Laser Ablation System (LAS)

• Subject Area: Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
• Term: Funded in 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 568740526

The femtosecond laser ablation micromachining system (LAS) is used in research for the microfabrication of flexible structures. It enables the processing of materials, such as organic polymers, which cannot be processed using conventional lithographic methods. The system allows the selective ablation of materials such as thin metal layers, conductive polymers, and carbon nanotube layers. High-precision scan optics enable microscopic structures to be processed quickly on large substrates. The system can partially replace complex lithography and etching processes with hazardous chemicals. Typical applications are the processing of biocompatible materials for bioelectronics, the production of flexible and stretchable electronics, the fabrication on top of 3D structures, as well as cutting, drilling, and selective ablation of materials. The system is embedded in the Central Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory (ZEITlab) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The ZEITlab is an organizational unit of the School of Computation, Information and Technology (SoCIT). Since 2022, it has been housed in the new TUM Electrical Engineering and Information Technology building on the Garching campus. The center consists of a clean room with an area of 950 m² and associated characterization laboratories. Its vision is to establish a "makerspace for microelectronics prototypes" that supports a wide range of research areas as a broad-based technology center of SoCIT. In the ZEITlab, proof-of-concept demonstrators in the field of electronics and sensor technology are realized on the basis of modern materials and components and made available for various fields of application. This type of "rapid prototyping" uses innovative processing and characterization technologies and is systematically supplemented by circuit design and modelling. ZEITlab provides a central and shared access to micro- and nanofabrication for a large number of research groups working on topics such as quantum and sensor technologies, micro-, opto-, and neuroelectronics, as well as hybrid nanosystems. The bundled infrastructure, therefore, enables an efficient transfer of technologies from basic research to engineering issues and applications.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Laser Ablation System
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Markus Becherer