Ever heard of photonics? Most of us probably haven’t. Yet it’s long been an integral part of our everyday lives. The most prominent example is fibre optic technology. The transmission of data over long distances using fibre optic-based networks is now standard practice. Its advantage is not only speed. When it comes to the energy efficiency of different types of data transmission, fibre optics has the edge over mobile communications.
The use of optical processes and technologies is also promising in other areas, such as data centres, sensor technology and medical and environmental technology. This could make photonics a key driver of the “green transformation” of the digital world, says David de Felipe Mesquida, Senior Project Manager at Fraunhofer HHI. Particularly in the highly energy-intensive areas of digital infrastructure, this could lead to significant savings in the double-digit percentage range.
Fraunhofer HHI is developing various photonic technologies as part of a project in collaboration with Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (OKI), a leading Japanese manufacturer of information and telecommunications equipment. The project partners aim to drive the green transformation forward. The plan is to launch their first joint products to the market in 2027.
We asked David de Felipe Mesquida, who heads the project at Fraunhofer HHI, about the technology. He told us why it’s so efficient compared to other processes, its other use cases besides fibre optics and how it’s advancing the green transformation.
David de Felipe Mesquida, Senior Project Manager at Fraunhofer HHI and Project Manager with OKI. RESET: What exactly are photonic technologies?
David de Felipe Mesquida: Photonic technologies use light instead of electrons to transmit, measure or process information. The main innovation is highly integrated photonic chips, known as photonic integrated circuits, which enable optical functions to be performed in a very small space. This is similar to electronic chips, but uses light instead.
How does it differ from current standard procedures?
With photonics, data can be transferred much faster and in a more energy-efficient way, certain computing and sensor signals can be processed directly optically and even very fine vibrations or biochemical reactions can be measured precisely. Photonics does not completely replace electronics; instead, it complements electronics in situations where light offers clear physical advantages.
Can we use photonics in all information and communication technologies?
Photonics is not necessary in all areas of information and communication technology, but it’s already indispensable in some particularly critical applications. These include high-performance telecommunications networks—especially backbone and access networks—data centres with their optical transceivers, high-precision sensor technology and AI and HPC infrastructures, where bandwidth and energy efficiency are crucial factors. Electronics remain central to logic and memory. However, whenever a use case requires extremely high data rates, high sensitivity or special energy efficiency, photonics offers clear advantages and ideally complements electronic processing.
Why is photonics particularly energy efficient?
Photonics is particularly energy-efficient because light signals do not cause electrical resistance losses, optical transmission over long distances is virtually loss-free and many optical components can process signals directly, without additional, energy-intensive conversion steps.
And how much more efficient is it than conventional technologies? What does that mean for a data centre, for example?
In data centres, this is particularly evident in optical transceivers, which enable data rates of over 400 gigabytes per second with very low power consumption and, according to industry estimates, can save 50–80 percent energy compared to high-speed electrical connections. In addition, optical sensors improve operational monitoring, reduce cooling costs and lower the risk of failure. Depending on the area of application, this can save several megawatt hours of energy per year.
Are fewer or different resources used for photonics?
We can build photonic integrated circuits much more compactly, using less material. They also require less effort to cool. Our cooperation combines OKI’s silicon photonics with Fraunhofer HHI’s polymer- and silicon nitride-based photonic technologies—an approach that enables particularly small and resource-efficient components. This results in ecological advantages such as lower energy consumption in transport, sensor technology and data communication and reduced cooling infrastructure requirements. It also requires fewer rare metals, whereas regular circuits predominantly use silicon and III-V semiconductors.
So, can we say that the digital world could become more sustainable overall with photonics technology?
Yes, in many areas. Photonics can be a key driver of green transformation, particularly in digital infrastructure. In networks, it significantly reduces energy consumption per transmitted bit; in data centres, it increases efficiency in both data communication and cooling and in sensor technology, it enables more precise monitoring, which reduces material wear. Optical sensors also enable resource-saving diagnostics in medical and environmental technology.
Depending on the application, savings in the double-digit percentage range are possible overall, especially in the particularly energy-intensive areas of digital infrastructure.
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Are there already areas in which photonics has established itself?
Photonics has long been part of our everyday lives: from our fibre optic networks and 5G backhaul connections to the optical modules of modern data centres for high-speed data communication between servers and switches to lidar systems of autonomous vehicles to medical diagnostic devices. It is also firmly established in industry—for example, in laser vibrometry—and in laser and spectroscopy systems. The technology is by no means new, but integrated photonic chips are currently undergoing fundamental further development, making many applications even more compact, efficient and powerful.
Fraunhofer HHI intends to advance this development as part of a collaboration with OKI. What specific applications are you developing?
The collaboration focuses on several key technologies: ultra-compact laser vibrometers, fibre optic sensors and highly sensitive optical biosensors, as well as energy-efficient optical transceivers for high-speed data transmission. The shared vision is to develop integrated photonic components that fundamentally redefine sensor technology and communication, making them significantly more powerful, smaller and more efficient.
Fraunhofer HHI’s wafer technologies for photonic integrated circuits. When can we expect to see the first products from this collaboration?
The first joint products are scheduled to hit the market in 2027, including high-precision vibrometers, optical biosensors and energy-efficient optical transceivers.
Are we on the verge of a technological breakthrough in photonics?
A technological breakthrough is possible because OKI’s silicon photonics and Fraunhofer HHI’s polymer- and silicon nitride-based photonic technologies are complementary. Their combination—known as hybrid integration—opens up high performance, powerful miniaturisation and new application possibilities.
At the same time, demand for photonic solutions in communications, sensor technology, AI systems and healthcare is growing significantly, meaning that integrated optical chips have the potential to open up new markets and even mass applications.
What challenges stand in the way of the mass production of this technology?
The main challenges lie primarily in scalable mass production (as photonic chips are more complex to manufacture than electronic ICs) and in precise and reproducible assembly and packaging technologies. These play a central role in optics and are also a key differentiating feature of HHI technology.
In addition, production and market volume must grow in order to reduce costs. The cooperation addresses precisely these points by sending OKI research teams to Berlin to work with Fraunhofer HHI to further develop manufacturing, assembly and packaging processes and prepare them for industrial scaling.
