Business Unit - Photonics

Photonics – Communication, Lighting, Sensor Technology

The business area Photonics combines Fraunhofer IZM’s skills and know-how to tackle challenges in telecommunication, data communication, light generation, materials processing and optical sensors.

We pursue different goals in each of these areas. In communication, broadband capacity, power efficiency, high, heterogeneous packaging density are the main focus, while in lighting, we aim to improve high power density, thermal management, multifunctional integration, wavelength conversion and beam guiding. In sensor technology, application-specific heterointegration of excitation source, sensor and analysis electronics take center-stage. However, three goals are pursued across all these areas: volume adjusted manufacturing technology, cost-efficiency and high yield.

Fraunhofer IZM develops technologies for the packages, PCBs, modules and systems that meet these challenges. Our approach is, firstly, adapting new and established techniques in microelectronics, such as wafer-level packaging, integration into PCBs and surface-mount technology, for optoelectronics using conventional equipment. Secondly, we aim to combine these modified techniques with the technologies specific to optoelectronics to create reliable systems suited to automated manufacturing.

You will find an overview of Fraunhofer IZM activities relating to optical technologies here.

Our solutions:

• Manufacturing, assembly and interconnection of optical components
• Assembly and interconnection of electro-optical components
• Optoelectronics
• Photonic and plasmonic systems
• Qualification, failure analysis and reliability analysis
• Integration using wafer-level packaging
• Simulation, design and measurement (thermal, mechanical, optical, RF)