Advanced Optical Technologies (MAOT)

Four topics: Photonic Fibers, Materials and Devices: From photovoltaics and semiconductors to microstructured devices, glasses and molecular assemblies, Erlangen is a widely-known site for photonic material technologies. Research activities comprise the fabrication and the characterisation of innovative photonic structures and their implementation into prototype as well as large-scale applications. Around 30 research groups focus on the design of light-absorbing and emitting materials, laser-treated glasses, microresonators and molecular machines as well as on their investigation using approaches such as state-of-the-art spectroscopy, electron microscopy, or X-ray tomography. In addition, Erlangen is one of the world’s leading spots for research on photonic crystal fibres. Photonics in Production and Process Technology: Multiple well-established production techniques and analytical methods would not have been developed without the possibilities that emerge from photonics. Almost 20 research groups located in Erlangen have major contributions to this technological progress. This not only includes state-of-the-art laser processing of various material systems, experimental and theoretical lithography or modelling of complex systems, but at the same time, it also includes advances in a plethora of metrology approaches comprising interferometry, different kinds of spectroscopy, sensing of fluids and gases, determination of surface and particle properties and much more. This diversity renders Erlangen as a hotspot in next generation production and process technology based on photonics research. Biomedical Photonics and Data Processing: Visualising and ­influencing biological structures and processes using photonic technologies is a both challenging and promising field of research. It spans from fluorescence spectroscopy of human tissue and in-vivo endo-microscopy to opto-biomechatronics and optogenetics. Furthermore, artificial intelligence and deep learning algorithms play an increasing role in data processing, pattern recognition and classification in medical imaging, e.g. in MRT diagnostics. Future healthcare and medical applications based on photonic technologies developed by more than 30 research groups in Erlangen accelerate and improve diagnoses and therapies on many kinds of diseases. Physics of Light: The fundamentals of optics are deepened in the fields of geometrical optics, wave optics, technical optics, quantum optics, and Fourier optics.