ITMO’s Ultrafast and Nonlinear Nanophotonics session was organized by scientists from the Faculty of Physics: chief researcher Sergey Makarov, senior researcher Mikail Petrov, associate professor Andrey Bogdanov, as well as their friend and colleague from the University of Brescia (Italy) Constantino De Angelis. 29 of the world’s major scientists in the field of nonlinear nanophotonics took part in the session.
“The topic of ultrafast and nonlinear nanophotonics is among the most relevant, and has many applications in the field of creating optical chips. The fact that ITMO succeeded in organizing the best session at such a conference demonstrates the university’s leading position in the field of nanophotonics worldwide,” noted Sergey Makarov.
The session focused on ultrafast and nonlinear effects and processes in nanophotonics. In particular, the session’s participants presented reports on ultrathin materials based on transition metal dichalcogenides – these new nonlinear optics materials effectively transform laser emission waves and are easy to manufacture. Among other participants were representatives of the Xpanceo technological startup that develops contact lenses with AR technology, as well as Chinese scientists who presented their research on fast and energy-efficient optical switches.
“Getting awards is becoming a good tradition for us and a confirmation of our team’s work quality. Sessions are chosen and assessed by a special committee. They don’t have strict assessment criteria, but they mostly focus on the quantity and quality of reports, as well as the topic’s relevance. This year was the first time that we organized a session on nanophotonics, and we are glad that it interested so many people and gained recognition. We were all brought together by our interest in nonlinear nanophotonics, as it is important in the sense of both fundamental science and practical applications, for example optical computing,” commented Andrey Borganov.
The Best Session Organizer Award (BSOA) is granted for outstanding contributions to the PIERS conference. Every year, only five sessions are chosen by the jury. This year’s award is the second one under ITMO’s belt: last year, the scientists received the Best Session Organizer Award for the session Mie-tronics and Metaphotonics.
“I’m happy that our research struck a chord with the conference’s participants. At ITMO, I lead a frontier lab where we develop ultrafast energy-efficient switches for optical systems. This is a fundamental task, and its solution will make it possible to develop next-generation devices: quantum computers, commuters, and chips. These devices will make the processes of storing and transferring data faster and more reliable,” explained Mihail Petrov.
The Photonics and Electromagnetics Research Symposium, or PIERS, is among the most important international conferences in the field of electrodynamics and optics, held regularly since 1989. This year, the event featured 119 sessions and the number of participants from the world’s leading research centers exceeded two thousand.
