Applied photonics and quantum technologies
Head of Laboratory: Ladislav Kalvoda
Staff: Jakub Skočdopole, Jan Aubrecht, Petr Levinský, Jaroslav Hamrle
Doctoral students: Alena Kobrlová
Students: Michal Jůza, Martin Kolář, Petr Slavíček, Jáchym Lis
- Areas of research
- Experimental equippment
- Projects
Laboratories
- –> Applied photonics and quantum technologies
- Material modeling
- Neutron diffraction
- Optical spectroscopy
- Control of experiments
- Structural biology
- X-ray diffraction
Areas of research
The Laboratory of Applied Photonics and Quantum Technologies (LAPQT) was established in 2008 as a successor to the Polymer Materials Laboratory of KIPL. The traditional area of activity of LAPQT is the development and characterization of materials, structures and nanosystems useful in the design of chemical and physical sensors and active waveguide elements. We have now expanded our activities to include the preparation of ultrathin layers and multilayer structures useful in sensing, quantum technologies and protective applications.
LAPQT uses a wide range of techniques to prepare functional structures from organic and inorganic materials and combinations thereof, including the deposition of thin (mainly organic and polymer) layers from solution by spincoating and/or drawing, the preparation of multilayer structures from monomolecular layers by Langmuir, Blodgett and Kuhn (LBK) method, functionalization of polymeric layers by diffusion from solution, physical vapour deposition (PVD), ionised jet deposition (IJD) and thermal and/or plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD/PEALD).
Experimental equipment
- A deposition cluster for high-precision preparation of multilayer systems including the Ionized Jet Deposition (IJD) system JetDep100 - a prototype developed by Noivion (Italy) and Czech Vacuum, and the PEALD system R-200 (PicoSun Oy, Finland) equipped with a spectrally resolved FS-1 ellipsometer for in-situ monitoring of layer growth. Both deposition devices are connected by integrated load-locks to a glovebox (MBraun) with a high purity inert atmosphere (N2, impurity content < 0.5 ppm)
- Edmund Buehler AM200 arc melting furnace for laboratory development and preparation of custom metal alloys (max. sample weight approx. 200 g)
- PVD devices Carl Zeiss Jena HBA1 a HVD RHVm42
- Spincoater Laurell 650 MZ
- Fully computer controlled LBK deposition systems Lauda FW-2 and KSV Nima Large with Halcyonics Variobasic 40 active anti-vibration system, analytical equipment (surface potential measurement, sub-phase pH measurement), Brewster microscope for in-situ analysis of layer morphology and lift for layer transfer to solid substrate.
- Laboratory workplace for physicochemical sample preparation.
- Home-made ATR-RS spectrometer enabling accurate determination of optical, photo-optical, electro-optical, chiral and geometrical parameters of thin planar waveguide layers.
- Photodyne and Agilent units for Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) analysis of optical fibers
- Three-chamber device for automated kinetics testing of distributed gas sensors by OTDR method in an atmosphere with precisely adjustable target gas concentration.
- HP 70951B and Ocean Optics S1000 analyzers with Heraues FiberLight white source for UV-VIS-NIR spectral analysis of short fiber optic samples and solutions in the 200 - 1700 nm wavelength range
- Furukawa Fitel S17 Fiber Optic Arc Welding Unit
- Equipment for optical polarization transmission and reflection microscopy (Reichert Zetopan with CCD camera, UV source, fluorescence measurements, light and dark field measurements).
- Device for physicochemical analysis of solutions XBC Magic interface with conductivity probe VEL 356 X and pH probe.
- Comsol Multiphysics 4.8 software (Humusoft Software Inc.) for the implementation of simulations of waveguide structures and optical elements installed on the MSI4 computer located in the computer room of KIPL, room T316
- Equipment for the preparation of very pure water AquaOsmotic Type 02 and 06 (electrical conductivity < 2 uS/cm ) and ultra-pure water Merck Milli-Pore (electrical conductivity < 0.05 uS/cm).
- Atomic force microscope (AFM) NenoVision LiteScope equipped with Akyiama probes
- High purity N2 generator (99.999%) NitroGen250 from VSK Profi, s.r.o., with an hourly capacity of 8 m3.
- The Raman u-spectrometer Horiba with a confocal microscope is also available for the characterization of structures and was acquired together with the IJD/ALD cluster with the contribution of the OPVV project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_017/0002278 "New Doctoral Programme in Quantum Technologies", in the implementation of which KIPL, KFE, KMat, KM and KF FJFI participate.
Projects
- Recent projects supported by grants
- Development of new plasmonic nanostructures with electric field enhancement, applicable in chemical sensors and quantum resonance structures.
- Application of LBK method for preparation of nanostructured multilayers using colloid lithography.
- Development of novel High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) and thin films composed of them, primarily for applications in sensing and protective coatings.
- Optimalizace geometrické struktury a simulace chemické stability molekul, vývoj atomistických modelů HEAs s pomocí aplikace metod neuronových sítí a strojového učení.
- Long-term research direction
- Development of local and distributed gas sensors based on modified optical fibers and plasmonic nanostructures.
- Future project directions
- Development of IJD technology and its combinations with other deposition techniques.
- Research focused on energy storage systems and hydrogen energy.
