Research Group on Photonics and Semiconductors

Description

The PHOTONICS AND SEMICONDUCTORS (FOSE) group focuses its research activity on the preparation and characterisation of devices and materials, covering fundamental aspects and the development of applications, mainly in photonics. The group is structured in three main lines of research.

SEMICONDUCTORS AND EXTREME CONDITIONS. This line develops several topics of work, in materials science, linked by the use of spectroscopic techniques under extreme conditions (high pressures and high temperatures) for the understanding of the synthesis, crystal structure and electronics of the following materials:

Wide gap semiconductors for optoelectronic applications, including materials derived from ZnO and its alloys and delafosites (CuMIIIO2), prepared by thin film deposition techniques.
Materials of geophysical interest due to their role in the composition of the earth, such as MgO or quartz.
Materials for green technologies such as photocatalysis (rare earth vanadates) or CO2 sequestration (zeolites and different forms of porous silica). The team of this line has specialised in the use of a wide variety of devices for the generation of high pressures and temperatures that are used in-situ in laboratory spectroscopic equipment (optical absorption, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, transport) or in large synchrotron radiation facilities, of which its members are regular users.

OPTICAL FIBRES. The research and technological activity of this line of research focuses on the manufacture of fibre optic components, their modelling and their applications. The Laboratory has four techniques for the manufacture of fibre optic components based on:

the manufacture of photonic crystal fibre optics,
the recording of fibre Bragg networks,
the assembly of acousto-optical devices in fibre, and
the preparation of optical fibres narrowed by melting and stretching. The fields of application of the laboratory's research activity include the development of fibre optic lasers, new light sources (photon pairs, supercontinuum spectrum white light, etc.), sensors and optical communications. The work team of the fibre optics laboratory maintains stable collaborations with numerous research groups in Latin America and Europe, as well as an intense activity of collaboration with companies and transfer of research results.

OPTOELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES works on the chemical-physical synthesis of nanomaterials (metallic nanoparticles, quantum dots, multi-functional polymers), their processing in the form of thin films, as well as the study of their structural, electronic and optical properties. This work is the starting point for developing photonic/plasmonic/optoelectronic structures and devices, as well as developing applications in the fields of sensors, photovoltaics and telecommunications. Moreover, research is also being carried out on the optical properties of III-V quantum dots at the isolated level, including the quantum nature of the light they emit, its origin and control, for its future impact in the field of quantum computing and communications. More recently, other types of two-dimensional, atomic-thick, semiconducting nanostructures are starting to be prepared and characterised for their great potential in future electronic/optoelectronic nanotechnology in combination with two-dimensional metallic nanostructure electrodes such as graphene.

Goals CT

Manufacture of photonic crystal fibres and special fibre optic components for lasers, light sources, sensors and microwave photonics.
Design, manufacture and characterisation of photonic/plasmonic devices for telecommunications and other applications.
Synthesis and characterisation of materials of optoelectronic or geophysical interest using spectroscopic techniques under extreme conditions.

Research lines

Semiconductors and extreme conditions
Synthesis and investigation of the crystalline and electronic structure of semiconductors and materials of geophysical interest by spectroscopic techniques under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature, in the laboratory or in large synchrotron radiation facilities.
Optical fibres
Manufacture of photonic crystal fibres and special fibre optic components (diffraction gratings, acousto-optic devices and narrow fibres), their modelling and applications to lasers, light sources based on non-linear effects, sensors and microwave photonics.
Optoelectronic Materials and Devices
Development of semiconductor nanostructures and polyfunctional polymers as the basis for photonic/plasmonic structures and devices. Structural-electronic-electrical-optical characterisation of nanomaterials and devices. Applications in chemical sensors and biosensors, telecommunications...

Management

ANDRES BOU, MIGUEL VICENTE
PDI-Catedratic/a d'Universitat

Research Group on Photonics and Semiconductors - FOSE