Welcome to the Photonics & Organic Electronics web site!
The term Photonics was coined in 1967 by Pierre Aigrain, a French scientist, who gave the following definition:
'Photonics is the science of the harnessing of light. Photonics encompasses the generation of light, the detection of light, the management of light through guidance, manipulation, and amplification, and most importantly, its utilisation for the benefit of mankind.'
The importance of Photonics can be seen from the multitude of application sectors where it is increasingly seen to be driving innovation. These sectors include information, communication, imaging, lighting, displays, manufacturing, life sciences and health care, and safety and security. In these areas Photonics is offering new and unique solutions where today's conventional technologies are approaching their limits in terms of speed, capacity and accuracy.
Organic and large-area electronics (OLAE) is one of the most promising areas in the field of electronics.
Intensive R&D activities in organic materials, carried out since the early 80s, have led to the demonstration of all basic functionalities of these materials (e.g. logic gate integration, efficient light emission, photovoltaic energy conversion, sensors, etc). Similarly, the first commercial applications can already be found on the market, which have also emphasized the potential of this field, in which Europe has a privileged R&D position.
Our mission is to contribute to Europe's leading position in this disruptive technology through the support of R&D activities, crucial for the development and progress in organic and large area electronics. Today, the issues of particular interest for the R&D community in this area are reliability, stability, device performance and device architecture, together with heterogeneous integration.
The current stage of development of organic and large area electronics emphasizes the importance of the creation of a European critical mass in the area and overcoming national fragmentation. The ultimate aim is to establish a pan European fertile research substrate and succeed in converting European R&D leadership into innovation and socio-economic growth.