Prof. Roberta Ramponi, Department of Physics, Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnology (IFN-CNR) and Politecnico di Milano

Title: Femtosecond laser micro and nanofabrication: an enabling tool for new technologies

Abstract: In this seminar, the basics of femtosecond laser writing will be summarized, and the main aspects influencing induced material modifications will be discussed. Some typical applications will be presented to better illustrate the versatility and peculiarities of the technique. In particular, reported examples will include microfluidic devices with different functionalities (microfilters, switches, lenses, lab-on-chip) mainly for sensing and integrated photonic circuits for quantum information. Also the potentials of surface structuring and texturing will be discussed. The results obtained show the strong potential of this microfabrication technology, paving the way to increasingly compact and multifunctional photonic and microfluidic devices. (Full abstract attached).

Roberta Ramponi is the director of the CNR Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnology of the Italian National Research Council and full professor of Physics at the Politecnico di Milano. Her research activity includes integrated and nonlinear optics, photonic circuits for quantum optics, and microoptofluidic devices for biomedical and environmental sensing. She has been the President of the European Optical Society in 2006-2008 and is currently a member of the Executive Board of the European Technology Platform Photonics21 and vice-President of the International Commission for Optics.