Nano-Optics and Photonics

Historically, optical lithography was considered to be limited by the Abbe diffraction barrier, which lead to the belief that no grating much smaller than half the wavelength of light could be fabricated. With demonstration of the stimulated emission depletion (STED) mechanism, it is now feasible to break this barrier.
 

At the INT, by combining STED ideas with direct laser writing (DLW), we can produce photonic crystals with band gaps at visible frequencies. We are also working on integrating nanomechnical elements like carbon nanotubes with optical elements to form devices. Theoretical efforts focus on the interaction of light with materials that have critical spatial dimensions in the order of one wavelength or below, i.e. at the nanoscale.

advanced optical lithography
Advanced Optical Lithography

Advanced optical fabrication techniques for artificial photonic materials

Martin Wegener

Theoretical nanooptics
Theoretical Nanooptics

Applications of light interactions to nanostructures

Carsten Rockstuhl

Connecting polymer networks by lightKIT/Blasco
Functional Polymeric Materials

Design of  polymers to control post-processing of structures created by Direct Laser Writing

Eva Blasco

Confined Graphene Emission
Charge transport and light-matter interaction in carbon nanosystems

Light-matter interaction in carbon nanosystems and optoelectronic applications

Ralph Krupke

Raman map mapping
Spectroscopy of Carbon Nanostructures

Photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy and microscopy for carbon nanotubes and other inorganic and organic materials

Sergei Lebedkin

Manfred Kappes

Confocal image of stacks of live HEK293T cells, transiently transfected to express LRP6-mCherry KIT/Nienhaus
Super-Resoulution Optical Microscopy

Optical microscopy of the highest spatial and time resolution to study biomolecules and cells.

G. Ulrich Nienhaus

carbon nanotubes solar cells and sensors
Carbon Nanotubes, Solar Cells and Sensors

Using sorted single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in the fabrication of new forms of solar cells and sensing devices

Benjamin Flavel