Press Releases

What is quantum communication, and how secure is it really? A two-day “Quantum Hackathon” held last week in Jena, Germany addressed this question. Together with researchers from the Fraunhofer Institutes IOF and ISI, around twenty international participants explored the limits of quantum communication systems—to gain a better understanding of this complex, cutting-edge technology. The event also marked the upcoming closing of the collaborative project O-PEN, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR). The online knowledge platform Quanten-Kompass, and the online game Eve on a Mission—developed as part of the project as well—are now permanently available free of charge for research, teaching, and anyone interested.

In the project “Photonically Integrated Polarisation Analysis Module with Single-Photon Processing (PIC-PAM),” six partners from the Thuringian photonics network OptoNet e.V., including the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, aim to more closely integrate Thuringia’s competences in optics and photonics with those in microelectronics and sensor technology.

As a new research and deployment project in the EuroQCI initiative, TransEuroOGS aims to establish a network of interoperable optical ground stations for satellite-based quantum-secure communication across four EU Member States: Germany, Greece, Ireland and Luxembourg. With a budget of approximately €18 million, co-funded by the European Union and national governments, the project has now officially been kicked off with a consortium meeting in Berlin and Jena.

With conventional methods, high-precision nanostructures on photonic components can currently only be produced up to a size of 30 centimeters. Researchers in Thuringia are now working on the development of a new machine that will be able to create nanostructures spanning up to one square meter in the future—with a positioning accuracy smaller than an atom. The underlying research project, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) with four million euros, will launch with a kickoff event on May 6 in Erfurt as part of the Quantum Photonics trade fair.

Until June 30, students and doctoral candidates can once again apply for the Applied Photonics Award, organized by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF. The prize for young talent honors theses that deal with innovative optical technologies for society and industry. It is endowed with up to €3,000 in prize money.

Dr. Christopher Spiess has been awarded the first place of the prestigious Hugo Geiger Prize for a novel synchronization method for quantum communication networks. The award ceremony took place on March 18 as part of the Fraunhofer Symposium “Netzwert” in Munich. The method developed by Spiess does not require additional synchronization lasers or expensive atomic clocks and opens up application possibilities that extend far beyond quantum communication.

Dr. Anne-Sophie Munser has been awarded third place in the Hugo Geiger Prize. She was recognized for her development of a highly sensitive light scattering measurement method that allows microorganisms, bacteria, and antibiotic resistance to be analyzed significantly faster than with conventional methods. The technology opens up promising prospects, including infection research. The prize was awarded on March 18 during the Fraunhofer Symposium “Netzwert” in Munich.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF inaugurated its newest research building today with a ceremony. In addition to Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär, Thuringia's Minister President Mario Voigt and other guests from politics, business, and industry took part in the celebrations. Special highlights in the new building include a new electron beam lithography facility for the production of photonic components and a ground station for satellite-based quantum communication.

After three years, the Q-net-Q research consortium, led by Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and involving the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, the Fraunhofer Institute HHI (Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute) and other partners, has demonstrated the successful implementation of a quantum infrastructure in real-world operation. Several aspects of a QKD-secured network were demonstrated during a final presentation.

The DIKUQ project has developed a semi-automated process chain for forming steel sheets for shipbuilding. Fraunhofer IOF designed a novel inline 3D measurement system that can digitally capture workpieces in less than half a second and reconstruct them as 3D images. The system reduces the workload for specialists and minimizes quality fluctuations.