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03/2025, Jena, GER
Smart Photonics receives European Regional Development Fund to scale its research infrastructure
We are expanding our infrared laser infrastructure. 🚀 The technical equipment funded in the Laser4IPHT project includes lasers with the highest repetition rates and stability as well as adaptive optics - technologies that, among other things, create the basis for “smarter” medical diagnostics. 🏥This enables our researchers to analyze complex patterns in cells and tissues in real-time - energy-efficiently and with maximum precision. The new infrastructure is driving our research forward in three areas in particular:🎯 Optical AI for analyzing cells and other samples🎯 Neuromorphic computing for energy-efficient information processing🎯 Integrated photonics for the optimization of highly non-linear waveguidesThe project is funded by the Free State of Thuringia and co-financed by the @European Union under the ERDF.The project co-lead Prof. Dr. Mario Chemnitz says: "This funding at an early stage of our research is of pivotal importance as it allows us to acquire top-notch equipment and to do experiments at an internationally competitive level. A big thanks to the European Union and Thuringia."
01/2025, Jena, GER
Debut! Smart Photonics group's first paper on Arxiv just two years after establishment
We are thrilled to announce that the Smart Photonics research group at Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies (Leibniz-IPHT) has achieved a significant milestone with the release of our first group-owned paper on Arxiv, only two years after the group's establishment in August 2022. The paper, titled "Nonlinear Inference Capacity of Fiber-Optical Extreme Learning Machines", investigates how nonlinear optical phenomena can serve as a fundamentally new resource for analog brain-inspired computing. Our team has demonstrated that nonlinear inference capacity scales with nonlinearity to the point where it surpasses the performance of a deep neural network model with five hidden layers on a scalable nonlinear classification benchmark. By comparing normal and anomalous dispersion fibers under various operating conditions against digital classifiers, we've established a direct correlation between the system's nonlinear dynamics and its classification performance.
We extend our sincere gratitude to the Carl Zeiss Foundation for their generous support through the CZS Nexus funding program, which has enabled the establishment and ongoing work of our research group. We also thank the Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies (Leibniz-IPHT) for providing the excellent research environment and resources necessary for our success.The paper is now available on Arxiv (arXiv:2501.18894 [physics.optics]) and is currently under review for a special issue. This milestone marks just the beginning of our journey to develop the next generation of smart photonic processors for modern diagnostics.
01/2025, Jena, GER
Welcome, Mehmet, to our Smart Team.
We are delighted to welcome Mehmet Müftüfglu, the newest member of our Smart Photonics Team, who joined us in January 2025. Mehmet has already pursued exceptional research studies during his Master's in our group, efforts which the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena has acknowledged with an Honours fellowship and an excellent grading on his Master's thesis. He comes with a broad expertise in physics, photonics, machine learning and neuromorphic computing, the foundations of which he has built already through his Bachelor's at the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey,, where she specialized in machine learning and optical systems. As part of her PhD research, he will focus on new neuromorphic wave computing frameworks in optical fibers, contributing to our group's core expertise.We warmly welcome him to our group and look forward to exciting learnings and fun experiments at the interface of light and information science.
11/2024, Jena, GER
Saturday lecture out now!
We are pleased to announce that the Saturday Physics lecture by Prof. Dr. Mario Chemnitz on "Von Neuronen zu Photonen: Wie Licht die künstliche Intelligenz revolutioniert" (held in German) from November 30, 2024, is now available online.In this entertaining presentation, Prof. Chemnitz illustrates how optical computing could transform AI technology. He discussed how optical neurons, based on principles such as diffraction, refraction, and interference, could offer more energy-efficient and faster alternatives to conventional electronic systems. On three experiments, the lecture introduces neural-like computing using lenses, fibers, and photonic chips, while examining both the development potential and current challenges in establishing optical neural networks as a future technology.Image courtesy: Simon Stützer (JANOVA).
11/2024, Jena, GER
Coffee Computer Captivates Crowds at Long Night of Science
At this year's Long Night of Science, over 850 visitors experienced an extraordinary fusion of everyday physics and cutting-edge computing at this year's Long Night of Science. One highlight was our unique Coffee Computer demonstration, in which a simple cup of coffee is transformed into an interactive computing device.Visitors watched in amazement as spoken words were converted into wave patterns on the coffee's surface through carefully placed speakers. These mesmerizing ripples demonstrated the principles of reservoir computing and neural networks in a uniquely accessible way. This allowed us to show how general wave mixing principles extend from coffee cups to optical fibers in modern computing applications.Our team was particularly thrilled by the enthusiastic engagement from visitors of all ages, who brought boundless curiosity and excitement to each demonstration. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this illuminating evening of discovery.
09/2024, Jena, GER
Welcome, Juliane, to our Smart Team.
We are delighted to welcome Juliane Heim as the newest member of our Smart Photonics Team, who joined us in mid-September 2024. Juliane brings valuable expertise from her Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), where she specialized in characterization, analysis, and testing.Originally from Thuringia, Juliane was drawn to Leibniz IPHT for its distinctive position at the intersection of scientific research and practical applications in photonic technologies. As part of her PhD research, she will focus on on-chip neuromorphic wave computing, contributing to our institute's work in advanced photonic systems.With her background in materials science and enthusiasm for photonic technologies, Juliane is a welcome addition to our research team. We look forward to her contributions to our ongoing research in neuromorphic computing.
05/2022, Jena, GER
Dr. Mario Chemnitz granted by the Carl Zeiss Foundation to start new research group
From August 1, 2022, the Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies (Leibniz-IPHT) will complement its research portfolio with its new "Smart Photonics" research group. The physicist, Dr. Mario Chemnitz, is establishing his own group at the Jena-based institute over the next five years with CZS Nexus funding from the Carl Zeiss Foundation to research smart processors for modern diagnostics.
As head of the new "Smart Photonics" research group, Dr. Mario Chemnitz and his team will work on the diagnostics of the future at the interface of biology, physics and data science. The €1.5 million grant from the Carl Zeiss Foundation will enable him to build a multidisciplinary team and a state-of-the-art laboratory to develop a fully fiber-integrated smart sensor and microscopy system. At the heart of this system are fiber-integrated, neuromorphic processors that take on individual tasks from the field of artificial intelligence (AI) to autonomously recognize patterns in large amounts of data, for example on images or in signals, at lightning speed. In perspective, fiber-optic processors significantly accelerate spectroscopy and offer the potential to detect objects microscopically in a cameraless manner and to measure cells autonomously.
"I am honored to be supported by the Carl Zeiss Foundation in the CZS Nexus program. This support, but also the trust placed in me by Leibniz-IPHT to be allowed to establish and lead my own group, is a great pleasure and recognition. It shows how much potential there is in the vision of a new generation of diagnostic tools based on light-driven neural processors. I look forward to working with an interdisciplinary team at Leibniz-IPHT to conduct research on this topic in the coming years," said Dr. Mario Chemnitz.
About the CZS Nexus funding program of the Carl Zeiss Foundation
The CZS Nexus funding program of the Carl Zeiss Foundation supports postdocs on their scientific career path. The funding of 1.5 million euros enables young scientists who want to implement interdisciplinary research ideas between the disciplines of mathematics, computer science, natural science and technology to set up their own research group over five to six years."It is precisely the interdisciplinary interfaces that offer enormous potential for scientific innovation, but they don't get much of a chance in conventional funding programs," says Dr. Felix Streiter, Managing Director of the Carl Zeiss Foundation. "The Nexus program therefore consistently focuses on the connection between different disciplines."In 2022, five scientists received funding from the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
About the Carl Zeiss Foundation
The Carl Zeiss Foundation aims to create scope for scientific breakthroughs. As a partner of excellent science, it supports both basic research and application-oriented research and teaching in the MINT disciplines (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology). Founded in 1889 by the physicist and mathematician Ernst Abbe, the Carl Zeiss Foundation is one of the oldest and largest private science-funding foundations in Germany. It is the sole owner of Carl Zeiss AG and SCHOTT AG. Its projects are financed from the dividend distributions of the two foundation companies.
08/2021, Montreal, CA
Newest paper on a smart on-chip pulse shaper to be published in Optica
Our lattest work on "Autonomous On-chip Interferometry for Reconfigurable Optical Waveform Generation" has been accepted for publication in the upcoming issue of OSA's highest impact journal Optica. In the work by Dr. Chemnitz and his students, the authors report on an all-optical, adaptive, on-chip system for shaping optical waveforms to a user-defined target by uniquely utilizing an uncommon evolutionary optimization algorithm. The paper will be available soon here.
04/2021, Montreal, CA
Dr. Mario Chemnitz receives FRQNT PBEEE fellowship to continue research at INRS-EMT
Quebec has granted Dr. Chemnitz as TOP 1 candidate with one of their prescious postdoctoral fellowships to continue his studies on machine learning in photonics at INRS-EMT Montreal/Varennes. The fellowship will ensure front-leading research and a safe, continous career experience for Dr. Chemnitz who is currently residing in Montreal with his young family. Many thanks.
04/2020, Jena, GER
Dr. Chemnitz receives Beutenberg Award in Life Science and Physics
The Beutenberg Campus Society Jena has distinguished Dr. Chemnitz for his cross-discipline research efforts during his doctoral studies at the interface of material sciences, nonlinear optics and optofluidics. His thesis "Soliton Dynamics in Liquid-Core Optical Fibers" has convinced the academic jury to have made a significant interdisciplinary contribution to the fields of life science and physics. For that, he received the Science Award of the Beutenberg Campus Society, who judged from 8 outstanding research works from multiple institutions including Leibniz and Max-Planck. (Photo shows Dr. Chemnitz and Prof. Nolte at another award ceremony 2019. Photo credits to Jan Nathanael.)
04/2019, Montreal, CA
Dr. Mario Chemnitz honoured with prestigious Banting fellowship
The National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada has granted Dr. Chemnitz the highest scientific distinction for an early-career researcher in Canada. He received 1 of 23 postdoctoral fellowships of the Banting foundation to pursue research at the interface of machine learning, nonlinear optics, and quantum photonics. The Banting fellowships are given out annually to outstanding postdoctoral researchers from all nature sciences and engineering across Canada in 2019 and are hence highly competitive to receive. Dr. Chemnitz and his family are enormously grateful for this honour.
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