The Innovation Award Laser Technology 2026, endowed with 10,000 euros, goes to Dr. Tobias Dyck, Head of the Leaf Business Unit at 4Jet Microtech GmbH in Alsdorf. The Arbeitskreis Lasertechnik e.V. (AKL) awarded the prize in the Coronation Hall of Aachen City Hall for the project “Leaf laser riblets – sharkskin for more environmentally friendly aviation”, as announced by the Fraunhofer ILT. These sharkskin-inspired microstructures reduce flow resistance. The Laser Enhanced Air Flow (Leaf) technology enables riblets to be applied to large areas of the paint layer of components for the first time.
Second place went to the Purebeam project “Beyond free beam guidance: maximum stability and robust fiber transmission for new fields of application for ultrashort pulse lasers”. It addresses the reliable beam guidance of ultrashort pulse lasers. Until now, this has been complex and prone to failure – one reason why femtosecond lasers have only been used industrially to a limited extent. Canunda-USP Purebeam from Cailabs enables stable coupling in hollow-core fibers and ensures beam quality even when the input beam is subject to interference. Third place goes to Coherent for a laser mass transfer technology for the production of micro LED displays.
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