From pupils’ experiment to high-tech research in laser technology

Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel as guest at the worldwide acknowledged UV expert: Laser-Laboratorium Göttingen

Arrival at Laser-Laboratorium Göttingen

On Wednesday, the October 24th, Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel together with the leader of the Federal German state of Lower Saxony, Christian Wulff, visited the Laser-Laboratorium Göttingen (LLG), Hans-Adolf-Krebs-Weg 1. The chairman of the executive board, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Troe, explained in his welcoming speech that the free technology transfer institute bridged the “large gap” between pure basic laser research and practical application. In 1987, Troe founded the institute together with the inventor of the dye laser, Fritz Peter Schäfer (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft), and the founder of the Göttingen laser company Lambdaphysik, Dirk Basting. With the “active support by the state government”, Troe said in view of the fact that one third of the annual budget is being financed by Hanover, LLG had cooperated with many institutes and companies in the region and all over the world in the area of applied high-tech research for 20 years.

Troe’s fellow board member Prof. Dr. Stefan Hell, successor of Prof. Schäfer, showed the guests his further development of the optical microscope. Thanks to this development it was possible to break the so-called Abbe limit and to remove to some extent the boundaries that exist because of the wavelengths of light. This is a major breakthrough particularly for basic biomedical research, because living cells can only be observed with an optical microscope. For the innovative laser application in the area of biophotonics, Hell was given the Deutsche Zukunftspreis (German future award) by the Federal President Horst Köhler in 2006.

Together with the managing director of the institute, Prof. Dr. Gerd Marowsky, Troe presented some of the current high-tech-projects and products to the Chancellor when they went on a tour.

All seats are taken in the auditorium

Dr. Volker Beushausen spoke about the application of optical metrology for optimising combustion processes in engines. By means of laser beams, the processes can by analysed free of contact through a window, Troe explained. The results play an important part in the development of low-emission engines with reduced fuel consumption (three-litre car). Volkswagen AG closely cooperates with the Laser-Laboratorium in this area, VW employee (Research and Development) Dr. Werner Hentschel said. This station of the tour turned out to be of particular interest to the Chancellor. The physical chemist researched and published herself in the field of reaction kinetics in the 80ies. She told them that she had all papers by Troe delivered as offprint in the GDR. “This was admitted post from the West”, the scientist said. She thanked the Göttingen people for all they had done for East German researchers at that time.

Dr. Volker Beushausen demonstrates a testing probe

Dr. Eva-Maria Neher, Head of the Göttingen experimental laboratory for young people (XLAB) informed the guests about the cooperation of her institute with the Laser-Laboratorium. LLG is intensively committed to the regional educational scene and just as XLAB wants to arouse young people’s interest in natural sciences and technology. For this reason, the Laser-Laboratorium participated in the IdeenExpo – an event designed for schoolchildren – in Hanover at the beginning of October, presenting a test set-up for data transmission with light. The activities in the area of supporting young people were particularly praised by Merkel. The lack of skilled workers in natural sciences would strongly increase during the next few years, she said. “In Göttingen, this will be a manageable regional problem”, the Chancellor joked and added: “But you still have to make efforts in order to solve this problem at a national level, as well.”

In the course of their tour, Dr. Klaus Mann, Head of the department “Optics / short wavelengths” showed a laboratory beam source which produces extreme ultraviolet light by means of a highly stimulated, laser-induced plasma. This makes it possible to carry out metrological applications as well as basic investigations on the interaction between EUV radiation and matter. This work is integrated in the Excellence Initiative of Göttingen University and its new special field of research (speaker: Prof. Dr. Tim Salditt). EUV sources could also revolutionize the lithographic production of computer chips in the next years. The industry hoped for an increase of the capacity of semiconductors by a factor of 15, Dr. Uwe Stamm explained. The physician is the managing director of the company Xtreme Technologies which is located in the LLG building and which develops such sources in a big way.

Dr. Klaus Mann shows the EUV source

Dr. Peter Simon, Head of the LLG department “Ultrashort pulse photonics”, and Dr. Jürgen Ihlemann, Head of the department “Nanostructures” showed the application of femtosecond lasers in the production of nanostructures and holograms. These are intended to make two-Euro-coins more forge-proof. A corresponding project has been sponsored by the Federal Department of Economic Affairs and Labour (Bundeswirtschaftsministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit = BMWA).

These structures can also be applied to high-quality metal products of the automobile and aircraft industry as well as in medical engineering. They could help to recognize plagiarism immediately. Inferior reproductions do not only result in financial damages as regards the brand manufacturers, but also constitute a security risk. Apart from this, the technology developed by LLG is also interesting for designers who want to finish surfaces of superior objects. Merkel and Wulff both received a coin where a Lower Saxony horse is engraved below the Federal Eagle. The graduate student Jan-Hendrik Klein-Wiele explained when presenting them: ”We trustfully place ourselves under your protection and hope that in future we will still be able to carry out high-tech research successfully and efficiently in the field of laser technology here in Lower Saxony in the Laser-Laboratorium.”

Jan-Hendrik Klein-Wiele explains the manufacturing process of forge-proof Euro coins

The sector “environmental analysis” of the LLG department Photonical Sensorics was not included in the tour, but it was briefly presented by the managing director Marowsky in words. LLG develops lasers for analysing water samples. Thanks to them it was possible, the Professor said, to detect hydrocarbons and other problematic substances in streams more quickly than by means of land- and aircraft-based measurement procedures.

In the course of a final talk, the guests were impressed by the intensive cooperation between LLG and universities, Max-Planck Institutes and industry. The leader of the Federal German state Wulff said with a glance at the expert Merkel: “I am used to not understanding the answers to my questions in the university town of Göttingen. Today it was for the first time that I did not even understand the questions.“

The Laser-Laboratorium which was very successfully evaluated in 2004 employs 55 research associates in 25 projects at the moment. Since 1992, the Institute has been expanding by up to ten percent each year. It succeeds in raising two thirds of its budget by itself, in form of orders by the industry and third-party funds from projects supported by public authorities. Just this year, the Institute obtained eight new projects with a value of 2.5 m Euro and orders by the industry from all over the world to an amount of more than 1 m Euro.

  
Final statements

LLG thanks Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leader of the Federal German state Christian Wulff for their benevolent view of the previous and future development of the Laser-Laboratorium.

(Photos: Theodoro da Silva)

Gerd Marowsky

Birgit Sterr
Tel. 0551/503532