Laval nozzle

Design by Uni Münster

This Laval nozzle can accelerate gases and fluidics to supersonic speed.

The transparency of glass allows optical measurements to be taken during operation. Its inertness prevents any reaction with the gas during use.

The precision of the microchannel is the most important part of the nozzle. In this case the nozzle has a waist diameter of 30µm ±0,5µm

Lung simulator

Design by Dr. Manuel Reddemann, WSA RWTH Aachen

Transparent experimental model of the human airway up to the 23rd branch of the respiratory tract, responsible for the gas exchange.

The model is particularly suitable for the optical analysis of aerosol propagation and deposition. Furthermore, it can be used for the development of new aerosol/droplet based therapeutic techniques, as numerical simulations are too complex with high computational cost.

In addition to the obvious advantage of inertness compared to plastic, we can specifically optimize the roughness of the channels. In this case, the most important specification was that the roughness be as uniform as possible throughout to ensure a consistent flow.

Spring mechanism

Designed for the Project “ProAuster”

This spring mechanism is part of a sterilization cycle counter for medical products

As temperature lowers, the metal pin will bend upwards, allowing the glass spring to relax upwards, thus allowing a gear counter (not displayed in this image) to move one count forward

Glass springs are not only chemically inert, but also offer the advantage of durability compared to metals, since the material is not subject to fatigue or plastic deformation

Micro mold

Design by microGlass LLC

Mold for the production of endoscope tips

Glass molds are a good choice if you need:

• high temperatures during production and use
• exact lens shapes for tiny endoscope tips
• to resist scratches and harsh cleaning chemicals over time
• 1µm precision with the highest design flexibility

Endoscope head

Design by IMTEK

Assembly bench for the precise placement of optical elements for medical endoscopy applications.
The pockets for the different optical elements are manufactured customised to your optical layout. Caused by the high precision the time for adjustment and assembly of your optics will be minimised

Impossible parts – ball joints, undercuts, cavities

Glass is a very rigid material, meaning that many structures could not be produced using conventional machining technologies.

Since the SLE process involves etching the excess material from the solid block, it allows for complete control over every µm³ of the glass.
This not only enables the creation of undercuts, intersecting and winding channels, but also completely airtight cavities.

In this picture you can see our reindeer mascot with 5 ball joints, allowing the legs and head to move freely.

Analytical optofluidic

Any feature can be added to your personal fluidic device

• 3D freeform channels
• Precision up to 1µm
• Various couplings (for fiber and fluids) and threads
• Transparent lids for observation and analysis
• Optical functions like lenses and waveguides

Freeform lenses and lens arrays

SLE technology allows for the production of all types of surface geometries with very high precision, such as optical components.

In terms of the optical quality of the surface, there is a lower limit to the roughness that can be achieved. With optimized parameters and without post-processing, the Ra value is approximately 150 nm.

To achieve optical quality, the surface can be polished.

Atomic vapor cell

Design by IMPT

These glass-based vapor cells consist of a structured cavity glass chip (top image) which is hermetically sealed by welding two cover chips (bottom image).
It is also possible to miniaturise the glass-based components, which can find application in miniaturized atomic quantum sensors.

In order to realise the batch
fabrication of the all-glass vapor cells, thin glass bridges can be structured so that separation is simplified.