Towards 2020 – Photonics driving economic growth in Europe

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60 Towards 2020 – Photonics driving economic growth in Europe Optical methods will provide breakthrough solutions for sensing hazardous substances. The WHO estimates that more than two billion illnesses are caused by unsafe food every year. 2.5 Security, Metrology & Sensors Main socio-economic challenges addressed Today, over 70 million organic and inorganic substances are on record 9 , and for most of these, little is known about their potential danger to humans. Although only a small fraction of this plethora of molecules are marketed and released into the environment, our society is confronted daily with a growing number of potentially hazardous chemicals. Well-known examples of the reality of this threat include the contamination of milk with melamine, of drinking water with herbicides and fungicides, of wine with glycol, and of plastic food containers with hormone-like components (endocrine disruptive compounds). As a result, increasingly and often justifiably, our citizens feel threatened by potential hazards contained in the foodstuffs they eat and drink, and in the air they breathe. Much worse, naturally occurring molecules, produced by microorganisms within our food, represent an even larger threat to our society’s health. The WHO estimates that more than two billion illnesses are caused by unsafe food every year, and in the developing world alone, two million children die annually from contaminated food and water 810 . In Western countries, 5–10 people per million inhabitants die every year from food borne diseases 911 . In the USA alone, this claims an annual 9 On-line Registry of the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) of the American Chemical Society: http://www.cas.org 10 WHO Reports on Food Safety Issues, WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety: Safer Foord for Better Health, World Health Organization, Food Safety Department, Geneva (Switzerland) 2002, ISBN 92 4 154574 7 11 D. Pimentel et al., Ecoloy of Increasing Diseases: Population Growth and Environmental Degradation, Hum Ecol Vol. 35: 653–668, 2007 death toll of more than 3000 people, costing up to $35 billion in medical costs and lost productivity 1012 . Already today, we possess the biochemical and technical means to identify small numbers of molecules or microbes in a sample. However, all these methods are expensive and time-consuming. Optical methods may provide breakthrough solutions to this highly relevant problem, overcoming the traditional, tedious chemical lab analysis. For example, it is known that measurement techniques in the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral range, known also as the fingerprinting/diagnostic region, are highly specific to individual molecules, even able to distinguish between isotopes in their atomic constituents. Optical methods can also be extremely sensitive, exploiting the existence of photonic sensors capable of detecting the arrival of single photons with sub-nanosecond timing precision. Additionally, very sensitive and highly specific novel diagnostic techniques are emerging, such as Raman and LIBS spectroscopy, whose performance would be much improved if operation could be extended into the infrared spectral range. However, the major problem with the current photonic devices and detection systems capable of achieving the required specifications is that they are much too expensive for the realisation of affordable, practical sensing systems! Consequently, if the challenges described above for food/air/water/environmental safety and security, are to be solved, it is essential that multiband photonic sensing is developed, leading to a safer and more secure society. Once available, these photonic innovations will lead to numerous additional applications, further improving many aspects of our daily lives. Major Photonics needs The near infrared (NIR) spectral range (0.8–2.5 µm) is already employed for many tasks in food inspection (moisture sensing, content of protein/ 12 Wikipedia article on Foodborne Diseases: http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Foodborne_illness
2. Photonics Research and Innovation Challenges 61 Photonic technologies can help retailers and customers to judge the ripeness of fruit and vegetables, and so reduce the percentage of discarded food. © Fotolia Photonic measurements are used for the screening of water for contamination. © Fotolia oil/fat/starch/sucrose/fibres, detection of foreign particles and nut/fruit-stone inclusions, quality and ripeness of fruit and vegetables, etc.), as well as in recycling and waste treatment (sorting of wastepaper, cardboard, plastics/polymers, fuels, industrial waste). The diagnostic mid-infrared (MIR) region (2.5–7 µm) yields information about the presence of functional groups in samples, enabling, for example, the identification of numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in gases. The fingerprint MIR region (7–11 µm) allows the different compounds in a sample to be distinguished, due to the specific spectral ‘fingerprint’ of each molecule in this spectral domain, utilising the large existing collections of reference spectra in vapour and condensed phases. Finally, the far infrared and THz region (up to 1000 µm) offers complementary fingerprinting capabilities using specific spectral signatures, with the additional benefit of deep penetration in standard packaging materials such as paper, plastics or textiles. Some of these critical measurements in the extended infrared (EIR) spectral domain (1–1000 µm) can be performed today, albeit with very expensive active and passive photonic components. For example, a moderate-power MIR laser costs €10,000, an uncooled FIR bolometer camera costs at least €50,000, a 128x128 NIR image sensor (InGaAs) costs €4000, a single photodiode (InAsSb) for the 1–5 µm band costs €1000, and even a single silicon microlens (for wavelengths above 1.1 µm) costs €50. Clearly it is not currently possible to realise cost-effective EIR sensor devices and make them affordable for general use, despite the abundance of highly relevant practical applications operating in the infrared spectral domain. While the important ultraviolet and visible (UV/VIS) spectral domain is accessible using the ubiquitous silicon photosensors, we have to progress beyond silicon in order to meet the challenges of the EIR domain. The challenge is therefore clear – we need to develop new high-performance yet affordable photonic devices. Specifically: n quantum-noise-limited active optoelectronic devices (coherent and incoherent sources, detectors) based on inorganic/organic semiconductor materials, offering the appropriate EIR properties. n CMOS-based charge detector platforms with low-noise/low-power/high-speed-readout performance that can be combined with many classes of semiconductor materials. n novel measurement techniques to exploit the beneficial properties of such newly developed EIR detectors for industrial applications. n affordable non-toxic cooling solutions (in particular thermo-electric coolers) for EIR photosensing and light emission platforms n a wide range of low-cost passive optical components, to enable the integration of complete EIR systems. The overall goal is to conquer the EIR spectral range with a complete toolbox of low-cost active and
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Towards 2020 - Photonics driving ec
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Towards 2020 - Photonics driving ec
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Index 5 Index Impressum 2 Photonics
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0. Executive Summary 7 Left: Photon
Page 9 and 10: 0. Executive Summary 9 environment,
Page 11 and 12: 0. Executive Summary 11 that will a
Page 13 and 14: 1. Introduction 13 Finally, to conc
Page 15 and 16: 1. Introduction 15 To support this
Page 17 and 18: 1. Introduction 17 Photonic players
Page 19 and 20: 2. Photonics Research and Innovatio
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Page 97 and 98: 3. Expected Impact of a Photonics P
Page 99 and 100: 4. Appendix 99 Photonics Multiannua
Page 101 and 102: 4. Appendix 101 Interactive worksho
Page 103 and 104: 4. Appendix 103 Figures illustratin
Page 105: 4. Appendix 105 Photonics21 Publica
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