Jena researchers, together with Australian colleagues, have succeeded for the first time in growing 2D materials directly on optical fibers. The process significantly simplifies the previously very complex production of hybrid nanomaterials. In combination with optical fibers, 2D materials with outstanding optical properties enable new applications in the fields of sensor technology, nonlinear optics, and quantum electronics.

The research team integrated a 2D material with excellent optical and photonic properties into specially designed optical fibers. The growth process was developed by a team led by graphene expert Andrey Turchanin at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Jena; the fiber was developed by Markus Schmidt, who heads the Fiber Photonics research department at Leibniz IPHT and holds an endowed professorship in fiber optics at the university. Pure quartz glass serves as the substrate for the fiber, Markus Schmidt explains. “It is heat-resistant up to 2,000 degrees Celsius and excellently withstands the high ­temperatures of the growth process. Its small ­diameter and pliability make the fiber flexible optical fibers,” says Schmidt.

The system could be used for sensor technology in biotechnology or medicine, as a nonlinear light converter in spectroscopic investigations, and in quantum electronics and quantum communication.