The move is the occasion for Femtoprint to come closer to its partners in the region and to expand its microfabrication offer for photonics and micro-optics applications, while reinforcing its collaborations and partnerships within the Microcity’s excellency hub.

Founded in 2013 in Ticino, Switzerland, and employing thirty highly skilled professionals, Femtoprint is a high-tech contract manufacturing and development organization (CMDO) specialized in high-precision 3D printing for glass microdevices.

With the strategic launch of its new business unit in Neuchâtel at the heart of the Swiss pole for innovation, where photonics, micro-optics, precision mechanics, watchmaking, and medical device manufacturing come together, the company opens its first specialized unit to strengthen its offer in a wide range of customer segments and empower cutting edge high-precision micromachining in glass for photonics and micro-optics applications.

The new business unit in Neuchâtel will have the initial role to drive the further expansion of the the company’s microfabrication platform to fulfill the high-quality standards required by photonics and micro-optics applications, and to support with highly specialized engineering expertise the services offered to the customers. The manufacturing facility, located at the headquarter in Muzzano, Switzerland, will accompany the expansion of Femtoprint in the photonics industry with its proven industrial fabrication capabilities and broad R&D activities.
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“Thanks to the local presence, the important investments in technology and the competencies of Dr Rolando Ferrini, Femtoprint will intensify the collaborations and synergies with partners and customers in the region, especially offering faster support, greater know-how and shortening the product development time.”, says Nicoletta Casanova, CEO and president of Femtoprint, adding “Our goal is to continue to drive innovation with agile development and microfabrication solutions, which enable our customers to be disruptive on their specialized markets and us to meet customers’ high expectations”.
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With his important background in physics and his deep knowledge of the photonics and micro-/nano-optics industry, Dr Ferrini will contribute massively to the development of the photonics business unit of Femtoprint. “I was always impressed by the innovative Femtoprint technology and could appreciate in several contexts the innovation and high-quality standards of the company. Having the opportunity to support the continuous development and growth of Femtoprint, reinforcing the collaboration with customers and research partners at national and international level, will be an exciting challenge”, declares Ferrini, head of the newborn photonics business unit. He adds: “The glass 3D microfabrication of free-form micro-optics and microlens arrays as well as of components for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and packaging will be only part of the increased offer of Femtoprint, which I will help to develop further”.

Dr Rolando Ferrini joined CSEM in 2011 where he is group leader micronano optics and head of the CSEM focus area photonics. Since 2020 he co-ordinated the H2020 project Phabulous and acts as managing director of the corresponding pilot line for the manufacturing of freeform micro-optical components. Previously he worked at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, where he was in charge of the activities on organic devices for optics, photonics and lighting.
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The company is a well-established entity on the national and international scene and best known for its highly qualitative and reliable services, from product development to rapid prototyping, up to wafer-scale, industrial series manufacturing. The customer portfolio is well distributed among global, leading organizations, SMEs, young, talented start-ups, and researchers. Microcity, the innovation hub of Neuchâtel, is the ideal location to expand its consultancy and engineering activities.“Microcity is honored to host the new subsidiary of Femtoprint in our vibrant ecosystem and hub, where synergies are created and meeting moments for creative minds are stimulated”, says Fabian Käser, SME program responsible at Microcity, Neuchâtel.

Further reading: Alexander Steimle (FEMTOprint): 3D Micro-Printing: A new Era for Med-Tech Applications – How three-dimensional thinking is turning a piece of material into smart medical devices, Laser Tech. J. 15(1), January 2018, pp. 32–34; DOI:
10.1002/latj.201800003