INKtelligent Printing of Sensor Structures (Printed Electronics and Photovoltaics Europe 2011)

Dr. Volker Zöllmer, born in 1970, studied Mineralogy at University of Kiel. He got his Diploma as Mineralogist in 1999. In 2002, he finished his PhD at University of Kiel, Germany. Based on his PhD work, in 2002 he got the award "DGM-Nachwuchspreis 2002" by "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde (DGM)". In April 2002, he moved to Fraunhofer-IFAM, Bremen, Germany, and became a project manager for the development of metallic foams. Since 2003 he is heading the department of „Functional Structures" at Fraunhofer-IFAM. His main research areas are the development of nano-scaled functional materials for maskelss deposition, sensor structures and surface coatings. He established the technology platform "INKtelligent printing®" at Fraunhofer-IFAM for a customized functionalization of components and surfaces. Dr. Zöllmer is heading several industrial projects and his department "functional structures" is involved in national and international research projects focusing on rapid prototyping, functional integration and surface structuring.

Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM carries out applied research and development along the entire value chain.

The Functional Printing group has many years of experience in this area, with focus being on nanocomposites, nanostructured functional materials, printed electronics, and sensor systems. In addition, solutions for energy harvesting and 3D-integration are being developed. Regarding functionality integration, our interdisciplinary team works closely with customers to develop concepts, materials, and production processes. For the realization of functionality integration in production, various technologies are available such as 3D-printing, inkjet printing, aerosol printing as well as sputtering, compounding, and extruding techniques.