Project start of EXIST Transfer of Research

The EXIST Transfer of Research project has started. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the European Social Fund co-finance it within the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Freiburg, where the team at the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) developed the technology it is now taking toward a product: a transmissive optofluidic component for adaptive optics, the Deformable Phase Plate (DPP).

Adaptive optics improves an optical system by dynamically compensating for the disturbances to its wavefront. The DPP was developed for the fields where that matters — microscopy, ophthalmology, optical testing and analysis, material processing, optical communication and astronomy.

“In stark contrast to astronomy, in which adaptive optics today is standard in professional telescopes, its use in microscopy is still in the early stages. Not even the best microscopes are always able to achieve their full potential when imaging deep inside biological specimens. The technology underlying our DPP will fundamentally change the way adaptive optics improves the resolution and contrast of all microscopes,” explains project leader Dr. Stefan M. Weber.

Dr. Kaustubh Banerjee and Dr. Pouya Rajaeipour built the prototypes during their doctoral studies at IMTEK. The underlying technology was invented by Dr. Çağlar Ataman in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Hans Zappe at IMTEK, a group with more than 20 years of experience in optofluidics and imaging.

EXIST Transfer of Research supports research-based start-up projects whose development is extensive and risky. The team is supported by the Founder’s Office of the University of Freiburg, which advises scientists who want to establish a start-up.