Functional Materials and Devices

We develop technologies that allow surface properties – in particular polymer surfaces – to be adapted to meet application requirements. We have competencies in many areas ranging from the development of environmentally friendly pretreatment processes for very adhesive metallization to the functionalization of surfaces used in organic quality control in the food industry and in medical diagnostics.

Nanoscale functional layers serve as three-dimensional host structures for proteins. In a different composition, these types of layers act as diffusion barriers, efficient anti-microbial protection or robust carriers of other functions on nearly all types of materials. Micrometer thick functional layers change properties when affected by light. Microstructure surfaces can perform a range of optical and mechanical functions. The innovation of technology in this field is supported by a host of high-performance tools for analyzing and characterizing surfaces.