Hannover Centre for Production Technology News News
PhoenixD has taken the first hurdle on its way to becoming a cluster of excellence with the positively evaluated draft proposal

PhoenixD has taken the first hurdle on its way to becoming a cluster of excellence with the positively evaluated draft proposal

If the resulting full proposal is successful, PhoenixD - "Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines" - will be funded as a cluster of excellence of Leibniz Universität from January 2019. The speakers of the initiative include Professor Ludger Overmeyer, one of the professors at the PZH. All PZH professors are involved in the project.

The other two speakers are Professor Uwe Morgner and Professor Wolfgang Kowalsky. The initiative originated from the Hannover Center for Optical Technologies (HOT). In addition to Leibniz Universität Hannover, the TU Braunschweig, the Laserzentrum Hannover and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institut) Hannover are also involved.The final decision on the total of 45 to 50 excellence clusters nationwide will be taken in September 2018, with an excellence cluster initially having a term of seven years with the option of an extension. The clusters of excellence are eligible for annual funding of between 3 and 10 million euros.

PhoenixD uniquely combines the fundamentals of optics with rapid development in production technology; for example, the aim of the research network is to produce optical precision devices quickly and cost-effectively from additive manufacturing such as 3D printing. Scientists from mechanical engineering, physics, electrical engineering, computer science and chemistry work together on the simulation, fabrication and application of optical systems. Until now, optical lenses made of glass and the surrounding housing have been produced in several steps - often by hand. The experts from the various disciplines are now working on a digitized manufacturing system that can produce individualized products.

In agriculture, for example, the use of chemicals against weeds in the fields could be minimized. Precision optics enable a sensor to register plants and detect weeds, which can then be specifically destroyed with a laser. Individualized optics for medical applications are also possible. For example, a faster blood analysis for the diagnosis of diseases is possible.

An the PZH, every institute would be involved in PhoenixD. Besides Professor Ludger Overmeyer (ITA), who is one of the speakers, the respective professors are Professor Peter Nyhuis (IFA), Professor Bernd-Arno Behrens (IFUM), Professor Berend Denkena (IFW), Professor Annika Raatz (match) and Professor Hans Jürgen Maier (IW und temporary IMPT).  

A second excellence cluster initiative of Leibniz Universität is also successful: QuantumFrontiers (Light and Matter at the Quantum Frontier: Foundations and Applications in Metrology) with Professor Karsten Danzmann, Professor Piet O. Schmidt, Professor Andreas Waag.

 

German version taken from: Press information of Leibniz Universität