Objective
The project is aimed at funding a multi-disciplinary laboratory on nonlinear optics and photonics in soft-colloidal materials and on “complex lightwave systems”. A team of talented young researchers, divided among experiments, theory, parallel computation and nano-fabrication is involved. The proposed research will foster several breakthrough discoveries from soft-matter to biophysics, from nonlinear and integrated optics to the science of complexity and cryptography. The underlying vision is driven by the physics of complex systems, those displaying a large number of thermodynamically equivalent states and emergent properties. There are 4 original and high-impact activities, which explore applicative potentialities: 1) sub-wavelength light filaments in soft- and bio-matter; 2) lasers in soft-matter and bio-tissues; 3) control of soft-matter lasers by light filaments; 4) complex lightwave systems, encryption by nano-structured disordered lasers. Activity 1 will lead to ultra-thin re-addressable light beams (sub-wavelength spatial solitons) propagating in soft- and bio-matter that can be used in laser-surgery, matter manipulation and able to guide high power laser pulses; activity 2 attains novel structural diagnostic techniques in bone tissue surpassing limits of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and assesses the field of lasers in soft-materials; activity 3 will demonstrate the control of self-organization processes in soft-matter by light filaments probed by laser emission; activity 4 is based on specific features mutuated from spin-glass theory, and will realize a novel cryptographic technique superior to chaotic systems in terms of security. Activity 1 and 2 are propaedeutic to the others. The team is composed by the Principal Investigator (P.I.) 4 post-doctoral researchers and 3 Ph.D. students. The budget will be used for paying the P.I. two post-doctoral positions, laser sources, high performance computing facilities, and instrumentation.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencescomputer securitycryptography
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiophysics
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringcomputer hardwaresupercomputers
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsnonlinear optics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physics
Keywords
Call for proposal
ERC-2007-StG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
ERC-SG - ERC Starting GrantHost institution
00185 Roma
Italy