The Fraunhofer Alliance for Polymer Surfaces (Verbund Polymere Oberflächen, POLO) of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will present research expertise in modifying and defining surface properties of polymeric materials at the fair "K 2001" in Düsseldorf, hall 3, booth E 91, from 25th of 0ctober till the 1st November 2001.

The presentation will focus on new surfaces for medical technology, packaging, optical and optoelectronic devices and chemical process engineering, i.e.

• Active anti-microbial polymer surfaces for medical devices
• Transparent coatings to enhance scratch resistance on polymers like polycarbonate or polystyrene
• Thin films for optical purposes like optical filters, mirrors, interference- or antireflection-layers
• Ultra-barriers for encapsulation against oxygen and humidity to protect sensitive materials like LEDs and OLEDs
  

As an example for the modification of surfaces, we will show how to enhance the adhesion of materials.
We adapt and control the surface energy of the joint partners, the density and chemical nature of functional groups, as well as the surface's roughness. For other applications as i.e. easy-to-clean-surfaces, the adhesion has to be minimised.

These surface preparations can be extended onto the whole surface of a polymer part or be restricted to selected areas.
For demonstration, we will generate patterned surfaces at our booth and exhibit analytical tools for process control and for characterisation of surface modifications.

In a symposium arranged by the partner institutes on the 30th of October, you will be informed about the latest research in functional surfaces and layers.

The Fraunhofer Alliance POLO represents seven Fraunhofer institutes which work on surfaces of polymeric materials.
With POLO, we want to join our core competencies in order to expand the market for standard and technical polymers.
See our enclosed product information.