41 40 Key research Area ULTRA OPTICS ULTRA OPTICS Key research Area by ULTRA OPTICS result in the invention and implementation of innovative light sources. These novel sources of light are at the same time highly integrated by the use of novel multifunctional components, as they offer some truly remarkable parameters along with flexible properties tailored to applications‘ needs. However, ACP‘s research is not limited to light sources – it also comprises the fundamental exploration of light-matter interaction, which can be accessed by them. The final aim is to develop new schemes for spectroscopic measurements, material processing, medical treatment, remote sensing, as well as to study the spatio-temporal dynamics of extreme light states. PHOTONIC MATERIALS Similar to a car without a steering wheel, light would be of little use without the appropriate means to control it. With the goal of realizing complex optical systems, ULTRA OPTICS‘ expertise comprises a wide range of optical materials, including their processing into sophisticated geometric shapes, thin films, or nanostructures, as well as their combination, tailoring, and integration. Moreover, ULTRA OPTICS runs extensive research programs to set new trends in innovative Photonic Materials. In addition to the currently dominant silicon-based optics, ULTRA OPTICS establishes organic and inorganic carbon-based photonic materials, as well as hybrid photonic nanomaterials. These newly emerging material platforms prospectively enable us to realize entirely novel optical, optoelectronic and mechanical properties. Among them are regimes which are unparalleled by natural materials and accordingly of fundamental interest – but must also be specifically tailored to application needs. With research on novel 2D materials into opto-electronics, such as transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), which naturally form mono-molecular and semiconducting sheets thinner than a nanometer but with an enormous degree of optical activity, ULTRA OPTICS enters an exciting area at the beginning of its development, but to which a high potential for innovation is attributed. Another class of matter, by which ULTRA OPTICS expects to push a fundamental perspective shift to the field of optics, is constituted by photonics metasurfaces. Their optical properties are rather determined by sophisticated nanostructures than by the original constituents of which these structures are composed. Hence, photonics metasurfaces’ properties can be widely tailored to cover a wide range by changing the geometrical topographies at the nanoscale level. Consequently, they can access parameter ranges unavailable by existing materials so far. As an example, ACP‘s researchers have realized optical metamaterials which exceed the optical activity of any other available matter by several orders of magnitude. Technologies to fabricate these materials and surfaces range from sophisticated and high-resolution lithographic tools to approaches involving lithographically controlled chemical synthesis, which is only possible by the interdisciplinary collaborations between ACP principal scientists. Doctoral student operating the combined focused ion beam - scanning electron microscope to visualize and characterize optical nanoresonators. OPTICAL SYSTEMS The success of ACP is inherently connected to the ability to carry new ideas from fundamental studies all the way through to application-oriented developments. On the one hand, this is possible due to the broad expertise of ACP‘s scientists in many fields of photonic applications. On the other hand, it requires substantial expertise to design and realize complex Optical Systems from the macroscopic to the microscopic scale which include the new approaches. Consequently, it is not only due to the local history of Ernst Abbe, Otto Schott, and Carl Zeiss that the ACP is one of the strongest places for the design and realization of modern Optical Systems. This involves enabling fields such as lens design, aberration theory, system metrology, and performance evaluation as well as novel approaches for electromagnetic wave-based rigorous modeling. The latter is necessary when the applications require pushing the limits of classical optics, i.e. when including diffractive elements in the system. Similarly, the given infrastructure and expertise allows ACP‘s scientists to realize Optical Systems based e.g. on lithographically defined diffractive elements, microstructured fibers produced by sophisticated drawing technologies, laser written waveguides, free-form surfaces, extreme thin-film technologies and optoelectronic signal processing. The resulting optical systems find regular use in such extraordinary applications as real time 3D shape recognition, astronomic instruments for space missions, or in next-generation instruments for gravitational wave detection. QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES The emergence of quantum technologies, using the fundamental quantum effects of superposition and entanglement, is holding solid promise for a range of breakthrough applications with high societal impact. Specific examples are the encoding of unbreakable messages using quantum cryptography or orders-of-magnitude faster quantum computers. These potentials are recognized worldwide, leading to strategic funding initiatives like the Quantum Technologies Flagship of the European Union. Also within ULTRA OPTICS, the development and promotion of optical Quantum Technologies have become a major field of research. ACP‘s strength lies in its demonstrated ability to fuse multiple expertises to integrate available enabling technologies into a combined research effort to open up new platforms and integrated systems exploiting Quantum Technologies. One example is the generation of non-classical states of light, e.g. photon pairs, by spontaneous nonlinear processes in nonlinear photonic systems ranging from bulk crystals over different waveguide structures to nanostructured or atomically thin surfaces. This understanding can be used to tailor the properties of the generated two-photon quantum states, like spectrum, spatial distribution, and entanglement, to meet the demands of specific applications. Another very active research focus is the development of novel quantum light sources for applications in quantum communication and sensing, efficient processing and detection schemes for high-dimensional quantum information, as well as scalable methods for the transmission of quantum states over long distances. High-performance camera system for movie applications, showing the complexity of the mechanical mounting and movement kinematics. PhD student Tobias Bucher in the nanolabs for characterizing optical metasurfaces. Contact: Prof. Andreas Tünnermann | Phone: +49 3641 9-47800 | Email: andreas.tuennermann@uni-jena.de
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