ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences (in Catalan: ''Institut de Ciències Fotòniques'', in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Instituto de Ciencias Fotónicas'') is a research center devoted to the

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

of light. Located in Castelldefels (

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

), ICFO was created in 2002 by the

Government of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

and the

Technical University of Catalonia The Polytechnic University of Catalonia (, , ; UPC), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech, is the largest polytechnic university in Catalonia, Spain. UPC's objectives are based on internationalization, as it is one of Europe's techni ...

. The Institute is a research center that covers various fields of physics and optics, from theoretical to applied aspects. It also provides education and training for new scientists and technologists. The institute has more than 400 researchers in 26 research groups, who work in over 60 laboratories. The institute has several facilities that support its research activities, such as a Nanophotonics Fabrication lab, a Super-Resolution Light Microscopy & Nanoscopy Lab, and an Advanced Engineering Lab.

Research

Research at ICFO encompasses four broad thematic areas: nonlinear photonics,

quantum photonics In physics, a quantum (: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This me ...

nanophotonics Nanophotonics or nano-optics is the study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, and of the interaction of nanometer-scale objects with light. It is a branch of optics, optical engineering, electrical engineering, and nanotechnology. I ...

, and

biophotonics The term biophotonics denotes a combination of biology and photonics, with photonics being the science and technology of generation, manipulation, and detection of photons, quantum units of light. Photonics is related to electronics and photons. ...

. Researchers work in a variety of fields, including quantum information technologies, nanophotonic devices, remote sensors, optoelectronics, integrated optics, ultrafast optics, biophotonics, and biomedical optics. Projects are run as part of both medium-term and long-term programs.

Research areas

The research at ICFO focuses on the science and technology based on light for applications in health,

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

, and

information technologies Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data and information processing, and storage. Information technolo ...

Health

The Super-resolution Light Microscopy & Nanoscopy (SLN) facility at ICFO is a Euro‐BioImaging (EuBI) specialized imaging facility node, providing biological and medical imaging services for life scientists world-wide. Available techniques include super resolution STORM and STED, Lattice light sheet, Light sheet fluorescence, Raman and SERS, Fluorescence (Confocal, Multispectral Confocal, FRET, FRAP, etc.), Multiphoton (TPEF, THG, SHG), Optical Tweezers and Femtosecond nanosurgery. ICFO's SLN facility is part of the European

CORBEL In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

and LaserLab research infrastructures. Research is being conducted in the field of medical optics, and several programs and initiatives have been established with local hospitals, healthcare centers, biomedical research centers, universities, among others to integrate photonic based technologies in healthcare services.

Energy

Photonics is at the core of light-harvesting concepts and technologies like

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commerciall ...

and

solar cells A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.

. To tackle the challenges in energy efficiency, researchers at ICFO are developing new approaches to renewable energy applications. Examples of on-going projects include low-cost highly efficient transparent solar cells, organic LEDs, transparent photonic devices, smart windows, energy efficient optoelectronic devices, photoelectric, thermoelectric and electromechanical transducers, and energy efficient sensors. The center also performs research in nanophotonics, such as nano-structured materials, nano-cavities, nano-antennas, and nano-photonic devices.

Information

ICFO conducts experimental and theoretical research in classical and quantum communication systems, developing new photonic materials and quantum technologies.

Education

ICFO participates in local and international Master and PhD Programs: # Master in Photonics (MSc) offered by UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya); UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); UB (Universitat de Barcelona); and ICFO. #

Erasmus Mundus The European Union's Erasmus Mundus programme (named after Erasmus, the Renaissance scholar) aims to enhance quality in higher education through scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students f ...

Master Course (EMMC) EUROPHOTONICS. # PhD Program offered by UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) and ICFO. # Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate in Photonics Engineering, Nanophotonics and Biophotonics.

Industrial collaborations and spin-offs companies

ICFO maintains a range of industrial collaborations and has to date helped to generate six spin-off companies: Radiantis (2005), Cosingo- Imagine Optics Spain S.L. (2008), Signadyne (now part of Keysight Technologies (2011), ProCareLight (2013), HemoPhotonics (2013), and QuSide (2017). The institute is member of the European Photonics Industry Consortium and takes part in the European Technology Platforms Photonics21 (cf. its national equivalent Fotónica21) and ETP Nanomedicine. It participates in the Southern European cluster in Photonics and Optic SECPhO.

Awards

In 2021, ICFO received the Optica Diversity & Inclusion Advocacy Recognition for "''their deliberate and intentional work to integrate equitable, transparent and inclusive policies and programs throughout their institution’s hiring, mentoring and programmatic programming."''

References

{{morecat, date=June 2021 Education in Catalonia Research institutes in Catalonia Photonics