Project description
Training young researchers in tailored laser light beams
Structured laser beams pave the way towards new advances across many scientific fields. Light incident on a diffraction grating is dispersed away from the grating surface at an angle depending on the wavelength. The combination of diffraction grating structures and planar waveguides tailors the spectral and spatial shaping of laser beams. The EU-funded GREAT project will offer 15 early-stage researchers training in the design of advanced grating waveguide structures. GREAT will investigate modelling methods and fabrication tools for the development of grating waveguide structures to expand their application usage. Theoretical research activities will include pulse compression, spectral stabilisation, wavelength multiplexing and polarisation shaping.
Objective
The overall aim of the GREAT (Grating Reflectors Enabled laser Applications and Training) project is to train a cohort of 15
ESRs through the completion of interconnected individual projects which will deliver innovative approaches for development
and use of Grating Waveguide Structures (GWS), from design to implementation in several laser systems. GWS results from
the combination of sub-wavelength gratings and planar waveguides. This combination results, by means of an appropriate
design of the overall GWS, in resonances which can be used for many applications that are more efficient than current
grating-only devices. The young will be trained to work collaboratively to deliver systems and solutions responding to realworld problems. This is crucial since there is an overall lack of qualified specialized personnel in this field, with a limited
number of companies active worldwide. Crucially, this lack of skilled workforce has been identified by the ETP Photonics21
(Photonics21 (2013) Towards 2020 – Photonics driving economic growth in Europe-Multiannual Strategic Roadmap 2014 –
2020) as a major challenge for the photonics community. Moreover, GREAT gathers Photonics, Micro-Nano technologies,
Advanced materials as well as Nanotechnologies which are among the Key technologies defined within the H2020 project
for the competitiveness and renewal of European manufacturing. Lasers are also defined as an important industrial sector,
where the European Community is a key player which aims to keep its competitive position (http://www.strategies-u.com/
lasers-photonics.html). Therefore, GREAT will provide important modelling methods and fabrication tools that allow the
development of GWS to consolidate and expand their use in several applications in the laser field like pulse compression,
spectral stabilization and wavelength multiplexing, as well as polarization shaping (generation of beams with radial and azimuthal polarization
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Coordinator
70174 Stuttgart
Germany