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.

Jena / November 27, 2025

Researchers at Fraunhofer IOF in collaboration with Airbus have developed a hyperspectral spectrometer as part of the “Rainbow” project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). The technology enables the creation of digital field maps that can be used in agriculture as precise application maps for location-specific measures. Fraunhofer IOF will be presenting the system at the Space Tech Expo in Bremen from November 18 to 20.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On the way to an intercontinental network for quantum key communication, the research consortium behind the HyperSpace project has already achieved numerous milestones since the project was launched in October 2022. The research results published in the first half of the project open up new application possibilities for the transmission of quantum keys, for example for satellite-based quantum communication.

For their research into customized 2D materials, a team of four scientists from Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have been awarded the “Thüringer Forschungspreis” (Thuringian Research Prize). The award for scientific excellence in the category “Applied Research” was presented today at a ceremony at the Technical University Ilmenau and is endowed with 25,000 euros.

Jessica Thiede completed her apprenticeship as a physics laboratory assistant in the Laser and Fiber Technology department in January with outstanding results. During her apprenticeship, she was able to gain technical expertise in almost all of Fraunhofer IOF’s departments and will now remain with the institute as an employee in the Laser and Fiber Technology department.

From May 27 to 29, a three-day workshop on "Green Photonics" will take place at Fraunhofer IOF. In lectures and discussion formats, the influence of photonic technologies on the reduction of environmental impacts and possibilities for transformation on the way to a more sustainable future will be discussed. Registration is open until May 3. Researchers also have the opportunity to submit abstracts.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed a very compact spectrometer module. It maps spectra from 39 optical fibers onto one camera sensor in a small space. This is made possible by a special micro-optical system. The technology, which has potential for applications in quality assurance and analytics, will be presented at analytica trade fair in Munich from April 9 to 12.

Researchers from Jena, Würzburg and Potsdam have successfully developed a design for the smallest system of its kind so far to take highly secure quantum communication to space: Led by Fraunhofer IOF, the project CubEniK developed an ultracompact payload for a satellite the size of a shoe box, a so called “CubeSat”. The goal of the mini satellite is to transmit a secure quantum key over a distance of 300 kilometers between two ground stations in Jena and Munich.

For the first time, a team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF and the University of New Mexico have succeeded in cooling silica glass by 67 kelvins through optical laser cooling. The researchers from Jena and Albuquerque have now published the results in the journal Optics Express.

German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena today as part of the event series "Werkstatt des Wandels" (Workshop of Change). He thereby recognized the institute as a place of successful transformation that contributes to new opportunities for society, the economy and industry.

ESA plans to launch its FLEX mission in 2025. The aim is to collect data on the Earth's vegetation from space. For the spectrometer on board the satellite, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena have developed and manufactured a double-slit assembly with exceptional accuracy as well as two high-precision mirrors. The double slit will be presented at SPIE Photonics West in San Francisco from January 30 to February 1.

Measuring how Earth is losing its cool - that is the undertaking of the FORUM mission. The European Space Agency's (ESA) satellite mission, scheduled for 2027, aims to analyze Earth's heat budget in order to better understand global warming and Earth’s climate system. For the spectrometer on board the satellite, researchers from Jena have developed a novel diamond structure that enables precise measurements on the far-infrared spectrum. The first flight hardware has now been delivered.

How can computers become even more powerful with the help of light while consuming less energy? How can we produce tiny micro-optics faster and more cost-effectively in the future? And how can findings from nano-optics be applied to the industrial use of quantum sensors? The prize winners of this year's "Applied Photonics Award" are addressing these and other questions about the future. The Young Researcher Award was presented to the five award winners of 2023 on October 12 as part of the "Photonics Days Jena".

This week, the german federal government has approved the new space strategy. Andreas Tünnermann, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF and Chair of Applied Physics at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, welcomes the new strategy as an "important step for national space research". He expects that especially the innovation ecosystem at the photonics location Jena "will make relevant contributions to the implementation of the new space strategy".

Bye bye, lens. Hello metasurface! So-called metasurfaces can help to make optical systems thinner in the future, while at the same time increasing their functionality. The problem: Until now, conventional manufacturing processes have often only been able to realize small metasurfaces, often smaller than one square millimeter. Researchers at Fraunhofer IOF have now succeeded for the first time in producing a metasurface with a diameter of almost 30 centimeters using electron beam lithography - a world record. The scientists have now published their method in the "Journal of Micro/Nanopatterning, Materials, and Metrology". Further, the novel metastructure will be on public display for the first time at LASER World of Photonics in Munich, Germany, June 27-30.

How do you decide whether a pedestrian needs to wait or it’s safe for them to cross the road in front of a car? In today’s world, car drivers and pedestrians simply exchange a brief eye contact or small hand gestures to express their in-tentions to one another. But how will future autonomous cars communicate? Researchers involved in the MaMeK project are seeking to answer that ques-tion. They will be presenting their findings at the LASER World of PHOTONICS trade fair in Munich from June 27 to 30 (Booth 415, Hall A2).

Water is becoming increasingly scarce. In the future, innovative satellite technology will ensure that plants are given only as much water as they need, leading to a more sustainable use of this essential resource. A prototype of the technology, LisR, has already been tested on the International Space Station (ISS). A team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF and two spin-offs, constellr GmbH and SPACEOPTIX GmbH, has received the Fraunhofer Prize for Human- and Environment-Centered Technology for this development.

Virtual 3D models of real objects, so called »digital twins«, offer numerous advantages – be it for digitization or in the quality control of industrial manufacturing. But the more complex an object, the more difficult it is to measure its shape and transfer it to a 3D model. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, in collaboration with MTU Maintenance, have now developed a portable sensor that enables particularly flexible 3D capture, for example of aircraft engines. The handheld scanner, called goSCOUT3D, will be presented to the public for the first time at the OPIE’23 trade fairs in Yokohama from April 19 to 21 and at the CONTROL in Stuttgart from May 9 to 12.

On April 13, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its JUICE mission to explore Jupiter and its moons. On board of the spacecraft will be the GALA measuring instrument. It will use laser pulses to measure the surface of the Earth-like moon Ganymede. The instrument was developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena together with the company HENSOLDT Optronics. GALA will be the first "deep space laser altimeter" to be used at a distance of approximately one billion kilometers from Earth.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have found a new way to produce high-precision components such as mirror optics in a particularly efficient and scalable manner - while maintaining the highest quality and low costs. To achieve this, they are using a new type of production architecture: SWAP-IT. This is being developed as part of the Fraunhofer SWAP lead project with the aim of making industrial manufacturing processes in the factory of the future more flexible, efficient, and economical. At the Hannover Messe from April 17 to 21, the lead project will be presented with its diverse application possibilities in high-precision mirror manufacturing, among other areas.

The future has a color: it is extreme ultraviolet (EUV). With the help of light in this particularly short-wave spectral range, so-called EUV light, it is possible, for example, to produce smaller and more powerful microchips than ever before. But further research faces a problem: Experiments with laser-like EUV light can usually only be conducted at expensive large-scale research facilities. Jena scientist Robert Klas wants to change that. He has developed a compact EUV laser module that can be used to generate this special light much more cost-effectively. Potential applications are possible in semiconductor manufacturing and microscopy. Robert Klas has now been awarded the Hugo Geiger Award for his work.

The European Union is providing 4.3 million euros in funding for a new project to research high-security quantum communication via satellites. In the QUDICE project, an international team of researchers, including members of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, aims to develop components for space-based distribution of quantum keys. The new hardware is expected to become one day the basis of a European satellite network. At Fraunhofer IOF, a miniaturized source for generating entangled light particles in the telecommunications wavelength range will be built specifically for this purpose. The project has recently started its three-year term.

They fly high above our heads and are indispensable for our globally networked world: satellites. For a long time, they used radio waves to exchange data with each other and with ground stations. But in a highly networked world with a rapidly growing volume of data, these have long been insufficient to cope with the volume of data. The solution: light. Light enables data to be transmitted much faster - and, especially with entangled light particles known as quanta, much more securely. At SPIE Photonics West from January 31 to February 2, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF will be presenting several innovations for laser- and quantum-based communication together with its project partners from quantum communication and space research.

Optics that do not fog up and almost do not reflect - this will be possible in the future due to a new optical coating system developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF. The technology is expected to help improve the performance of lidar systems and cameras in, for example, autonomous driving cars. The research team has now presented the new process in a paper published in the journal "Applied Optics".

To support start-ups and fresh ideas in the field of optics and photonics: That is the goal of the "Digital Innovation Hub Photonics" (DIHP). On January 12, for the fifth time, the Hub invited photonics fans and (prospective) founders to present their innovative research and business projects in an "Elevator Pitch". Awards were given for research ideas that aim to stem the death of bees, for example, but also for projects in bioanalytics or medical technology.

An international team of researchers, including scientists from Jena, has succeeded in developing a new and particularly precise type of measurement in tiny quantum systems. Applications are conceivable in semiconductor manufacturing, for example, but also in mobile radio technology or microscopy in the future. Experimental tests to prove the study were carried out on Germany's first quantum computer, the Fraunhofer "QSystemOne", among others. The researchers have now published their results in the journal "Nature Physics".