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Sustainable Perspective 3D Thin Glass Production Now Works Without Etching

Source: Fraunhofer IPT | Translated by AI 4 min Reading Time

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3D thin glass with a functional surface is now being developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer IPT in Aachen (Germany) together with partners. This is more environmentally friendly ...

Better than using hydrofluoric acid! Here, a glass blank is processed with picosecond pulses using a USP laser to give it micro- or nanostructures. This works precisely and, above all, is more environmentally friendly than with conventional methods. But there's more ...(Image: Fraunhofer IPT)
Better than using hydrofluoric acid! Here, a glass blank is processed with picosecond pulses using a USP laser to give it micro- or nanostructures. This works precisely and, above all, is more environmentally friendly than with conventional methods. But there's more ...
(Image: Fraunhofer IPT)

Together with project partners, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT) has developed a process chain for the production of 3D thin glass with a functionalized surface. The process combines laser structuring with subsequent forming, which reduces energy requirements and CO₂ emissions. The use of environmentally hazardous chemicals for the usual etching process is no longer necessary. But let's start from the beginning ...

The Market for Thin Glass Counts Billions of Components

According to the researchers, thin glass can be used in a variety of ways—especially where components need to be made even thinner or of higher quality, which is the case for high-quality components in the automotive sector, electronics, the semiconductor industry or sensors, for example. In consumer electronics alone, over one billion components made of thin glass are used every year. In addition, around 75 million units are used in automotive engineering, sensor technology and architecture. A large proportion of this glass also has micro- and nanostructures on its surface, which are used for anti-reflective coating, wettability control or haptic feedback, for example, as the researchers explain. These structures are used to etch chemicals.

USP Laser Versus Casting Or Hydrofluoric Acid

In industrial practice, chemical structuring has therefore been the most common method to date. Although this produces good results, it uses hydrofluoric acid, for example—one of the few acids that can attack glass. The second method is replication of the structures by molding. The structures can be applied to the glass surface using a molding tool while the glass is being shaped into its final form. This is done at very high temperatures, which makes the energy requirement comparatively high. However, this process also delivers good results. As part of the "EffF3D—Efficient functionalization of 3D-shaped thin glass" project, the IPT has now developed and successfully tested various process chains for the mass production of complex-shaped and functionalized thin glass. The whole process consists of two steps. In the first, flat glass blanks are structured using an ultrashort pulse laser (USP laser) and then shaped to create a 3D thin glass component.

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