Roman Koerner studied electrical engineering in Stuttgart where he completed his PhD on The Germanium-Zener-Emitter for Silicon Photonics. Roman works as Head of Global R&D at TRUMPF Photonic Components and has a strong background on silicon state of the art processing technology.
Drying of electrode coatings is a delicate process and consumes ~30% of the energy in Li-ion battery manufacturing. Currently convection ovens are used that are inefficient and very large (60 – 100 m long). Laser drying offers several advantages, mainly improved energy efficiency, reduced floor space and increased process control. We developed a new generation of high-power laser modules for laser drying in battery electrode fabrication. Low power densities and homogeneous heating with full system efficiencies > 50% is within the record system efficiencies offered today. Moreover, simple scalability of the illumination profile and highly standardized fabrication techniques are the game changer benefits from using VCSELs as light source.