RESEARCH

Capacities & Actions

PNRL is based in the self-contained K22 building of the University of Patras Campus. It homes a photonics dedicated ISO-6 Clean Room facility in addition to chemical, optical testing, dark room and workshop facilities. Infrastructure incudes laser processing, UHV pulsed laser deposition, chemical, thermal and plasma processing, lithography/direct laser writing, soft-lithography/nanoimprinting, as well as flexible optics and photonics stations for functional testing and optoelectronic integration. The group has direct access to a full suite of materials characterization microscopy/microanalysis (SEM, TEM, AFM, STM, MFM) thermal/mechanical (DSC, TGA, DMA), spectroscopic (UV-Vis, FTIR) as well  as well as central university analytical, computational and library facilities.

Expertise covers physicochemical materials synthesis, laser-based thin-film growth of inorganics and organics, emphasizing on glass, polymer and hybrid photonic nanocomposites, optical system design, electromagnetic simulation, laser-lithography & direct-writing, nanoimprinting, optics and optoelectronics integration of nanostructured photonic sensors, information processing, and radiation control.

Current research addresses the introduction and advancement of materials and technologies for:

• Photonic and plasmonic sensors for environmental and food quality monitoring.
• Ultralight aerogel elements for low-inertia optics, highly sensitive photonic and plasmonic sensors.
• Nanosystolics: A novel downsizing concept for 3D superresolution nanofabrication.
• Functional Laser-based nanolayered growth on 3D micromachines and photonics elements: A unique approach of coating complex microstructures with hybrid nanocomposites and sensitive biopolymers.
• Bio-architectural devices: Novel high performance sensors, light-managers and micro-hydrodynamics.
• Optical design, integrated interferometric, holographic, waveguide systems and laser-acoustics for metrology and sensing.

PNRL is exclusively supported by competitive national, international and private research projects.