Fraunhofer IST: Platform for surface and production technology in Taiwan

As flexible as possible, always precise and reproducible, but at the same time increasingly complex - the demands on future coating and production systems are constantly increasing. The cooperation between the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and Feng Chia University (FCU) in the "Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for Surface and Production Engineering for Optical and Electrical Systems at Feng Chia University FIP-SPE@FCU" is intended to meet this demand. The aim of the cooperation is to develop cross-industry technological solutions in the field of surface and production engineering, with a focus on optical and electrical systems. The official opening of the FIP-SPE@FCU took place on October 28, 2024 in Taiwan.

Cooperation agreement between Fraunhofer IST and Feng Chia University

With the signing of the cooperation agreement, the collaboration between the Fraunhofer IST and Feng Chia University, which has existed since 2015, has reached a new level of quality. "By consolidating the cooperation within the framework of the 'Fraunhofer Innovation Platform', we are creating an institutional framework to intensify and further strengthen the partnership between Feng Chia University and the Fraunhofer IST," says Prof. Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. "The close alliance with Feng Chia University creates an important interface for the expansion of mutual exchange between our two innovation areas and markets for mutual benefit." The President of Feng Chia University, Prof. Dr. Wei Wang, agrees: "We are very pleased that with FIP-SPE@FCU we can integrate Taiwan's first Fraunhofer-like research unit into Feng Chia University in order to adapt the successful Fraunhofer model for Taiwan and promote application-oriented research."

Solutions for sustainable production systems for high-precision coatings

Prof. Ju-Laing He, Director of FIP-SPE@FCU, thanks his deputy Dr. Ralf Bandorf, Group Manager 'Optical and Electrical Systems' at the Fraunhofer IST, for his great commitment and explains the main focus of the new "Fraunhofer Innovation Platform": "We are focusing on the development of optical and electrical systems, for which there is a broad application potential and a great need, also among Taiwanese companies. To this end, we are pooling our joint excellence in plasma surface technology and our complementary expertise in the field of information and production technologies." The aim of the "Fraunhofer Innovation Platform" is to develop solutions for sustainable production systems for high-precision coatings. Simulation and modeling as well as process monitoring, control and automation, taking into account human-computer interaction, also play an important role here. The range of services for industry is supplemented by a comprehensive range of further training courses in the field of surface technology and production. A "Fraunhofer Innovation Platform" is a temporary Fraunhofer-like research unit that is operated by a university or a non-commercial research institution abroad in close cooperation with one or more Fraunhofer Institutes in Germany.