The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) in Jena has licensed photonic crystal fiber (PCF) technology from NKT Photonics AS of Birkerød, Denmark. NKT Photonics Chief Technology Officer Christian Vestergaard Poulsen, left, Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics Director Andreas Tünnermann and NKT CEP Jakob Skov signed the license agreement Monday at Laser World of Photonics in Munich. Courtesy of NKT Photonics. The deal cements a research partnership between the longtime collaborators. Using the technology, Fraunhofer IOF plans open a PCF facility in 2017. Its mission will be application-oriented research in the field of optical systems engineering. "Together we foster the development of new technologies and markets, especially in the field of production, health care, as well as security," said Fraunhofer IOF Director Andreas Tünnermann. NKT develops photonic crystal fibers used in supercontinuum lasers and ultrafast fiber lasers. "Our goal is to bring PCF technology forward in industrial commercialization, and we believe that is best achieved by partnerships and collaborations," said NKT CEO Jakob Skov. "Having a strong [intellectual property] position within an area comes with a certain responsibility, and we want to help others to be successful using our technology. We have previously given licenses to several companies and today we take another important step with Fraunhofer IOF Jena, whom we consider one of the research powerhouses in fiber laser technology and excellent market experience.” Meanwhile, NKT said it has secured a multiyear contract from an unspecified industrial laser manufacturer for its AeroGain-ROD ytterbium gain fibers for ultrafast lasers. The fibers feature extremely large cores and diffraction-limited output, and can handle high peak powers while maintaining mode quality and flexibility, the company said.