In the promising field of electro-ceramics EPCOS is intensifying its basic research activities with universities and is expanding its capacity. In Deutschlandsberg near Graz, Austria, at one of the world’s largest competence centers for electro-ceramics, more than 300 engineers are involved in developing and manufacturing leading-edge products. Their competence which is based on decades of experience is decisive for assuring the company’s worldwide leadership in ceramic components in the future.

Technologically speaking, there is scarcely any material that is as versatile and promising for the future as ceramic: "It has enormous potential for innovation," says Dr. Christian Hoffmann, Head of Corporate Material Research and Development (CMRD) at the EPCOS Ceramic Components Division (KB). "Ceramics represent a world of sheer infinite possibilities." In order to understand and investigate these even more quickly and comprehensively, EPCOS is currently extending its basic research in the sector of electro-ceramic materials. This is being done within the scope of cooperation with the Technical Universities (TU) of Vienna and Graz. Its partner institutes are among the European leaders in their research areas. EPCOS is the exclusive industrial partner for the newly opened Christian Doppler Laboratory for Ferroic Materials .

"In this way we are gaining additional research capacity and technology competence," explains Dr. Justinus Slakhorst, Chief Technology Officer of KB. Moreover, EPCOS is gaining access to new recruits in the material sciences. "We will still need many good people for our future growth," stresses Slakhorst.

Research focus on piezo-materials

The new Christian Doppler Laboratories combine two work groups with diverse research interests in piezo-materials. In this area, EPCOS - as world market leader in piezo-actuators for fuel-saving injection systems - faces the challenge of replacing piezo-materials that contain lead with equally high-performance ceramics without the heavy metal. "We aim to be the first to offer a lead-free solution," says Hoffmann, who heads material developments at EPCOS.

At the Institute for Technical Chemistry of Materials at the TU Graz, research therefore focuses on the structure of ferroic ceramics. "We want to find out what atomic structure a material must have to possess specific properties," explains Professor Klaus Reichmann, one of the heads of the Christian Doppler Laboratory.

Professor Klaus Reichmann of the TU Graz (left) and Dr. Christian Hoffmann, head of materials development at EPCOS

In contrast, the Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics of TU Vienna under the direction of Professor Jürgen Fleig focuses on the degradation behavior of materials as well as on defect chemistry. The aim is to gain new insights into the processes of material aging. "Thus we examine how it changes over time, especially with the aid of micro-impedance analysis on individual grain boundaries of the material," explains Fleig. The latest measurement methods and instruments - such as the high-precision technique of time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry - are used, among other things, to analyze the migration of the electrode material into the ceramic.

International research network

Partnership with the Christian Doppler Laboratory complements the international cooperative network of EPCOS in ceramic material research. Among its members are the Montan University of Leoben, Austria, the Jožef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia and Pennsylvania State University, USA.

This new cooperation is particularly important because, according to Hoffmann: "It allows us to advance our ceramic innovation processes more effectively." He adds: "Thanks to short distances, a lot can be dealt with quickly, above all on the basis of direct personal contacts and exchanges." The net result is an even more efficient R&D network for EPCOS in the high-growth sector of electro-ceramics.

Cooperation with the Deutschlandsberg plant also benefits the universities. "Thanks to its strong commitment to material and product development, EPCOS is the ideal partner for our research," says Reichmann. "I am convinced that this partnership will turn out to be highly successful."