Research

 

The focus of our research is on the communication of information by optical fields and on the ways to control or transform this information. More specifically, we investigate fundamental properties of electromagnetic waves, their interaction with micro- and nano-structures, the design of devices, and the application of these concepts to challenging situations through the design of original optical systems.

 

Representative Research Areas

Photonic devices and systems

The recent advances in the fabrication of micro- and nano-structured materials for the control of light are opening new approaches to the design of devices and systems. Multilayer dielectric coatings have been mastered to provide omnidirectional and ultrahigh reflectances. State-of-the-art photolithography can now be used to generate subwavelength structures with unique characteristics. Photonic bandgap engineering, a new approach to nano-structuring, is attractive for applications in photonic devices because it permits the control and confinement of photons in small structures. Diffractive optics, based on the interaction of waves with microstructures, enables more compact and versatile systems for both free space and guided waves.

The aim of this research is to design, manufacture, evaluate, and apply novel three-dimensional and planar micro-structured optical elements. The ultimate goal is the integration of these devices within micro-optical systems for different applications in sensing, metrology, storage, and communications.

  

Space-time processing of broadband lightwave signals

Broadband lightwave signals can be applied to novel tomographic and microscopic techniques. In addition, optical communications and interconnections also benefit from such multispectral content and their potential to speed up data transmission. Extremely intense optical fields originated from ultrashort pulses also offer exceptional advantages for materials processing. Therefore, in this area we pursue fundamental methods to control broadband light signals in space and time that can be applied in such a wide range of circumstances.

 

Multidimensional and multispectral processing in optics

In this area, the aim is to seek the fundamental spatial and temporal resolution of optics using pulsed, multispectral, and partially coherent light. We investigate techniques for synthesizing multidimensional waveforms for the two, three, and four-dimensional optical channels.

 

Unconventional imaging systems

Imaging has evolved from the early single-image, pixel-based, and model-less methods, to new modalities including multi-image, multisensor, and model-based approaches. In this work we pursue novel three-dimensional imaging techniques. Research in this area covers various imaging modalities, including optical tomography, interferometric, synthetic aperture, and wave-front coded imaging, as well as novel forms of three-dimensional microscopy. Constrained image acquisition and reconstruction techniques, which incorporate a priori physical knowledge to improve the imaging process, are part of this study.