Projects

The FOTONIKA21 Work Groups (WGs) are the main centers of activities within FOTONIKA21. They focus on the development of the work group specific research and innovation priorities. FOTONIKA21 comprises following four work groups which focus on application-oriented as well as cross-disciplinary photonics fields:

WG 1: Life Sciences and Health (Biomedical Engineering)

For most European countries, the projected demographic changes will have drastic consequences for European citizens and their healthcare systems. For example, the number of people older than 65 years will double by 2030, leading to a dramatic growth of age-related diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, cardiac infarction, stroke, age related macular degeneration, diabetes, kidney failure, osteoarthritis, and cancer. A major step towards tackling these challenges will be to focus the biophotonics research and innovation on the development of easy-to-access, minimally invasive, low-cost treatment and screening methods.

WG 2: Industrial Manufacturing and Quality

With the ‘laser light’ tool, manufacturing processes can be handled automatically and flexibly, producing components and products of extraordinary quality, and in a much ‘greener’ way in comparison to most other energy sources.

WG 3: Optical Components, Systems and Metrology

Optical methods may provide breakthrough solutions required to identify small numbers of molecules or microbes in a sample. 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, the performance of diagnostic techniques would be much improved if operation could be extended into the infrared spectral range..

WG 4: Information transfer, Optical Waveguides and Sensors

Information and communication technologies, underpinned by optical broadband communication technologies, will address many of the socio-economic challenges. Photonics supports and enables new ways of living and managing resources.