Information & Communication

Information and communication technology faces new challenges, because of the new era of increasing connectivity and digitalization. The efficient sharing and storing of data need ever larger data centers and the means to transmit electric and optical signals. Digitalization itself brings its own challenges: There is increasing demand for highly dynamic networks that can transport, process, and analyze data.

Fraunhofer designs integrated, miniaturized, autonomous, and robust sensor systems and wireless networks and constructs high-frequency systems and electro-optical components. The provided services also include the optimization of processes and transfer of construction technologies for highly integrated systems, reliability testing and service life forecasting and consulting and eco-design services for sustainable ICT products.  

Robust5G – How clever module design slows down the material aging of 5G components

Communication networks like 5G need the many modules and components that make them up to be robust and long-lasting, whatever the environmental conditions or other circumstances may be. Researchers at Fraunhofer IZM have now developed a testing method which allows…

Skipping the Laboratory – Turbotesting with Lab-on-a-Chip for Point-of-Care Diagnostics

With Lab-on-a-Chip technology, testing becomes much faster and more efficient. Not only can these sensors replace reference laboratories, they can even communicate the results directly to a computer for validation and statistics. And, as our expert Manuel Bäuscher wants to…

Meet 6G’s Future with Holographic Communication

5G is not fully rolled out yet, but Fraunhofer IZM is already pursuing research on 6G communication modules. As these modules must be distributed more densely, the hardware has to become more compact. Finding the right way to miniaturize modules…

When Software Meets Hardware, or: How AI Can Protect Power Lines

Better, faster and, above all, increasingly automated – this is the vision for many sectors of industry, from the automotive sector to energy suppliers. One solution that is becoming more and more popular is artificial intelligence. We spoke to Bernd…

The Hunger of Data Centers for Critical Raw Materials – and How We Counter It

Fraunhofer IZM is actively involved in the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) study “Raw Materials for Emerging Technologies lll”, commissioned by the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA). The project explores the likely trajectory of emerging technologies coming…

Faster, Higher, Stronger: Why Co-Packaged Optics are a Game Changer

Everywhere in the world, the bandwidth of Ethernet networks keeps growing. This extremely rapid growth is powered by the great progress made in many areas involved, such as video, AI, HPC, and 5G. The operators of data centres and research…

Cryptex of the Future – The Quantumisation of Data Security

Quantum cryptography and quantum communication are enabling a new level of security, and research into its optimal implementation and realization is progressing at full speed, matched only by current research into quantum computers that is happening all over the world….

Quantum Sensors Here, There, and Everywhere: From the Seabed to Your Pocket

Since antiquity, physics has tried to explain the world we live in. There are things that are easy to describe, such as the time it takes for a weight to drop from a certain height. Classical mechanics can calculate how…