The Thuringian Innovation Center for Quantum Optics and Sensor Technology, which is based at TU Ilmenau and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, is launching the FastPIC research group on January 1, 2026. An interdisciplinary research team will develop circuits at the interface of photonics and sensor technology that are capable of processing large amounts of data in real time. Such ultra-fast electronic components will enable digital applications, for example in medical diagnostics, for controlling industrial robots or innovative technologies for autonomous vehicles. The research group is being funded by the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture with 734,000 euros for a good two and a half years.
The digital transformation of our society requires the processing of enormous amounts of data. Applications that are constantly learning with artificial intelligence require gigantic computing power, as do new technologies for medical diagnosis, the control of industrial robots or innovative technologies for safe autonomous driving. Conventional computer architectures are reaching their limits in terms of both memory speed and the energy required to calculate the enormous amounts of data.
In the FastPIC research group ("Flexibly adaptable and scalable technologies for photonic integrated circuits"), scientists will develop optical distribution systems that overcome these limitations. The innovative photonic integrated circuits, or PICs for short, consist of a large number of optical switching elements that are flexibly networked with each other via electrical control signals. This enables them to process an enormous bandwidth of data with extremely low energy consumption and minimal latency, i.e. very little delay between a digital command and its execution. However, current technologies have so far only allowed this principle to be demonstrated in a few photonic components. However, since high-performance systems require a large number of such components, new ways of extending photonic circuits are now being sought.
In the FastPIC project of the Thuringian Innovation Center for Quantum Optics and Sensor Technology ( InQuoSens ) an interdisciplinary research team from TU Ilmenau and Friedrich Schiller University Jena will work hand in hand. At TU Ilmenau, Professor Jens Müller, spokesman of the research group and head of the Electronics Technology Group , and Professor Andreas Bund, head of the Electrochemistry and Electroplating Group , are working together on the development of a new technology for the realization of a highly integrated 3D wiring carrier based on ceramics. Professor Matthias Hein, Head of the RF and Microwave Research Group , is responsible for designing the circuit for fast control of the photonic elements. At the Abbe Center of Photonics at the University of Jena, Dr. Falk Eilenberger and Reinhard Geiß are developing the platform and interfaces for the scalable photonic circuit.
The new components will benefit a wide range of sectors from industry, business and society: electronics manufacturers, who can develop hardware for technology applications and adapt it to new applications, as well as manufacturers of end products and start-ups, who can use the new technologies to manufacture innovative products and design highly integrated sustainable systems.
The FastPIC research group will receive 734,000 euros in funding from the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture from January 1, 2026 to August 31, 2028 as part of the Free State of Thuringia’s directive to promote the securing and recruitment of highly qualified personnel for research and development and innovation.
