness the intrinsically large and easily resolvable mode spacing of a microresonator-based frequency comb, which greatly simplifies the system while at the same time shrinking it down to a chip-type device. The smaller footprint, lower cost and greater ease of operation may promote more widespread adoption of this extremely accurate calibration system perhaps beyond astronomy. Integration of the system into space telescopes may also become an option.
Funding by Eurostars under the program E!113569 is gratefully acknowledged.
Research in the fields of precision spectroscopy, quantum optics and cold atoms, honored by the Physics Nobel Prizes 1989, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2012 has triggered a new era in precision measurements and quantum metrology. One eminent example of new instrument is the optical atomic clock. Atomic clocks operating at microwave frequencies are well-established and have already shown their usefulness in a variety of application, especially for satellite-based navigation (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo) and in communication networks.
In optical atomic clocks it is a (laser) electromagnetic wave that “ticks”. However it beats 1015 times per second instead of 1010 as in microwave clocks. The progress in the performance of laboratory prototypes has been spectacular – the best inaccuracy and best instability are now both smaller than 1×10-17 and still progressing, thanks to world-wide efforts. While these instruments will surely have many applications, a few are already emerging: geodesy (measurement of the gravitational potential of the Earth) and tests of fundamental physics.
So far, optical clocks are mainly confined to a handful of advanced labs and it is important to develop robust system for general use and in particular also for applications in space.
This ITN addresses all of the issues in moving towards space optical clocks by covering every aspect ranging from atomic references and ultra-stable lasers to frequency combs, precision frequency distribution and commercial system technology. It focuses on technological developments enhancing the technology readiness level of the new optical atomic clocks, enhancing the chance that they will become industrially produced instruments.
In fact, FACT benefits from links to the EU-FP7 project “Space Optical Clocks” (www.soc2.eu) and the ESA candidate mission “SOC”, a lattice optical clock on the ISS (http://sci.esa.int/ste-quest/), which provides resources for the respective technology developments and offers exposure of the ERS group to the field of space technology. The space industry side is also represented by our partner companies Kayser Threde and Kayser Italia.
FACT will prepare a new generation of young experts in precision atomic technology.
Quantum technologies are about to fuel the next technological revolution. Computing, artificial intelligence, secure communication, time keeping, sensing, scientific metrology and much more may soon be boosted by quantum technologies. Funding bodies have issued large programs to drive this development and bring quantum technologies from research into widespread application. We are a part of this by developing a modular component for quantum technologies with collaborators at the University of Bonn. Two opposed processed fiber facets create a miniature version of a cavity of mirrors used e.g. to interface qubits such as trapped single atoms. Connected via optical fiber, this small modular component shall serve as a building block for complex quantum optical systems. Menlo Systems anticipates first commercial applications in frequency comb systems for metrology within a few years.
Related website:
https://www.quantentechnologien.de/forschung/foerderung/schluesselkomponenten-fuer-quantentechnologien/faresq.html
We gratefully acknowledge funding by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF).
Lasers operating in the near- and mid-IR spectral range are widely used for industrial processing of materials, often employing pico- or nanosecond pulse durations. Due to the good availability of laser sources at 1 µm and 10 µm applications often focus on this wavelength range. However, ultrashort pulses operating around a wavelength of 2 µm can be highly advantageous for the processing of material composites, such as reinforced plastics, as well as for biological tissue processing. Pulses at 2 µm allow for a selective processing required for the individual materials, and at the same time, the penetration depth is low in tissue, which makes them safe in operation and handling. Thus, the lacking availability of powerful, cost-efficient 2 µm laser sources has resulted in little application of such laser systems for material processing.
The HABRIA project aims to develop a compact, powerful, turn-key laser system at a wavelength of 2 µm in order to make 2 µm laser systems readily available for the material processing market. The project consortium will integrate the laser system into a laser processing workstation and demonstrate micromachining of composite materials for the automotive and aerospace industry. Additional applications for the versatile 2 µm laser system will be investigated, e.g. for biomedical applications and research in LIDAR.
We are grateful for funding provided by Eurostars.
FOKUS II targets further miniaturization of optical frequency combs (OFCs) for deployment on a microgravity platform. After successful missions of the FOKUS OFC on sounding rockets Texus 51 (April 2015) and Texus 53 (January 2016) launched from Esrange/Kiruna, Sweden, we developed the successor FOKUS II as dual comb system with miniaturized control electronics and reduced power budget. FOKUS II is fully qualified for microgravity platforms, including operation in vacuum. Being a dual comb system, FOKUS II allows for easy comb mode number determination. The scientific goals of this mission include tests of local position invariance and clock-clock comparisons by measuring an iodine referenced cw laser provided by Humboldt University, Berlin.
Countdown for the FOKUS II mission on TEXUS 54/55 is foreseen for April 2018. We are grateful for continuous funding of the FOKUS missions by DRL/Germany.
Metal construction elements, for instance in the automobile and aviation industry, commonly undergo surface hardening process to improve their durability. Nitriding and carbonitriding are common surface hardening process for metal parts, which are based on the diffusion of nitrogen or carbon into the metal surface under the influence of heat. However, the established technique of gas nitration bears disadvantages with respect to environment pollution, resource efficiency, and a limited number of treatable materials. Plasma nitration addresses these drawbacks but it is currently based on static, empiric processes. To further improve the plasma nitration process, a performance-driven process control based on in-situ measurement data, such as gas and molecule concentration from absorption spectra is required.
The InPro-F project aims to develop an optical frequency comb-based detection technique for the accurate measurement of the concentration of various chemical species, which are present during the nitration process. This detection capability will enable an in-situ process control and allow to enhance the performance and throughput of plasma nitration.
Related website:
https://www.photonikforschung.de/projekte/kmu-und-start-ups/projekt/inpro-f.html
We are grateful for funding provided by BMBF Germany.
In our project, together with OPTEC S.A. (Belgium) and University of Applied Science, Aschaffenburg (Germany), we develop a hybrid process laser workstation for micro-stereolithography and two-photon-absorption. This workstation enables bridging nano-functional features to macroscopic devices with an unprecedented shortened process duration that meets industrial user demands. Finally, we deliver a fully developed solution for medical and biotechnological markets to fabricate products of any user defined shape with selectable technological process parameters for easy user handling, fast and at low cost.
Funding by Eurostars program E!9765 is gratefully acknowledged.
In our project, together with das-Nano S.L. (Spain), Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM (Germany) we will develop a system for non-destructive, non-contact multi-layer thickness determination for applications in the automotive industry. We combine a laser-driven terahertz spectrometer with self-learning algorithms, enabling unprecedented measurement rates and precision. The device will be fully automated and built for operation on robotic arms. The system readily integrates in production lines, enabling a drastic reduction of material usage. Field tests in the automotive industry are foreseen.
Project leader at Menlo Systems: Ole Peters
Funding by Eurostars program E! 10823 is gratefully acknowledged.
IRASSI – Infrared Astronomy Satellite Swarm Interferometry, is a joint project between Menlo Systems GmbH, Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy Heidelberg, TU Braunschweig Institut für Flugführung, and Universität der Bundeswehr München. It is a feasibility study for a space based Mid-IR interferometric telescope mission, that would be located 1.5 million km from the Earth and composed by a constellation of five satellites with intersatellite distances tracked to unprecedented precision. Its aim is to further develop the understanding of star and thus planet formation, by simultaneously implementing new technologies with regard to observation instruments, ranging detection systems and formation flying.
The outline of the IRASSI mission concept study was built on precursor missions and mission concepts like DARWIN. Missions such as Planck and Herschel paved the way for observation and cataloguing of galaxy clusters, for studying the Milky Way and the interstellar medium in the infrared and far-infrared fields respectively at the Lagrange L2 location.
In this project Menlo Systems will develop a breadboard demonstrator for a fast and universal multi-comb-based laser ranging system. Technologies developed in projects like FOKUS will be further significantly advanced for future space applications.
This project is supported by German Aerospace Center (DLR) and funded by Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi).
Goals
- Study MIR formation flight telescope at L2
- Develop multiple comb demonstrator breadboard for intersatellite ranging with µm precision and kHz duty cycle
- Advance technologies for exoplanet research and study of early solar system formation
- Develop multi-target formation flight system
- Demonstrate advanced frequency comb based ranging technologies
This 1-year project started in March 2019 and is a collaboration with EPFL (T. Kippenberg). It is a follow-up project to PµreComb, which was able to demonstrate the generation of a microwave signal with record-low noise from an optical frequency comb. KECOMO aims at a miniaturized system based on this principle. The frequency comb is generated on a microresonator chip and is pumped and controlled by other chip-based components. Applications include radar with improved range and visibility. The market potential of this and a variety of other applications is being evaluated.
Project leader at Menlo Systems: Rafael Probst
Funding by DARPA under the DODOS program is gratefully acknowledged.
Future astrophysical investigations of planet birth and growing via direct observation is only possible with spaceborne satellite telescopes, as earth’s atmosphere would add too much disturbances. IRASSI I investigated this approach in terms navigation, formation flight, communication and ranging. IRASSI II adds more development towards realization of the full telescope system and the evaluation of its system parameters. The project members include Menlo, the Institut für Flugführung of the Technical University of Braunschweig, the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, and the Institute for Space Technology and Space Applications of the University der Bundeswehr München.
Funding by DLR is gratefully acknowledged.
This Innovative Training Network (ITN) comprises 17 European institutions from academia and industry. 15 Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) are being trained and do research on microresonator-based frequency combs, as well as being supported in obtaining a PhD on this topic. The network organizes numerous workshops, laboratory trainings, conferences and more for their ESRs at different locations of the ITN. ESRs are being seconded to other locations of the network to work there for a limited time. A major objective of the ITN is to promote transnational mobility and European exchange. Combining some of the world’s leading laboratories in this field, the ITN will train a new generation of scientists and develop cutting-edge photonic technologies.
Related website:
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/812818
We gratefully acknowledge funding by Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions within the Horizon 2020 program of the European Commission.
Multiphoton imaging techniques have become of fundamental importance in biology, medicine, and neuroscience. In neuroscience, multiphoton microscopy has allowed imaging of neural activities in the brain of mice, allowing learning more about the complex brain behavior. For these investigations, the main multiphoton techniques used to be two-photon fluorescence imaging. However, in recent years three-photon imaging has become increasingly important for neuroscience, as it exhibits higher penetration depth into tissue enabling the imaging of deeper lying brain regions with cellular resolution through the use of longer excitation wavelength. However, for these investigations higher pulse energy levels are required compared to two-photon imaging techniques, implying complex and cost-intensive laser systems, such as optical parametric amplifiers (OPA).
The goal of the Multi-HERO project is to develop a compact, cost-efficient, turn-key fiber laser system tailored to the requirements in three-photon imaging in neuroscience. The project consortium aims to advance the field of three-photon imaging by making it widely available to researchers through lower laser system costs and turn-key, maintenance-free operation, allowing research to focus on the application rather the maintenance of the laser system. Moreover, the project will investigate non-degenerated two-photon excitation at longer wavelength allowing for a compromise between maximum penetration depth and required pulse energy of the laser system, thereby allowing to increase imaging speed and lowering potential damage to the sample.
We are grateful for funding provided by BMWi Germany.
Today, switching speeds in the multi gigahertz range are technologically mastered and terahertz electronics is at its birth. Soon electronic components will push forward towards the petahertz range. It is however unknown how the movement of electrons can be controlled at such frequencies. 2D and 3D semiconductors exhibit properties of high electron mobility that allows driving intense electron currents coherently in the conduction band when submitted to terawatt laser fields. A strong electron current oscillates at petahertz frequencies in the conduction band with a momentum that depends on the laser field frequency, intensity, polarization and carrier envelope phase. In addition, high order harmonic radiation is emitted when those electrons recombine to the valence band. The strong electron current from which high harmonics originate can be manipulated in space and time and be the very first elementary blocks of novel petahertz frequency electronic devices, thus operating orders of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art terahertz devices. The PETACom project proposes to create future optoelectronic devices commutating at petahertz frequencies, bridging the gap between electronics and photonics. We will establish on the one hand petahertz electron switching in 2D and 3D systems using intense femtosecond IR to mid-IR laser excitation. On the other hand, optoelectronic devices from laser induced petahertz electron oscillation will be developed. In addition, a new paradigm for future electronics and ultrahigh speed communication and computation will be established.
Related website:
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/829153
We gratefully acknowledge funding by the European Commission/Horizon 2020.
In Opticlock, consortium members from allover Germany team up to develop a commercial Yb+ ion optical clock which outperforms commercial hydrogen masers in terms of frequency stability on both short and long timescales, and which provides an absolute accuracy on par with the best primary atomic clocks. In a future development stage relying on another optical transition, performance might further improve significantly. Menlo is preparing the clock laser system in this project, which obviously is one of the key components of the foreseen clock system. Our goal is a fully automated and compact clock laser system compliant with the demanding OptIClock specifications yet tolerating usual lab conditions.
We are grateful for funding provided by BMBF Germany.
The project aims for ultra-pure microwave generation in the 10 GHz domain via frequency division from an ultra-stable optical laser. Single-sideband noise below -170 dBc at 10 kHz from the carrier is the goal. In an intense joint research effort between Menlo Systems, the CNRS (SYRTE, Y. LeCoq), and EPFL (T. Kippenberg) the limits of a frequency-comb based approach are studied. So far, -173 dBc have been demonstrated in a cross correlation based on three combs, three stable lasers, and three fountain clocks (Xie et al., Nature Photonics Vol. 11, pp. 44 – 47 (2017))
After the 5 year project, two transportable turnkey systems based on fs fiber laser combs and Kerr combs respectively will be ready for commercialization through Menlo Systems. The project has already lead to innovative low-noise fiber comb design based on the figure 9® technology and decoupled electro-optical actuators for both, repetition rate and offset frequency. Menlo has already acquired the exclusive patent rights on two relevant patents US7982944B2 (micro comb generation) and US7026594 (frequency division optical to RF via comb) that are essential for this work.
The project follows a call issued by DARPA under the PULSE program.
EU – FP7 Project for the development of high-performance transportable and breadboard optical clocks and advanced subsystems
The project will demonstrate transportable optical atomic clocks with performance significantly beyond microwave clocks.
A range of new applications will be enabled by ultra-precise optical clocks, some of which by using them in space, near or far distant from Earth. They cover the fields of fundamental physics (tests of General Relativity), time and frequency metrology (comparison of distant terrestrial clocks, operation of a master clock in space), geophysics (mapping of the gravitational potential of the Earth), and potential applications in astronomy (local oscillators for radio ranging and interferometry in space).
We will develop:
- Two “engineering confidence” ultra-precise transportable lattice optical clock demonstrators with relative frequency instability < 1×10-15/tau1/2, inaccuracy < 5×10-17, one of which as a breadboard. They will be based on trapped neutral Ytterbium and Strontium atoms. Goal performance is about 1 and 2 orders better than today`s best transportable clocks, in inaccuracy and instability, respectively. The two systems will be validated in a laboratory environment (TRL 4) and performance will be established by comparison with laboratory optical clocks and primary frequency standards.
- The necessary laser systems (adapted in terms of power, linewidth, frequency stability, long-term reliability, and accuracy), atomic packages with control of systematic (magnetic fields, black-body radiation, atom number), where novel solutions with reduced space, power and mass requirements will be implemented. Some of the laser systems will be developed towards particularly high compactness and robustness. Also, crucial laser components will be tested at TRL 5 level (validation in relevant environment).
The work will build on the expertise of the proposers with laboratory optical clocks, and the successful development of breadboard and transportable cold Sr and Yb atomic sources and ultrastable lasers during the ELIPS-3 ESA development project “Space Optical Clocks (SOC)”.
What is the TERACOMB project?
TERACOMB is an ambitious project focused on pursuing the technology of quantum cascade lasers (QCL) to generate a frequency comb (FC) in the terahertz frequency region.
To achieve the project goals, the main players in the QCL and FC technology have been brought on board. They are represented by senior scientists in their mid-career stage guaranteeing a long lasting dissemination/exploitation of the project achievements.
The expertise of the TERACOMB project partners covers the physics and technology of quantum cascade lasers, the growth of advanced semiconductor heterostructures, terahertz time-domain and time-resolved spectroscopy, microwave techniques, fibre laser technology, precise time and frequency measurement techniques, and the frequency comb technology. All that knowledge is exploited towards success of the TERACOMB project – the demonstration of a reliable terahertz frequency comb.
Last, but not least, the TERACOMB project could be brought to life thanks to the financial support of the European taxpayers via the European Commission.
The project
Despite significant research efforts during the past 10 years, the terahertz (THz) spectral range remains vastly underexploited, owing essentially to the insufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) achievable with present technology.
The project’s aim is to address this problem by building a new technological platform enabling the generation of high power and broad bandwidth THz frequency combs (FCs) with a high frequency stability. The demonstration of FCs in the visible and near-IR spectral ranges has been among the main breakthroughs in the field of optics in the past decade. FCs are commonly generated by mode-locked lasers. In the frequency domain they consist of a broad spectrum of narrow lines, separated by a constant frequency interval, corresponding in the time domain to the repetition rate of the emitted pulse train. The time duration of the emitted pulses is roughly given by the inverse of the spectral bandwidth. Due to the lack of mode-locked lasers, FCs in the THz range are nowadays generated by inherently inefficient non-linear conversion techniques. This is the main cause for the low SNR of present THz systems.
The THz FCs envisioned in this project will be based on THz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs), a novel, compact and powerful THz semiconductor laser source. THz FCs will be generated by mode-locked THz QCLs, and/or by using THz QCLs as semiconductor amplifiers. This will allow the production of FCs with average powers in excess of 10mW, with a spectral bandwidth > 1THz, and a corresponding pulse duration < 1ps. Such high power THz FCs will be combined with highly sensitive coherent detection techniques based on compact fs-fiber lasers that will be developed ad hoc in this project. The ultimate goal is the realization of an enabling THz technology, which may be adapted for a wide variety of applications in fields such as physics, chemistry, biology and medicine.
A sustainable treatment natural resources and energy together with the necessary economic efficiency require an increasing automation and control in order to minimize discard and poor production. As recycled materials increase to be used in paper production, the number of impurities and foreign objects in the materials increases. To meet the customer’s quality standards efficient quality inspection tools for inline measurements are needed.
Electromagnetic radiation in the Terahertz (THz) region is an alternative to inspection techniques using x-rays or visible light. By development of appropriate optics, the method enables parallel inline measurements over the whole width of a production line (100% check), and can be used to inspect every ribbon-like non-conducting material. The project partners develop the necessary hardware and software components and realize a measurement and automation solution in a real production line. Typical fields of application are production of fiber-compounds such as cardboard fiber slabs. This way, a completely new field of nondestructive testing for quality inspection opens up.
Cooperation with: TEM Messtechnik GmbH, Philipps Universität Marburg, Papiertechnische Stiftung (PTS)
This project is funded by Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie: Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand (BMWi – ZIM)
Goal
- Development of an innovative, robust measurement device for industrial applications to allow in-line inspection during the manufacturing process