[8] In the 1990s, Frank Mücklich learned about Martin Stutzmann's method for local crystallization of amorphous layers from him at the Technical University of Munich.
With the help of funding he got from the Alfried Krupp sponsorship in 1997, he was able to realise this concept in the laboratories of his Chair for Functional Materials at Saarland University, by acquiring a nanosecond laser and the necessary optical equipment.
What was noticeable in the experiments, however, was that in addition to the local metallurgical effects observed, i.e. microstructural changes in the material (like grain size distribution, orientation), also the micro-topography of the surface could be controlled.
For their successful publications, the jury of the International Journal of Materials Research - IJMR awarded Frank Mücklich, Andrés Lasagni and Claus Daniel the Werner Koester Prize of the DGM.
There he developed many compact optics[12][13][14][15] which are crucial for the robust application of today's DLIP technology, while Mücklich and his team in Saarbrücken continued to open up new materials engineering application fields for surface functionalisation through DLIP and in 2009 opened the Material Engineering Center Saarland, where direct industry collaborations promoted the technology transfer.
Together with Dominik Britz and Ralf Zastrau, Mücklich and Lasagni founded the company SurFunction GmbH to commercialise the technology on the market for the first time.
At the same time, microscopic small structures, which are even smaller than the diffraction limit (which determines the smallest possible beam diameter at the focal position), can be created quickly and without contact.
Projects related to research in space are an important topic area to investigate the potential for the hygienic properties of surface texturing by DLIP.
In the case of the International Space Station (ISS), biofilms are a problem of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), in particular the Water Processor Unit (WPA).