FINE · Project

Custom Micro-Cavity Optical Fibers Ready for Commercial Production and Spin-Off

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Imagine you need a tiny mirror system built right into the tip of an optical fiber — so precise it can trap and measure single particles of light. These specialty fibers are essential for quantum computing, ultra-sensitive sensors, and advanced microscopy, but nobody sells them off the shelf. The team at LMU Munich figured out how to make them faster, rounder, and more reliably, and they're now launching a spin-off company to sell them. Think of it like going from hand-crafting watch parts to having a small factory that can fill custom orders.

By the numbers

EUR 100,000

EU contribution for commercialization preparation

Total project deliverables including 2 demonstrations

Partner — single university driving toward spin-off

Demo deliverables proving production improvements

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies working in quantum computing, advanced sensing, and precision microscopy need optical fibers with micro-cavities built into the tip — but nobody sells them commercially. Research labs and hardware companies currently have to fabricate these fibers themselves, which is slow, inconsistent, and diverts engineering resources from their core product.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered demonstrations of increased production speed with advanced fiber handling, and improved sphericity of fiber profiles. They also completed a market study identifying demand segments and developed an IP strategy for the manufacturing process, with a university spin-off in formation to commercialize the fibers.

Audience

Who needs this

Quantum computing hardware startups needing photonic componentsOptical sensor manufacturers requiring custom micro-resonator fibersScientific instrument companies integrating fiber cavities into microscopy platformsResearch labs buying specialty fibers for quantum optics experimentsPhotonics integrators building fiber-coupled sensing systems

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Quantum Computing Hardware

SME

Target: Companies building quantum processors or quantum communication devices

If you are a quantum hardware company struggling to source precision micro-cavity fibers for your qubit readout or photon coupling systems — this project developed a faster manufacturing process with improved fiber profile quality. They demonstrated increased production speed and better sphericity, meaning you could get custom cavity fibers instead of building your own fabrication setup from scratch.

Photonics & Optical Sensing

mid-size

Target: Manufacturers of high-precision optical sensors and measurement instruments

If you are a sensor manufacturer needing fiber-based micro-resonators for absorption microscopy or chemical sensing — this project built demonstration-level production of custom-shaped fiber tips that are currently not commercially available elsewhere. Their spin-off is designed to supply these as standalone products, giving you a supplier for a component you previously had to fabricate in-house.

Scientific Instruments

any

Target: Companies producing research-grade microscopy and spectroscopy equipment

If you are an instrument maker looking to integrate fiber micro-cavities into next-generation microscopy or solid-state manipulation platforms — this project addressed the bottleneck of slow, manual fiber production. They demonstrated advanced fiber handling solutions and improved profile quality across 4 deliverables, aiming to offer these as customizable commercial products through a university spin-off.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would these specialty fibers cost?

No pricing data is available from the project. The EU contribution was EUR 100,000 for a Coordination and Support Action focused on market study and IP strategy — not large-scale manufacturing. Pricing would depend on the spin-off company's production costs once operational.

Can production scale to industrial volumes?

The project demonstrated increased production speed and advanced fiber handling as one of its key deliverables. However, this was a 1-partner coordination action with EUR 100,000 budget, so current capacity is likely lab-to-small-batch scale. The spin-off formation suggests they intend to scale, but industrial volume production is still ahead.

What is the IP situation — can I license this technology?

The project explicitly included development of an IP strategy to protect innovations in the manufacturing process. The intended commercial route is through a university spin-off from LMU Munich, which was in formation at project end. Licensing or supply arrangements would go through that entity.

Is there an existing product I can buy today?

Based on the objective, cavity fibers are currently not commercially available. The project mentions an initial supply of fibers happened during the earlier SQUARE project, confirming demand exists. The spin-off company is the planned commercial channel but was still forming during the project period (2021-2022).

What makes these fibers different from standard optical fibers?

These fibers feature a precisely shaped depression in the fiber end facet that creates a micro-cavity — essentially a tiny optical resonator built into the fiber tip. Standard telecom fibers don't have this. The project improved the sphericity of these profiles, which directly affects optical performance for applications like quantum information processing and sensing.

Who was behind this project?

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) in Germany ran this as a single-partner project. It built on their earlier FET-Open project SQUARE, which took the initial commercialization steps. The team has hands-on experience manufacturing and supplying these fibers to research groups.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a single-partner project run entirely by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, a top German research university. With no industrial partners, no SMEs, and only 1 country represented, the consortium is purely academic. The EUR 100,000 Coordination and Support Action budget reflects a commercialization preparation effort rather than deep R&D. For a potential buyer, the key signal is that this team already supplied fibers during their earlier SQUARE project and received enough demand to justify pursuing a spin-off — meaning the technology works and customers exist, but the commercial entity is still taking shape.

LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHENCoordinator · DE

How to reach the team

Search for the FINE project fiber nano-engineering team at LMU Munich — the coordinator is in the physics or photonics department.

Order a report on this consortium See LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the FINE spin-off team? SciTransfer can connect you with the right person at LMU Munich and help you evaluate whether their micro-cavity fibers fit your product roadmap.

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