As part of the call for proposals EFRE - Europa fördert Sachsen (Europe supports Saxony), the Free State of Saxony (Sächsische Aufbaubank - SAB) is investing €825,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the expansion and improvement of the research infrastructure at the IOM, thereby ensuring the further strengthening of the IOM's innovative power and improving its national and international visibility.

A modern ion beam etching system will soon be installed at the IOM for the targeted further development of innovative processes in precision optical machining. Ion beam-based technologies for shape machining, smoothing, and patterning have established themselves as key enabling technologies in recent years and open up a wide range of applications in high-performance optics. The modernization will strengthen the IOM's high-performance infrastructure in the long term and enable the continuous development of reactive ion beam processes to be pursued consistently.

The new facility will be used to address application-oriented and fundamental research questions relating to reactive ion beam etching (RIBE), particularly on optical components with diameters of up to 200 mm. This will enable the IOM to implement ultra-precise machining processes with depth accuracies in the Ångström range at a new level of quality.

A particular focus is on developing machining processes for laser optics for high-performance applications, such as anti-reflection coating for optics and the manufacture of pulse compression gratings. These components are essential for future key technologies, such as the realization of future laser inertial fusion power plants.