Andrea Fiore, professor of Photonics and Semiconductor Nanophysics (PSN) has been granted half a million euro for the integration of optic sensors and spectrometers in chips. The grant allows for the appointment of a doctoral candidate and a postdoc, who will be building on an earlier finding of the PSN group: two linked photonic crystals of which the mutual distance can be adjusted at nanolevel. The optical cavity that occurs may be used to determine the wavelength of any light that’s captured within, and can thus function as a spectrometer. By expanding the system with sensors and a light source, the researchers want to create an entire measuring system on a chip for use in space missions and the medical sector that can be produced at low cost using standard chip technology.

For a project under supervision of Jacques Huyghe of Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering, STW granted about one million euros. Huyge says the money will be used to appoint two doctoral candidates and two postdocs at TU/e, as well as doctoral candidate at Utrecht University. They will be focusing on the connecting characteristics of porous materials on a micro and macro level. This knowledge is essential for the development of better materials for various uses in diapers, prosthetics, the storage of radioactive waste or CO2, and the extraction of shale gas. The project involves a wide range of companies ranging from the medical arena to the oil industry.