Light is an elementary phenomenon. It is the basis for the development of life and surrounds us everywhere, at all times. For the majority of mankind, this is taken for granted and one forgets the multitude of things in daily life that are only possible because of light. On the one hand, it allows us to see colors, but on the other hand, it also transmits energy so that we feel warmth. Plants need light for photosynthesis and in other creatures, such as humans, it influences hormone release and causes a feeling of satisfaction.

Due to its versatile properties and various applications, we began to use light for technical purposes as well. This laid the foundation for photonics, which could be developed further and further through technological progress and opened up new possibilities.

Today, lighting technology applications can be found in a large part of everyday devices such as smartphones, screens or lighting in general. But light has also become an indispensable tool for industry and medicine. This is especially true as climate and environmental protection, combined with the expansion of mobility, energy, communication, safety and health, are main present challenges in our modern society.

Topics such as energy and resource conservation become the cornerstone of the latest technical achievements. Modern applications that are not environmentally compatible are currently hardly popular. This is where photonics plays a key role. As a result, many processes can be made more efficient and a reduction in waste and emissions, among other things, can be enabled. Thus, photonic technologies have a considerable potential for the future, which, if exploited appropriately, could make a decisive contribution to improving the quality of life of future generations.