The best training is still found in doing it yourself.
Cyril Northcote Parkinson
When learning and practicing are also fun, then progress and success are pre-programmed. Are you looking for more knowledge and a place to put theory into practice? Then send us your CV. Do you already have an idea for your thesis? Then let us know. We are looking forward to getting to know you!
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Master thesis – Team Functional Surfaces and Nanostructures
Nanoimprint Lithography is a method to replicate high resolution nanostructures on large area. This is done by pressing a nanostructured stamp into a soft (UV-curable) pre-polymer on a substrate. While the stamp is in contact with the polymer, the material is cured by e.g. UV-irradiation and then the stamp is removed, resulting in a nanostructured hard polymer on the substrate.
UV nanoimprint lithography has the potential to bring forth a cost-efficient fabrication process for advanced nanoelectrode arrays, suitable for (automatized) drug-screening using tissue models grown on a chip. The work of this master thesis will be part of the funded project NEAT (Nano Electrode Arrays for stem-cells derived Tissues), coordinated by Profactor.
PROFACTOR is an applied research center located in Steyr. We conduct research in the field of additive micro/nano manufacturing and industrial assistive systems. Our team consists of around 70 employees from 15 different academic fields. We work across disciplines to find solutions for the manufacturing industry and set standards in robotics, machine vision, simulation, 3D printing, functional surfaces and nanostructures.
Your tasks
The goals of this master thesis are
- to investigate basic processes for the replication of sub 200 nm high aspect ratio nanoscales features
- to investigate different biocompatible materials for imprinting and characterize their mechanical properties
- to investigate the interface issues and compatibility among the different materials to make possible the multi-material process
Master thesis – Team Functional Surfaces and Nanostructures
An increasing demand for alternative processes is present in the PCB manufacturing industry. Considering photolithography as main alternative solution, inkjet printing PCBs will be: innovative, cheaper, simpler, greener, stronger and closer to the market. Compared with photolithography, inkjet printing PCBs has a clear economic advantage with the potential to cut PCB prices of more than 50%. Moreover, PCB manufacturing by inkjet printing will open new possibilities for this well-established market.
Main scope of inkjetPCB project is to develop fully inkjet printed multi-layer Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) including embedded passive components as a commercially viable process. As outcome of this collaborative innovation project, the consortium partners plan to deliver to their customers a Complete Solution for the digital additive manufacturing of PCBs including materials, equipment and process guidelines.
PROFACTOR is an applied research center located in Steyr. We conduct research in the field of industrial assistive systems and additive micro/nano manufacturing. Our team consists of around 70 employees from 15 different academic fields. We work across disciplines to find solutions for the manufacturing industry and set standards in robotics, machine vision, simulation, 3D printing, functional surfaces and nanostructures.
The goals of this thesis are
- to develop processes, including printing, pre-treatments and post-processing of dielectric, conductive and resistive materials
- to investigate the interface issues and compatibility among the different materials
- to further develop the lab equipment and its sotware towards full 3D printing compatibility
- to design and manufacture PCBs and electronic devices for demonstration
Master thesis – Team Functional Surfaces and Nanostructures
Improving the life quality of Europe’s increasingly elderly population is one of the most pressing challenges our society faces today. The need to treat age-related degenerative changes in e.g. articular joints or dental defects will boost the market opportunities for tissue regeneration products like implants. 3D printing has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare system by providing highly sophisticated, tissue engineered implants personalized to the patient. State of the art 3D printing technologies can provide biocompatible implants with the right macroscopic shape to fit a patient-specific tissue defect. However, for a real functionality, there is a need for new biomaterials, technologies and processes that additionally allow the fabrication of an inner multi-material microstructure that induces tissue-specific regeneration. Among the different available technologies for tissue engineering applications, 3D multi-material inkjet printing has an immense potential to address the complexity required for implant inner microstructure fabrication. However, the advance of this technology is mainly hindered by the lack of inks that exhibit the required properties to be used in a multi-material process.
PROFACTOR is an applied research center located in Steyr. We conduct research in the field of industrial assistive systems and additive micro/nano manufacturing. Our team consists of around 70 employees from 15 different academic fields. We work across disciplines to find solutions for the manufacturing industry and set standards in robotics, machine vision, simulation, 3D printing, functional surfaces and nanostructures.
The goals of this thesis are
- to develop new inkjet ink formulations based on biocompatible and biodegradable materials for 3D multi-material inkjet printing
- to optimize the printing and curing processes of those materials
- to investigate the interface issues and compatibility among the different materials to make possible the multi-material process
- to perform 3D multi-material inkjet printing of biocompatibility and biodegradable materials
Master thesis – Team Functional Surfaces and Nanostructures
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a device with integrated photonic functionality and is therefore very similar to an electronic integrated circuit. The main difference between the two is that photonic integrated circuits provide functions for information signals based on light wavelengths, usually in the visible spectrum or near infrared (850 nm – 1650 nm). One promising application is the realization of PICs for solid state LIDARs based on an optical phased array. Typically, many steps are required in order to realize a PIC. However, it is possible to realize a PIC in significantly fewer process steps if nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is used in combination with high refractive materials. This is done by pressing a nanostructured stamp into a liquid UV-curable high refractive index material on a substrate. While the stamp is in contact, the material is cured by UV-irradiation and then the stamp is removed, resulting in a nanostructured high refractive index polymer on the substrate.
PROFACTOR is an applied research center located in Steyr. We conduct research in the field of additive micro/nano manufacturing and industrial assistive systems. Our team consists of around 70 employees from 15 different academic fields. We work across disciplines to find solutions for the manufacturing industry and set standards in robotics, machine vision, simulation, 3D printing, functional surfaces and nanostructures.
The goals of this thesis are
- to acquire comprehensive knowledge in the field of Step and Repeat nanoimprint lithography related to PIC and high refractive index materials.
- to investigate fabrication processes for PIC by step and repeat NIL.
- to investigate materials with varying refractive index for imprinting and characterize their optical and mechanical properties.
- to investigate the interface issues and compatibility among the different materials to make possible the multi-material process
Master thesis – Team Functional Surfaces and Nanostructures
Ageing of population is one of the main problems that European population is facing today, raising the question on the future sustainability of the social health system. Observing the patients who are recovering from an operation by Remote Patient Monitoring can reduce the hospitalization days and avoid further complications of the post-operation time.
TEX-hype project (TEXtile integrated HYbrid Printed Electronics) aims at the development of novel technologies for smart textiles enabling seamless integration of electronics and sensors into garment and develop remote patient monitoring system.
TEX-hype will concentrate on improving the level of integration of electronics in textiles by exploiting a hybrid approach: a stretchable technology that allows the integration of electronics in textile products in such a way that their typical flexible/elastic nature is preserved.
Hybrid printed electronics have the ability to solve this problem by using a combination of traditional silicon-based electronic devices, flexible electronic devices and printed systems. However this hybridization faces the challenge that existing electronic components are commonly not compatible with textile substrates..
PROFACTOR is an applied research center located in Steyr. We conduct research in the field of industrial assistive systems and additive micro/nano manufacturing. Our team consists of around 70 employees from 15 different academic fields. We work across disciplines to find solutions for the manufacturing industry and set standards in robotics, machine vision, simulation, 3D printing, functional surfaces and nanostructures.
Your tasks
The goals of this master thesis are:
- to develop printing processes, pre-treatments and post-processing of dielectric, conductive and resistive materials
- to investigate assembly processes for FWE (flexible, wearable electronics)
- to design demonstrators for health monitoring systems
- to characterize, test and validate printed samples
Master thesis – Team Functional Surfaces and Nanostructures
Nanoimprint Lithography is a method to efficiently replicate micro- and nanostructures. This is done by pressing a nanostructured stamp into a soft (UV-curable) polymer on a substrate. While the stamp is in contact with the substrate, the material is cured by e.g. UV-irradiation and then the stamp is removed, resulting in a nanostructured hard material on the substrate. An imprint with micro- or nanostructures is suitable to modify the friction behavior of a surface dramatically. A recent research focus at PROFACTOR is to apply micro and nanostructures for flow optimization on freeform surfaces of ceramic 3D printed parts for heart pumps.
PROFACTOR is a private, applied research company located in Steyr. We conduct research in the field of industrial assistive systems and additive micro/nano manufacturing. Our team consists of around 70 employees from 15 different academic fields. We work across disciplines to find solutions for the manufacturing industry and set standards in robotics, machine vision, simulation, 3D printing, functional surfaces and nanostructures.
Our tasks
The goals of this thesis are
- to investigate basic processes for the replication of micro- and nanoscale feature on freeform surfaces by using ceramic based materials.
- to investigate different materials for imprinting and characterize their mechanical properties (AFM, Profilmeter, Scratch resistance,…)
In “CondOR-EEE”, which is a national funded project, the in-situ measurement of electrical conductivity during the thermomechanical processing of wrought aluminium alloys will be tested on a laboratory scale and on an industrial scale. The conductivity needs to be measured, for example, during homogenization, heating for extrusion or rolling, and during heat aging, to be able to make predictions about the end product quality using machine learning or physical models. The electrical conductivity curve during heat treatments implicitly contains a complete fingerprint of the material. However, this fingerprint is difficult to interpret due to temperature influences on the measurement and due to the complexity of the metallurgical processes. Machine learning can be used to filter out systematic errors such as the influence of temperature. In addition to other process parameters (e.g. temperatures, extrusion speed, taping plan during rolling) end product properties can be predicted.
PROFACTOR is an applied research center located in Steyr. We conduct research in the field of industrial assistive systems and additive micro/nano manufacturing. Our team consists of around 100 employees from 15 different academic fields. We work across disciplines to find solutions for the manufacturing industry and set standards in robotics, machine vision, simulation, 3D printing, functional surfaces and nanostructures.
Your tasks
The goals of this master thesis are:
- to analyse, preprocess and interpret data from aluminum extrusion processes
- to train, test and evaluate machine learning methods based on this data
- to benchmark different machine learning approaches
- to optimize model parameters
“Location Wien or Steyr”
We are looking forward to your application – preferably online.
PROFACTOR GMBH
Im Stadtgut A2 | 4407 Steyr-Gleink
Tel.: +43 (0)7252 885-0 | Fax: +43 (0)7252 885-101
Your Contact
Dr. Andreas Pichler
CTO
+43 72 52 885 306
andreas.pichler@nullprofactor.at
Theses & Internships:
UV Nanoimprint Lithography for drug-screening chips fabrication
Top down fabrication of large area transparent metal nanomeshes
Fully inkjet printed PCBs with embedded passive components
New inks for 3D multi-material inkjet printing of personalized implants
Inkjet printed Flexible and Wearable Electronics
Master thesis – Nanoimprinting of ceramic materials on freeform surfaces for flow optimization
Machine learning in the aluminium industry based on real-time production data
