New fibre drawing tower
The fibre fabrication facility at the CPPM welcomes a new fibre drawing tower. This will extend our state of the art Photonic Crystal Fibre fabrication facilities into their fourth generation at Bath. As well as giving greater capacity, the addition of a second drawing tower also extends the capability of our facilities with new features and an ability to work with a wider range of materials.
Dr Lucy Hooper wins KTP funding to work with Fianium
Lucy Hooper, who recently graduated with her PhD from the CPPM, has been awarded KTP funding from the Technology Strategy Board to spend time at laser company Fianium Ltd over the next year. Under the KTP scheme she will continue to be employed by the University of Bath while working at Fianium.
Dr Hooper has been a member of the CPPM since 2008, and we wish her well in this new direction.
Prof Jonathan Knight awarded IOP Prize
Professor Jonathan Knight has been awarded the Optics and Photonics Division Prize by the Institute of Physics. The Prize is awarded "to someone who has made significant recent advances" on a topic supported by the Division. As part of the Award Prof Knight will deliver a Plenary lecture at "Photon 12", the UK's largest photonics conference, to be held in Durham later this year.
The Prize was previously (2002) awarded to a former colleague at Bath, Professor Philip Russell.
Academic career in the CPPM?
The Department of Physics is currently looking to recruit academic staff at all levels. If you think a career as a lecturer, senior lecturer or professor in the CPPM might be an option, you are invited to contact the Director Tim Birks for an informal discussion.
Dr Jim Stone wins KTP funding to work with Fianium
Jim Stone, who obtained both his undergraduate and his PhD degrees from the University of Bath, has been awarded KTP funding from the government's Technology Strategy Board to spend time at laser company Fianium Ltd over the next two years. Under the KTP scheme he will continue to be employed by the University of Bath while working at Fianium. He will benefit not only from both academic and industrial supervision, but also from the training, development and support provided under the scheme. He will serve as a link between other scientists at Bath (Jonathan Knight, William Wadsworth) and at Fianium (John Clowes, Anatoly Grudinin).
Dr Stone has been a member of the CPPM since 2005, and we wish him well in this new direction.
Prof Jonathan Knight has been made a Fellow of the Optical Society of America
His election to the class of Fellow by the Board of Directors of the OSA was for "his pioneering development of the photonic crystal fibre and particularly its application in nonlinear frequency conversion and supercontinuum generation" during 15 years of research at the University. The award recognises Jonathan's international leadership in developing this high-profile fibre-optic technology.
http://osa.org/Awards_and_Grants/Fellow_Members/Recent_Fellows/2011_Fellows.aspx
Dr Fetah Benabid has been made a Fellow of the Optical Society of America
The award is given to him for his pioneering contributions in developments of hollow-core photonic crystal fibres and their incorporation in scientific and technological applications. The nomination recognises the work Dr Benabid has undertaken over the past 10 years at the University, during which his research has included a number of theoretical and technical breakthroughs.
www.bath.ac.uk/news/2011/01/27/benabid-osa-fellowship/
http://osa.org/Awards_and_Grants/Fellow_Members/Recent_Fellows/2011_Fellows.aspx
Benabid's research is featured in the May 2010 edition of Laser Focus World
Dr Benabid's research is featured in the May 2010 edition of Laser Focus World magazine, celebrating 50 years of lasers. The article, titled "NOVEL LASERS: Photonic microcell unleashes the full potential of gas lasers" presents the latest results obtained by Dr Benabid's group in generating laser radiation at exotic wavelength through ultra-efficient Raman scattering in Hollow core photonic crystal fibre. The article can be found at: http://www.optoiq.com/index/photonics-technologies-applications/lfw-display/lfw-article-display/2513613448/articles/laser-focus-world/volume-46/issue-5/features/novel-lasers__photonic.htm
D. Skryabin and A. Gorbach have published a colloquium paper in Reviews of Modern Physics, which is the most cited amongst physics journals (impact factor 34)
This Colloquium provides a consistent description of the theory of supercontinuum generation and expansion through nontrivial scenarios of the interaction between solitons and radiation in optical fibers. These processes are of particular importance for the design of new schemes for frequency conversion, short pulse generation, and high speed optical communication. http://rmp.aps.org/abstract/RMP/v82/i2/p1287_1
Work by Benabid's group accepted at the post-deadline Session of the international Conference on Laser and Electro-Optics (CLEO/QELS 2010)
Work by Fetah Benabid's group on a Kagome hollow-core PCF with an optimized core-shape displaying low loss over a broadband transmission window has been accepted at the post-deadline Session of the international Conference on Laser and Electro-Optics (CLEO/QELS 2010).
The Kagome-lattice hollow-core photonic crystal fiber has a hypocycloid-shaped core that enhances the coupling-inhibition between the core- and cladding-modes, thus providing an optical attenuation that rivals the state-of-the-art photonic bandgap hollow-core fibers. The work will be presented at CLEO/QELS conference in San Jose at the evening post-deadline session on Thursday 20th May 2010.
Martina Delgado-Pinar wins with research award
Martina Delgado-Pinar was recently awarded with a fellowship in the context of the VALi+d programme for postdoctoral researchers, funded by the Generalitat Valènciana, in collaboration with the University of València, to conduct research at the University of Bath for the next two years. The research project is related to harmonic generation in tapered and microstructured optical fibres.
Benabid's group one of research highlights of the month in Nature Photonics.
The double photonic bandgap hollow core fibre recently published by Dr Benabid's group has been singled out as one of the research highlights of the month in the international journal Nature Photonics. Follow the link www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/v3/n11/full/nphoton.2009.194.html
Silica aerogel holds tapered fibers for sensing
An article about work in the aerogel group has been published in the October 2009 issue of Laser Focus World. The article can be found at www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/369681
Benabid's group has second most downloaded article of September 2009 for Optics Express
The research recently published by Dr Benabid's group on the development of a double bandgap hollow-core photonic crystal fibre is the second most downloaded article of September 2009 for Optics Express. Gain access to the article via: www.opticsinfobase.org/moredownloads.cfm or directly at www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?uri=oe-17-18-16238.
Benabid team reported on a new development on hollow-core photonic crystal fibre
Benabid team reported on a new development on hollow-core photonic crystal fibre whereby simultaneous formation of a two bandgaps were demonstrated. This report has been selected for “Spotlight On Optics”. Spotlight on Optics is an OSA site that highlights the most interesting papers published in all OSA journals. See details at www.opticsinfobase.org/spotlight.
Jim Stone gets third prize in Photonics 21 Student Innovation Awards
CPPM PhD student Jim Stone has come third in the first Student Innovation Awards established by the European consortium Photonics 21. The awards were made at the opening ceremony of the World of Photonics Congress in Munich on June 15th 2009. First Prize, which carries a purse of 5000 Euros, went to Yannick Chassagneux of the Université Paris Sud. Jim's submission titled "Blue to ultraviolet enhanced optical supercontinuum sources" was described by judges as "excellent". For more information see www.photonics21.org and here for a photo.
Supercontinuum generation and soliton dynamics milestone achieved
A research team led by Fetah Benabid has observed, for the first time, the simultaneous emission of two resonant dispersive waves by optical solitons (waves that maintain their shape while traveling at constant speeds). More details here.
PhD Studentships Available from 2009!
The University has allocated a number of PhD studentships to the Centre in recognition of photonics as a key research theme. The studentships are available beginning October 2009 for 3 years full-time study, and provide a tax-free stipend and tuition fees at EU/UK level. Applications from UK or EU students are welcome.
See Jobs page for details.
New Director for the CPPM
The University has recently confirmed the appointment of Tim Birks as the Centre's new Director. Mainly an administrative appointment, the Directorship rotates among the Centre's senior members. Outgoing Director Jonathan Knight has stepped down in order to focus on his demanding new position as Head of the Department of Physics, but continues to play a leading role in our research programme. Jonathan's report on the Centre's first three years can be found here.
Two Post-doctoral research positions available
Closing date 20/11/2008: See Jobs page for details.
Big reduction in the CPPM's carbon footprint
CPPM staff have worked alongside the University's Estates Department to make a large reduction in the Centre's energy usage without impeding the research programme. More details here.
Rhys Williams named best chemical engineering student
Rhys was awarded the prestigious AWE Award at the SET Student of the Year ceremony in London, having beaten competition from across the UK. His project on the supercritical drying of aerogels, which led to the award, was carried out in collaboration with the CPPM while he was an undergraduate in the Department of Chemical Engineering. His experiment has been further developed and is now in regular use by our EPSRC-funded project on the photonic applications of aerogel. See press release for details.
Post-doctoral research positions available
See Jobs page for details.
24 papers at CLEO/QELS!
The members of the CPPM have had 21 papers accepted for oral presentation at the Conference on Laser and Electro-optics/Quantum Electronics and Laser Spectroscopy Conference to be held in San Jose in May, as well as 3 poster papers. CLEO is the most significant conference in our annual conference calendar. Further details and the paper abstracts can be found at the CLEO 2008 web site at http://www.cleoconference.org/. (To find our papers, search the Conference Program using "Bath" as the search term.)
Better photonic bandgap fibres!
A paper published this week in the online journal Optics Express describes how hollow-core photonic bandgap fibres with broader bandwidth and lower dispersion than ever before have been fabricated in the CPPM, using a modified fabrication process. The fabrication process also makes it possible to fabricate these fibres in a single day, rather than the weeks previously required. The paper is published jointly with the Optoelectronics Research Centre in Southampton. The work was funded by the EC Framework 6 project NextGenPCF. A press release is available here.
10th January 2008
PhD studentships and post-doctoral reasearch positions available
See Jobs page for details.
Tim Birks elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America
CPPM member Professor Tim Birks has been elected to Fellowship of the Optical Society of America. The OSA is the premier professional organisation for researchers in optics and photonics, and being elected Fellow is a distinction awarded in recognition of extended and substantial contribution to the field. See this link for further details.
CPPM members to speak at Training Day on Photonic Crystal Fibres
Several members of the CPPM will be speaking at a European Training Day on Photonic Crystal Fibres to be held in Lille in January 2008. The Day is open to students from across Europe, and is organised under the auspices of the European Project NextGenPCF. Please follow this link for more details, including how to attend.
Paper on Generation and Photonic Guidance of Multi-Octave Optical-Frequency Combs published in Science
This paper demonstrates generation and guidance of a three-octave spectral comb, spanning wavelengths from 325 to 2300 nanometers, in a hydrogen-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibre. The waveguidance of the fibre results not from a photonic band gap but from the inhibited coupling between the core and cladding modes. The spectrum consists of up to 45 high-order Stokes and anti-Stokes lines and is generated by driving the confined gas with a single, moderately powerful (10-kilowatt) infrared laser, producing 12-nanosecond-duration pulses. This represents a reduction by six orders of magnitude in the required laser powers over previous equivalent techniques and opens up a robust and much simplified route to synthesizing attosecond pulses.
Couny et al., Science 318 (2007) 1118-1121
Paper on gravity-like force stretching supercontinuum is published in Nature-Photonics
Supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fibres has already found many applications. But the underlying physics of this phenomenon is not obvious, particularly when it comes to explaining the short-wavelength light. An analogy to gravity and relativity might provide some answers. For more details read the November 2007 Nature-Photonics paper published by the centre members Andrey Gorbach and Dmitry Skryabin and related News and Views in the same issue.
CPPM welcomes new members
We are pleased to welcome new PhD students to the Centre. Charles de Nobriga, Alex McMillan, Leigh-Anne Thomas and Natalie Wilding will all work on various aspects of optics in microstructured and nanostructured materials. We wish them well for their time in the CPPM. We are sad to say goodbye to Dr Sergio Leon-Saval and Dr Kevin Cook, who both leave to take up research positions in Sydney, Australia. We hope to keep up to date with their research through continuing publications!
European project to host special session at International Conference
The European Commission project “NextGenPCF” (http://www.nextgen-pcf.eu/) which funds work at the CPPM, University of Bath will host a Special Session at the "Photonics Europe 2008" meeting, as part of the conference EPE 104 “Photonic Crystal Fibres” to be held in Strasbourg, 7-11 April 2008. The special session will be coordinated by Jonathan Knight (Bath) and Hartmut Bartelt (IPHT Jena) from the NextGenPCF consortium. CPPM member Dmitry Skryabin also serves on the sub-committee for the meeting. See http://spie.org/photonics-europe.xml for details.
Plasmonics: Fundamentals and Applications
"Considered one of the major fields of photonics of the beginning 21st century, plasmonics offers the potential to confine and guide light below the diffraction limit and promises a new generation of highly miniaturized photonic devices. Offering both a comprehensive introduction to the field and an extensive overview of the current state of the art, "Plasmonics: Fundamentals and Applications" should be of great value to the newcomer and to the experienced researcher.
The first part of the book describes the fundamentals of this research area, starting with a review of Maxwell’s equations in a form suited to the description of metals. Subsequent chapters introduce the two major ingredients of plasmonics, surface plasmon polaritons at metallic interfaces and localized plasmons in nanostructures. The mathematics of their description, excitation and imaging of the modes are discussed. This part closes with a presentation of electromagnetic surface waves at lower frequencies in the THz and microwave regime, comprising both spoof or designer plasmons and surface phonon polaritons."
£820,000 research project could help create computers that run on light
Dr Fetah Benabid, of the Department of Physics at Bath, will lead a team of researchers to develop a new technique which would enable them to synthesise 'waveforms' using light photons with the same accuracy as electrons are used in electronics. Waveform synthesis is the ability to control very precisely the way that electric fields vary their energy.
For further information see the press release.
23rd January 2007
Bloch-modes paper makes front page of Optics Express
An animation showing the evolution of calculated Fresnel zone patterns is on the front page of the current issue of Optics Express.
For full details see "Identification of Bloch-modes in hollow-core photonic crystal fiber cladding", Opt. Ex. 15 (2007) 325-338.
Kagome photonic-crystal fiber spans broad wavelength range
Images of the kagome fibre
An article in this month's Laser Focus World highlights our recent work.
Laser Focus World, Jan 2007, p13.
Further details on this fibre can be found in Optics Letters 31 (2006) 3574-3576.
Work highlighted in Nature Photonics
Natures Photonics discusses our recent paper "Terahertz surface plasmon-polariton propagation and focusing on periodically corrugated metal wires".
9th November 2006
Work highlighted in Nature Materials
Our recent paper "Terahertz surface plasmon-polariton propagation and focusing on periodically corrugated metal wires" has been hightlighted in an article by Nature Materials.
See http://www.nature.com/materials/news/news/061109/portal/m061109-1.html
17th August 2006
Work highlighted in trade press
Photonics Spectra report on our recent paper in Optics Letters: "Photonic bandgap fiber forces a weak line to lase".
See http://www.photonics.com/content/spectra/2006/July/research/83443.aspx
7th August 2006
Nanophotonics symposium at E-MRS 2007
Dr. Stefan Maier is organising a nanophotonics symposium at E-MRS 2007.
16th June 2006
33 month Postdoc position - available immediately
We currently have an opening for a postdoctoral researcher to work on an EU-funded project for a period of 33 months.
For futher details please visit the jobs page.
1st June 2006
Visiting researcher - Dr Cristiano Cordeiro
Dr Cordeiro arrives this week for a 1-month research visit to the CPPM. Dr Cordeiro, who has previously spent a year working in Bath, is visiting from the University of Campinas in Brazil as part of our continuing collaboration. He will spend part of his time here engaged in fabricating optical fibre samples in the University cleanroom complex, for further study in Bath and Brazil.
11th May 2006
Visits from top optical scientists
In the week before CLEO in California the CPPM will be hosting visits from two top optical physicists from the southern hemisphere. On Monday 15th May our long-term collaborator Professor John Harvey from Auckland will visit for the day. He will talk at the CPPM Monday Meeting on “PCF Based Optical Parametric Amplifiers”, and will be available for discussions at other times.
On Wednesday we will host a visit from Professor Ben Eggleton (Research Director, CUDOS, Sydney). He will speak on “CUDOS -- towards all-optical control on a chip!”
4th May 2006
Dmitry Skryabin to serve as an Associate Editor for Optics Express
Dr. Dmitry Skryabin has been approved by OSA's Board of Editors to serve as an Associate Editor for Optics Express.
13th April 2006
Position available: Research Officer in ultrafast fibre optics
We are seeking strong candidates from a fibre optics or ultrashort pulse laser background for a post-doctoral position in the Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials.
For futher details please visit the jobs page.
26th January 2006
PhD studentship for the study of sound and light interactions in porous silicon
The electrochemical etching of silicon produces porous silicon: a sponge-like structure with pores in the order of 10 nm in diameter. The current applied during the etching controls the fraction of silicon that is dissolved so that, by varying the current one can design and control the exact porosity profile of a sample.
The porosity of a sample affects both the optical index and the acoustic properties of the medium. It is thus possible, by alternating layers of two different porosities, to produce multilayer Bragg mirrors for both kind of waves or equivalently both photonic and phononic band gaps.
The project in which the PhD student will be involved will explore the interaction between sound and light in spatially periodic porous silicon structures. We intend to produce microcavities sandwiched between two sets of multilayer mirrors that reflects light and high frequency sound waves at the same time. The trapping of both waves in a small volume will intensify the amplitudes of the waves allowing us to investigate the acousto-optic interaction in which the transmission of light is controlled by the sound waves.
We are seeking EU/UK candidates with a strong background in acoustics or optics. The PhD studentship is funded by an EPSRC grant and must imperatively start before September 2006.
For more information about the project please contact Dr Paul Snow or Dr Alexandre Reinhardt.
20th January 2006
Recent article in Science highlights plasmonics research
A review of the ever-growing research field of plasmonics in Science by Ekmel Ozbay highlights team member Stefan Maier's work on fiber taper coupled plasmon waveguides. Science 311 (2006) 189-193.
20th January 2006
New research effort on THz plasmonics starting
We have recently obtained funding by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR, Program Director Gernot Pomrenke) for a program on plasmonics at THz frequencies. The project is headed jointly by centre member Dr Stefan Maier and by Dr. Steve Andrews, senior lecturer in the department of physics. Under this program, we will investigate ways to confine and guide terahertz radiation using patterned conductive surfaces to engineer the photonic response for applications in waveguiding and sensing.
Welcome to our new PhD student Chris Williams, who will be working with us on this project!
13th January 2006
Recent articles in Photonics Spectra
Multimode Fiber Thinks it's Single-Mode
Photonics Spectra 39 (12) (Dec 2005) 34-36
"In an unusual intersection of fiber optics and astronomy, a collaboration of British and Australian scientists has yielded a technique that they believe could revolutionize ground-based infrared astronomy."
Highly Bi-refringent fiber has Layered Core
Photonics Spectra 39 (12) (Dec 2005) 84-85
Glass “sandwich” creates anisotropic condition that optimizes birefringence.
14th October 2005
Hänsch wins Nobel Prize for Frequency Metrology experiments
Theodor ("Ted") Hänsch of the Ludwig-Maximillians University and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching
shared the Nobel Prize with John Hall of JILA and Roy Glauber from Harvard, who have all worked in the field of modern
optics. The University of Bath contributed to the work of Professor Hänsch through the development of photonic crystal
fibers, which were critical in making the prize-winning techniques work. Bath authors jointly published a key paper on
frequency metrology with Hänsch in 2000. See
http://nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/2005/phyadv05.pdf for more details.
22nd September 2005
We have become the Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials
Building 3WN: New Laboratories for the CPPM
The Photonics and Photonic Materials Group at Bath has become the Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials (CPPM). The new Centre currently consists of 8 academics in the Department of Physics, a full-time technician and around 20 postdoctoral and doctoral researchers. Much of the work of the Centre will take place in a new building, built by the University at a cost of £1.3 million, which houses both cleanroom space and a suite of new optical laboratories. The Centre plans to build on the strong international reputation of the Photonics and Photonic Materials Group to become a focal point for research and training in photonics.
22nd September 2005
Philip Russell moves to Erlangen
Professor Philip Russell has taken up a joint position as Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of
Erlangen-Nuremberg and as Director in the Max-Planck Research Group.
Philip has been in the Department of Physics at Bath since 1996, heading the Photonics and Photonic Materials Group, and will
continue to have a link with Bath through a supernumerary appointment. We wish him all the best in his new venture.
16th June 2005
Fetah Benabid wins Fresnel Prize
Many congratulations to Fetah on being awarded the EPS-QEO Fresnel Prize (Applied Aspects) for "Pioneering work on the development of hollow core photonic crystal fibres and their application in laser-guidance of particles and ultra-low threshold stimulated Raman scattering in molecular gases."
Awarded every two years by the Quantum Optics and Electronics Division (QEOD) of the European Physical Society, the prize is intended for scientists who have made major contributions to the field of Quantum Optics and Electronics before the age of 35.
Fetah received the prize at a ceremony held at CLEO/Europe-EQEC in Munich, Tuesday June 14th.
