Press Releases

The latest key experiment of the QuNET initiative was successfully completed today with a flight experiment between Oberpfaffenhofen and Erlangen. The aircraft formed a mobile node in a quantum network and established a connection to a ground station. There, the photons were successfully received and measured. The technologies from the demonstrated key experiment are groundbreaking for future secure quantum communication.

On September 29, young researchers were honored with the Applied Photonics Award 2025 for their contributions to future topics in applied photonics. The award recognizes outstanding scientific achievements and is organized annually by Fraunhofer IOF.

With Sentinel-5, the European Space Agency (ESA) is continuing its Copernicus program for climate research. The mission was successfully launched tonight. Once again, several optical components from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF are on board.

Laser communication promises data rates in the gigabit to terabit range - significantly higher than conventional wireless connections. Europe wants to expand its expertise in this field and install its own satellite networks in the future. Together with the companies TESAT and SPACEOPTIX, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have now developed a transmitting and receiving telescope for satellite-based laser communication, which could form the basis for such a network as a series product.

In summer 2025, the European Space Agency ESA plans to launch the MTG-S1 satellite from the third generation of the Meteosat series. The geostationary satellite will significantly improve the accuracy of weather forecasts for Europe. On board is a key component from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena: a high-precision diffraction grating. From June 24 to 27, Fraunhofer IOF will be presenting a copy of this complex optical component at the Laser World of Photonics trade fair in Munich.

Lithium niobate has long been a standard material for modulating optical signals, both in telecommunications and in laser amplifiers. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have further developed thin-film lithium niobate (LNOI) to build integrated optical circuits. This is a breakthrough for photonic integrated circuits that enable energy-efficient, fast and scalable photonic systems. The technology will be presented at the World of Quantum trade fair in Munich from June 24 to 27.

What used to take 15 seconds now takes less than two: thanks to new single shot technology, the goROBOT3D system, developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, will be able to measure three-dimensional objects even more efficiently in future – even if they are transparent or black. The institute will be presenting the technology for the first time at the automatica trade show in Munich from June 24 to 27.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, together with the Digital Innovation Hub Photonics (DIHP) and Quantum Optics Jena GmbH, has been awarded the Technology Transfer Prize of the German Physical Society (DPG) for the successful transfer of quantum optics research into marketable high-security applications. The award ceremony took place on May 22 as part of the 6th WTT Forum in Bremen.

Making Thuringia visible as a hub for regional and international quantum research — that is the aim of the new QUANTUM PHOTONICS trade event, which will be held in Erfurt for the first time from May 13 to 14. The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF is a member of the scientific advisory board of the new trade fair format and will be presenting its own quantum highlights as well as accompanying specialist lectures.

As founding director, Wolfgang Karthe laid the foundations for the success of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF. In the midst of German reunification, he succeeded in establishing a renowned research institute that continues to strengthen Jena as a business location to this day. Wolfgang Karthe has now passed away at the age of 86.