Photonics Driving Economic Growth in Europe - Photonics21

94 Towards 2020 – Photonics driving economic growth in Europe
Our knowledge-based
society needs knowledgeable,
skilled and well-trained
workers, able to sustain
continuous improvement and
efficient production in science
and technology.
PhD student aligning a Ti:sapphire
laser. © Ruhr-Universität Bochum,
Faculty for Electrical Engineering &
Information Technology
so as to define what is already available and what
is missing, what can be extended to a European
level, and what needs to be addressed on a local
basis. This will allow the urgent needs of photonics
industry to be addressed through immediate
real-time actions.
Expected impact for Europe
In our knowledge-based society, no real and long-
lasting innovation is possible without advanced
research to create the basis for future development,
and without a wide class of knowledgeable, skilled
and well-trained workers, able to sustain continu-
ous improvement and efficient production in both
science and technology.
The research areas that have been identified as
priorities and now being tackled are likely to revo-
lutionise the field of photonics, bringing new solutions
and innovative approaches to address the
most difficult of challenges faced in many areas.
The need for sustainable development and a better
quality of life requires a green economy, energy
efficiency and saving, extended healthcare, safety
and security, improved communication, quality and
sustainable production, open innovation, environ-
mental care, cultural heritage preservation, etc..
New trends developing in photonics could have
a substantial impact in all these fields, including:
n Nanophotonics. Through the development of
new and nanoengineered materials with extended
optical properties and unprecedented
functionalities, nanophotonics offers solutions
to many challenges:
n energy efficiency, through the
development of new solutions for
photovoltaics, and energy saving,
through the realisation of new
highly efficient light sources
n healthcare, through the realisation
of smaller functionalised optofluidic
lab-on-chips for point-of-care diagnosis,
through nanoimaging techniques for
advanced diagnostic systems, and
by contributing to nanomedicine for
example with photoactivated nanoparticles
for therapeutic applications
n safety and security, through the
realisation of nanosensors
n Quantum optics and quantum information
address the problems related to the management
of vast amounts of of data, and to secure
communications with completely new
approaches exploiting the laws of quantum
physics. Feasibility demonstrations have already
been achieved, but many technical challenges
are still to be solved in terms of adequate light
sources and complex quantum circuits, before
quantum computers, quantum communication
systems, and quantum sensing can become part
of everyday life. However, the achievement of
such goals would be a major breakthrough for
a future digital society.
n Extreme light is expected to open new perspectives
in light-matter interactions. The availability
of light sources with unprecedented high power,
operating in previously unavailable wavelengths
and pulse durations will allow the study of materials
and processes in unexplored regimes,
thus allowing new fundamental knowledge