MechE Colloquium: Nano-optics gets practical

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Date 26.11.2019
Hour 12:1513:15
Speaker Prof. Romain Guidant, Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO)
Location
Category Conferences - Seminars
Abstract:
Twenty years of extensive research in the field of nanooptics have enabled us to considerably advance light control on the nanometer scale. Beyond the original peak of inflated expectation, the assets of nanooptics over other technologies became clearer along with its limitations. More recently, the field has entered into the slope of enlightenment in which its actual contribution to both basic research and novel technologies has been better identified. In this talk, following a general introduction on the main assets of nano-optics, we will review different aspects of our research where nano-optical resonators are used as an enabling technology that can benefit a wide range of scientific disciplines, all the way from reconfigurable planar optics to biomedicine.
The first part of the talk focuses on our recent efforts towards reconfigurable metasurfaces. Our approach relies on dynamically controlling the refractive index in the close vicinity of a silicon metalens by means of a resistor embedded in a thermo-optical polymer. We demonstrate precise and continuous tuneability of the focal length, and achieve focal length variations larger than the Rayleigh length for voltage as low as 10V and time-response in the 10ms range. We also demonstrate that by solving the inverse problem, we are able to deterministically achieve any desired phase front. In the second part of the talk, we discuss the use of both dielectric and metallic nanoresonators in the context of biosensing and lab-on-a-chip technology. The sensors are integrated into a state-of-the-art PDMS microfluidic environment and their surface functionalized to achieve specific detection of the targeted biomarkers. We directly compare the performance of gold and silicon nanosensors and discuss their respective advantages. Finally, we discuss our latest advances in the field of thermoplasmonics, presenting two new application in additive manufacturing (3D printing) and disinfection of surgical implants.
 
Bio:
I received a PhD in Physics (2002) from the University of Dijon, in France. Right after defending my thesis, I joined ICFO as a postdoctoral researcher. This was the year of its creation and I was lucky enough to get actively involved into the early developments of the Institute. In 2006, I was appointed junior Professor (tenure-track) and group leader of the Plasmon NanoOptics group at ICFO. In 2009, I became tenure Professor both at ICFO and ICREA. While my core expertise is in fundamental nano-optics, I am very much interested in multidisciplinary research, interfacing physics with other disciplines of science, as well as in technology transfer. I am recipient of 4 ERC grants (StG2010, PoC2011, PoC2015 and CoG2015) and several international and national prizes (Fresnel2009, City of BCN2010, ICO2012, CAT2014, BS2017). Since 2014, I serve as an associate editor for ACSPhotonics (American Chemical Society).

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MechE Colloquium: Nano-optics gets practical

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