Revolutionizing Optical Filters with Printing Technology

Prio Optics Project

At the Light Management Lab at KIT the use of inkjet printing for functional films is an active area of research.

Optical filters that are highly selective in the light wavelengths they transmit or reflect. They are created by alternating materials with different dielectric constants in stacks of thin films that are ca. 50-500nm in thickness.

Solar TAP researchers at LML could show that these stacks could be manufactured by inkjet-printing rather than the typical process of PVD/CVD. With the support of Solar TAP the ideas turned into a Start-up – Prio Optics GmbH.

Project details

Key Achievements

By inkjet printing the layers of an optical filter the costs for these optical elements can be drastically reduced. Through this process these filters become highly customizable. They can be adapted as antireflective coatings, dichroic mirrors, longpass- ,  shortpass- , bandpass- or notch filters. They can be printed in shapes, or even on 3-dimensional surfaces, enabling many new applications.

Linking Science and Industry

By combining the know-how of the Solar TAP Light Management Lab with the entrepreneurial spirit of the Prio Optics Team the start-up could secure EXIST Forschungstransfer funding and grow from an idea in the pre-seed phase into the seed phase. Access to advanced printing infrastructure enabled Prio Optics to refine its processes and develop it product palette.

Future Outlook

Prio Optics is now concentrating on further improving the technology and expanding its product portfolio together with the Solar TAP Light Management Lab. As it has moved successfully from Pre-Seed to Seed to Start-up phase Prio Optics is now furthermore focussing onto developing a customer base and turning its idea into a growing business!