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PublicationForced Motion Activated Self-Alignment of Micro-CPV Solar Cells( 2024)
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PublicationWie die Energiewende trotz des steigenden Rohstoffbedarfes gelingen kannDie Energiewende, welche aufgrund des voranschreitenden Klimawandels notwendig ist, erfordert den Einsatz neuer Technologien mit erhöhtem Rohstoffbedarf, um die ambitionierten Ziele der Klimapolitik zu erreichen. Doch wie können wir gewährleisten, dass die potenziell kritischen Rohstoffe auch in Zukunft zur Verfügung stehen?
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PublicationA forecast on future raw material demand and recycling potential of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehiclesThe market for electromobility has grown constantly in the last years. To ensure a future supply of raw materials for the production of new batteries for electric vehicles, it is essential to estimate the future demand for battery metals. This study focuses on the future demand for electric vehicle battery cathode raw materials lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese by considering different technology and growth scenarios. The results show that in 2040 the future material demand for lithium, cobalt, and nickel for Lithium-Ion Batteries in electric vehicles exceeds current raw material production. Depending on the growth and technology scenario, the future demand for lithium and cobalt exceeds today's production by up to 8 times in 2040. Nickel exceeds today's production in one scenario. For manganese, future demand in 2040 remains far below today's production. The recycling potential for lithium and nickel is more than half the raw material demand for Lithium-Ion Batteries in 2040. For cobalt, the recycling potential even exceeds the raw material demand in 2040. In conclusion, it remains a challenge for the industry to massively scale up resource production and focus on the recycling of battery metals in the future to meet the increasing consumption of electromobility.
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PublicationSensor Systems for Extremely Harsh Environments( 2022-10-01)Sensors are key elements for capturing environmental properties and are today indispensable in the industry for monitoring and control of industrial processes. Many applications are demanding for highly integrated intelligent sensors to meet the requirements on safety, clean, and energy-efficient operation, or to gain process information in the context of industry 4.0. While in many everyday objects highly integrated sensor systems are already state of the art, the situation in an industrial environment is clearly different. Frequently, the use of sensor systems is impossible due to the fact that the extreme ambient conditions of industrial processes like high operating temperatures or strong mechanical loads do not allow a reliable operation of sensitive electronic components. Eight Fraunhofer Institutes have bundled their competencies and have run the Fraunhofer Lighthouse Project “eHarsh” to overcome this situation. The project goal was to realize sensor systems for extremely harsh environments, whereby sensor systems are more than pure sensors, rather these are containing one or multiple sensing elements and integrated readout electronics. Various technologies, which are necessary for the realization of such sensor systems, have been identified, developed, and finally bundled in a technology platform. These technologies are, e.g., MEMS and ceramic-based sensors, SOI-CMOS-based integrated electronics, board assembly and laser-based joining technologies. All these developments have been accompanied by comprehensive tests, material characterization, and reliability simulations. Based on the platform, a pressure sensor for turbine applications has been realized to prove the performance of the eHarsh technology platform.
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PublicationExperimental Demonstration of Temperature Sensing with Packaged Glass Bottle Microresonators( 2018)Whispering gallery mode (WGM) glass bottle microresonators are potential highly sensitive structures for a variety of physical and bio-chemical sensing applications. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the practical use of glass bottle resonators as temperature sensors. The basic parameters, such as WGM resonance wavelengths, free spectral ranges, and Q factors, have been investigated by coupling light from a tapered fiber to the bottle structure. We show the spectral characteristics of the WGMs by choosing different bottle dimensions and taper diameters. For practical measurements, a robust 3D-printed package that includes the bottle resonator and the tapered fiber has been proposed. The packaged bottle has a central diameter Dc = 207 µm and a length L = 300 µm. Temperature sensing experiments were also performed. A linear response of the WGM shifts as a function of the temperature is confirmed. The fitted experimental data indicate a temperature sensitivity of 10.5 pm/K at l ~ 1550 nm, resulting in a limit of detection of 0.06 K. These values can be compared with values reported for other WGM resonators. Additionally, bottle resonators are made with simple splicing methods and their assembly method can be easily defined due to large coupling tolerances.
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PublicationAccelerating data centre performance. Interview( 2014)Dr Tolga Tekin and Assistant Professor Nikos Pleros explain how the PhoxTrot project is exploiting optical communications to streamline data centres and high performance computing systems.
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PublicationEstablishing ecoreliability of electronic devices in manufacturing environments( 2014)EcoReliability describes the inclusion of reliability aspects into the environmentally conscious design of electronic systems to address the originally separated domains from one mutual perspective. This paper motivates the importance of such an approach for the case of electronic products and in particular embedded electronics. Environmental analysis of electronics has often been narrowed down to energy use, but the total resource use is now seen as equally important. Using technical examples from promising applications in robust electronics for manufacturing equipment, measures in system design aiming at an increase of sustainability through determination of a truly balanced degree of reliability are presented. The first case is taken from the field of power electronics with demanding requirements towards robustness. Measures to increase the allowable number of thermal cycles during operation are compared towards shifts in environmental attributes. For the second case, miniaturized sensors are introduced that face issues of obsolescence when applied to machine tool environments in long-term scenarios.
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PublicationTowards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks: A case study of the D4R laptop( 2014)The Design for Recycling, Repair, Refurbishment and Reuse (D4R) laptop is developed in conjunction with MicroPro Computers, a Dublin based computer manufacturer. MicroPro has formed an industrial network with end-of-life (EOL) Information Technology (IT) asset management firms, IT refurbishers, component manufacturers and local industries to create a new design that has created a new use for their waste, thus turning wastes into resources. This has been made possible through (1) D4R product design features that facilitate integration of by-product materials and components into the manufacturing process, (2) the creation of an industrial network of suppliers and local assembly agencies permitting industrial metabolism of by-product materials and components into state of the art laptop products and (3) the creation of a resource exchange platform which increases visibility of by-products to be incorporated in newly manufactured systems. MicroPro Computers has successfully been able to manufacture a universal shell composed of a motherboard and a 6 cell lithium battery, encapsulated in a wooden housing structure. The shell is capable of accepting new laptop system components and also has the ability to integrate various diverse parts and components, and parts and components of different specifications. The proposed manufacturing model illustrates an entirely novel approach to industrial networking in computer manufacturing for the purpose of eliminating waste and creating valuable by-products.
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PublicationAn holistic approach to optical interconnects in data centres( 2014)Led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliablity and Microintegration (IZM), the PhoxTroT project is aiming to lower operational costs whilst also increasing the performance of data centres.
