Research partnerships continue Jena's tradition of optical collaboration

The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) conducts application-oriented research in the field of optical systems engineering on behalf of its clients in industry and within publicly-funded collaborative projects.

Clients of Fraunhofer IOF come from the information and communications, lighting, transport, production, life sciences, food, medical technology, environmental and safety engineering markets. Fraunhofer IOF provides the entire process chain, starting from system design to manufacture of prototype optical, opto-mechanical and optoelectronic systems.

As one of the most successful optics locations in Europe, the Jena region is one of the leading players on the German optics scene. More than 13,500 employees currently generate sales of over 2 billion euros every year in optical technologies. The cluster has experienced an average growth in sales of 10 % in recent years.