It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the 9th Workshop on Specialty Optical Fibers and Their Applications (WSOF 2027), to take place September 26 – 30, 2027 in the science city of Jena, Germany. Since its start in 2008 in São Pedro, Brazil, the WSOF series has become a central international forum for specialty optical fibers, an area that today drives key advances in photonics, medicine, communication, and manufacturing. We are delighted to host this event in Jena, a place where optical innovation has a long history.

Jena’s long-standing tradition in optics and photonics, shaped by pioneers such as Zeiss, Abbe, and Schott, continues to thrive in a modern ecosystem of research institutes, high-tech companies, and the Friedrich Schiller University. This unique environment makes the city an inspiring venue to discuss the latest developments and future directions of specialty fiber technologies and their applications.

WSOF 2027 will feature a focused technical program spanning around:

• Fiber Materials, Design, and Fabrication
• Lasers & Nonlinear Effects
• Fiber-based Biomedical & Sensing Applications
• Devices and Components

We warmly invite you to actively contribute to this program. An open call for abstracts (coming soon) will offer every interested researcher the opportunity to shape the scientific agenda and present latest results.

On behalf of the organizing committee, we wish you a stimulating and enjoyable time at WSOF 2027 and look forward to welcoming you in Jena.

Prof. Dr. Markus Schmidt

Dr. Katrin Wondraczek

Dr. Matthias Jäger

Conference chairs of WSOF 2027
Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT)