Press Releases

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.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed powerful thulium fiber laser systems that almost double the previous performance world record. The technology lays the foundation for high-power lasers with even greater performance prospects.

From 2035, the Einstein Telescope will be able to study gravitational waves with unprecedented accuracy. For the telescope, researchers from Jena have manufactured highly sensitive sensors made entirely of glass for the first time.

The "Photonics4Future" webinar series offers exclusive insights into research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF. Once a month, researchers present their latest technology highlights in a livestream. New dates have been set for 2025.

Laser-driven fusion power plants are considered a key technology on the road to climate neutrality. Highly reflective and thermally stable mirror systems are crucial for these fusion power plants in order to transport the laser light from the beam source to the tiny capsule of fusion fuel. In the new SHARP research project, new types of high-performance mirrors are being developed for this purpose. The project is being funded with 8.4 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR; formerly German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Applications such as self-driving vehicles, 6G mobile communications and quantum communications are pushing fiber optic networks to their limits. Fraunhofer researchers have joined forces with partners to devise clever ways to optimize data transmission. Optical switches with liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) mirrors shrink data packets down to size so the network can carry more data, while signals are distributed across different fiber strands to create more flexibility.

Since its launch, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia space mission has provided detailed images of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. After more than a decade, its fuel tank is almost empty, and the mission is coming to an end. Jena technology also played a role: Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF developed a key component for one of the spectrometers on board that was able to withstand even extreme conditions in space.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF is presenting a new photon source at SPIE Photonics West in San Francisco (January 28 to 30, 2025) that has been specially developed for the "Prepare-and-Measure" protocol of quantum communication. The components of the source are optimized for use in space.

In order for future laser fusion power plants to work efficiently and reliably, current laser technologies must be adapted to the extreme requirements of high power and continuous operation. In the new "nanoAR" research project, nine project partners from industry and research are working on methods for structural antireflection solutions and reducing sub-surface damage of the optical components used. Their approaches could also be transferred to other fields of application for high-power optics.