Technology & Demonstrators

Main technologies

• Injection Overmoulding
• Ion Implant Lithography

Main innovations

The innovations to be generated during the project have been identified and categorized into two categories:

Product and Process design principles:

• Optics design for highly integrated optical integration and embedding.
• High quality optical injection moulding.

Manufacturing Platform:

• Integrated optical embedding technology, enables (a) High-precision injection moulding using (b) modular and reconfigurable mould with quick insert exchange, and (c) optical function reconfiguration by selective restructuring of diffractive insert nanostructures.
• In line quality assessment, to extract information from the process, machinery and produced parts to perform full quality evaluation and prognosis towards a zero defect paradigm.
• Process control and automation: Compatible continuous part handling, control software system and mechatronic peripherals.

Demonstrators

Specific applications demonstrated in the project are considered as direct exploitable results, although on the basis of the project results, many other products can be developed later on. 

• Demonstrator 1: Fibre Optic Transceiver (FOT), for high data density Datacom. FLOIM will provide low cost high performance optics with wavelength multiplexing.
• Demonstrator 2: miniaturized scanning head for optical encoders (OEH).FLOIM will incorporate diffractive optics through mould nanoscribing, and ultracompact catadioptric LED beamforming for further miniaturization and weight saving.
• Demonstrator 3: direct backlight unit for flexible OLCD (OLCD).FLOIM’s IM process will produce the beamforming microoptics, and the optical films, simplifying the manufacturing while improving performance.