Ultrafast Photonics Laboratory (U-Pho Lab)
Gruppo di Lavoro
Eugenio Fazio
The Ultrafast Photonics Laboratory (U-Pho Lab) gathers equipment, expertise and experiments in the framework of linear and nonlinear optics, environmental monitoring, high-resolution single-photon luminescence and optical sensing. It was established in 1992 and since then it has performed both fundamental and applied researches in collaboration with private companies and other research laboratories. Its main activity regards the realization of innovative self-assembled integrated photonic circuits. Such research is going towards the design of innovative cognitive configurations of photonic devices. Noteworthy researches regard also the nonlinear characterization of nanostructured media, single-photon counting of light emission by biological structures and optical very-early diagnostic of Alzheimer disease. Since 2008 the Laboratory has generated a spin-off company, called OptSensor s.r.l., which performed innovation in the framework of optical sensing for chemical industries and environmental pollution detection.
Instrumentation. The Ultrafast Photonics lab is a complete optical laboratory. Thus, any kind of transmis-sion /reflection/absorption/emission test can be performed on materials. U-Pho Lab possesses many lasers and LED sources of different wavelengths, ranging from violet to infrared, from CW to femtosecond regime. Slow and fast detectors are present as well as many devices for beam-quality analysis, like optical spectrum analyzers of beam profilers. U-Pho Lab has a 20-year experience in imaging and characterizing laser beams. The labora-tory is equipped also with very sensitive detectors and photon-counting systems with ultralow dark noise (?1015 counts/sec). A custom monitoring station for PM1-PM2.5-PM10 particulate pollution has been built in the lab and perfectly working. Using an innovative optical detection method, it allows to perform fully-automatic and fully-programmable monitoring loops of particulate pollution, both indoor and outdoor.
Work for third parties. U-Pho Lab provides a number of activities outwards, and more specifically:
A)laser safety training courses;
B)design of laser-safe laboratories and procedures;
C)design of custom optical systems and sensors;
D)characterization of optical materials;
E)technical consulting on optoelectronic optical and photonic systems, as well as on innovative sensors based on light;
F)forensic technical consulting in the optical and laser fields, and in the field of road accidents for the kinematic and dynamic reconstruction of major car crashes.