Dan G Sporea received the MS degree in Electronics Engineering from “Politehnica” University, Bucharest, Romania, in 1972 and a PhD degree in Physics Engineering from the Institute for Atomic Physics, Magurele, Romania, in 1992. He is currently heading the Laser Metrology and Standardization Laboratory, at the National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR), Magurele, Romania. For the last four years he acted as technical Deputy Director for a project focused on the development of a research infrastructure – the Center for Advanced Laser Technology, which includes a PW-class laser. Within this project he was in charge with the set up of the Photonics Investigations Laboratory. He coordinated several research projects for the European Fusion Program and over 15 national projects related to laser metrology, radiation effects in devices and materials, optical fiber sensors for critical installations. He holds one American patent and over 20 Romanian patents. He co-authored several book chapters on optical information processing, optoelectronics, optical fiber and optical fiber sensors in radiation environments. He coordinated Romanian participation to intercomparisons projects organized by NIST, the Laser Centrum Hanover, and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt.

Optical fibre based sensors constitute an exciting alternative to classical optical and/or electric sensors as they provide several exceptional advantages: small dimensions; low mass and footprint; multiplexing capabilities (temporal, wavelength); immunity to various hazards (fire, explosions) and electromagnetic interferences; extended communication bandwidth; possibility to handle multi parameter distributed configurations with remote control. Of a special interest is the use of intrinsic or extrinsic optical fibre sensors under irradiation conditions, as their performances in such environments has to be evaluated in relation (i) to their radiation reliability (how well they keep their basic characteristics unaltered by the radiation-matter interaction) or (ii) to the way they can act as radiation detectors/monitors. As radiation detectors or monitors, optical fibre sensors found their use in niche application such as: particle accelerators, synchrotron installations, free electron lasers for scientific or industrial purposes (as transducers for dose rate, total dose, beam losses, beam profiling, and reconstruction of charge particle tracks); neutron, gamma-ray, beta ray distributed dosimetry; water and soil contamination monitoring. In the medical field, optical fibre sensors were applied in the dosimetry of ionizing radiation; dosimetry in computed tomography; sterilization of instrumentation. This talk describes different types of optical fiber based sensors for radiation monitoring and dosimetry. In the introduction various radiation effects on optical fibers and optical fiber based sensors will be presented and compared. The parameters of interest for these sensors such as: Sensitivity to radiation; energy dependence; recovery/ stability; dynamic range and linearity will be discussed. Our results on the use of such sensors (intrinsic or extrinsic) in medicine, particle accelerators or synchrotrons, nuclear waste management, and distributed radiation fields mapping will be introduced.

Shien-Kuei Liaw received the PhD degree from National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan. He joined the Telecommunication Laboratories, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Taiwan. He was a visiting researcher at Bell core (now Telcordia), Red Bank, NJ, USA and a visiting Professor at University of Oxford, UK. He is now a distinguished Professor and the Director of Optoelectronics Research Center of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. He has authored and co-authored over 200 international journal articles and conference presentations. His research interests include optical communication, fiber devices and fiber sensing.

Fiber sensing has been extensively used in several areas such as petroleum mining and vibration sensing, pressure, acceleration and flow, and strain and temperature measurement in composite materials for aircraft and helicopter structures. In a fiber-laser-based fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing system, the laser cavity forms part of the FBG sensor. Therefore, changes in the FBG physical condition can be detected directly through the laser wavelength. The fiber laser sensor dynamic range is equivalent to the cavity length. So far, most of the FBG-based fiber laser sensors have been constructed using commercial optical fiber amplifiers (OFAs), resulting in a limited number of lasing wavelengths and relatively large power fluctuations among multiple lasing wavelengthsdue to the OFA homogeneous broadening effect. The semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is an ideal alternative because of its inhomogeneous broadening property, which is beneficial to stable multi-wavelength lasing with equalized powers. SOA-based lasers have other important advantages for long-distance sensing, including fast response, a manageable emission band, low cost and a simple fabrication process. We investigate multi-wavelength SOA-based linear cavity fiber lasers in this work. With the SOA gain medium, we are able to demonstrate a multi-wavelength, long distance sensing technology using simple inexpensive elements.

Photonics Research is evolving towards the development of novel functional materials to perform more complex and efficient tasks. In this way the incorporation of metal nanoparticles (MNP) in photonic devices is an interesting approach. These nanostructures present interesting properties like a localized surface plasmon polariton (LR-SPP) or high scattering cross section, which can provide new performances in fields like sensing or solar cells. For this purpose an elegant solution to integrate the MNP in photonic devices is their incorporation into a host matrix to form a nano-composite, because this synthetic multi-component material combines the properties of the nanoparticles with the technological feasibilities of the matrix. In this work the integration of MNP in organic waveguides is proposed by embedding Au MNP in epoxy novolac resist. This is a commercially available photoresist which enables patterning the nanocomposite by UV lithography. Furthermore, a method to grow the MNP inside the polymer is proposed in order to tune the plasmon resonance and the scattering of the metal nanostructures inside the patterns. Then, the nanocomposite is used as a cladding of a PMMA waveguide fabricated on a silicon platform in order to exploit the properties of the MNP in the different fields. By controlling carefully the size of the MNP it became possible to couple incident light into waveguide modes or to demonstrate sensing with the effect of the MNP in the wave guided light.

Optically pumped VECSEL attract more attention due to their advantages like low Threshold laser emission, good output beam quality, and wide power scaling. We present the realization of room temperature dual frequency VECSELs at 1550 nm, based on the single laser cavity sustaining the oscillation of two adjacent, orthogonally polarized modes. The two modes are separated by 10GHz, with output power till 12 m W per mode. The laser design essential element is a ½ VECSEL with a thermal optimized structure, enabling efficient evacuation of heat out of the gain region. The laser cavity design is optimized to obtain stable ~10GHz frequency difference, between two cross polarized modes around 1550 nm, at room temperature. The developed laser source can be used in efficient heterodyning sensors.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate photonic approaches to implement the transmission and processing of microwave signals for applications such as wireless access networks, radar and warfare systems. Three system architectures are exhibited for the photonic generation, modulation and measurement of microwave signals, respectively. System A is using birefringence effects in the high nonlinear fiber to simultaneously realize a frequency-multiplied and phase-shifted microwave signal. A microwave signal at doubled- or quadrupled-frequency with a full 2π phase shift is obtained over a frequency range from 10 GHz to 30 GHz. System B realizes high-performance optical single sideband modulation with a tunable optical carrier to sideband ratio. The proposed modulation improves evidently the transmission performance by suppressing the −1st and +2nd (or the +1st and −2nd) order sidebands. For detection, system C is an all-optical frequency measurement by using the constructive and destructive ports of a polarization-domain interferometer. The performances in terms of the frequency measurement range and measurement error are also discussed. The proposed techniques are vital to overcome the electronic bottlenecks which will satisfy the worldwide demand for higher data rate and broadband transmission.

Aziz Mina, Professor of theoretical physics at Beni Suef University in Egypt, Faculty of Science, Department of Physics. He received his Ph.D, in theoretical physics from Cairo University in Egypt 1995. He also worked as part time in American University in Cairo (1990-2000) and Misr International University in Egypt (2002- Now). His field of research in Symmetry Groups in Physics and Theory of High Tc Superconductivity. Now His work in Nanotechnology, Mesoscopic Devices, Quantum Transport in Quantum Dot, Spinotronics, Nanostructure and Naomaterials, Carbon Nanotube and Graphene.

Mass detection of molecules using single layer graphene sheet is investigated in the present paper. A nanoelectromechanical system resonator device is proposed which is modeled as Single Layer Graphene coupled to electronic transport through such device via two metallic leads. The conductance of such device is deduced by solving Eigen value differential equation. The influence of both photon energy of an induced ac-field and magnetic field are taken into consideration. The present results show that both the resonant frequency shift and the quality factor are very sensitive to mass consideration. Also, the photon energy of the induced ac-field enhances the sensitivity of these parameters. The present research is very important for detecting the mass of both chemical and biomolecules.

Ioannis Sianoudis, Professor of physics at Educational Institute of Technology (TEI) of Athens, Department of Optics & Optometry.He received his Doctor title (Dr.rer.nat) from University of Bremen, Germany and is currently Head of Department of Optics & Optometry. His research interests includes applications of diverse spectroscopic methods as NMR, optical spectroscopy, XRF and Laser applications in materials, heritage objects and biological systems. His interest and scientific work expands also in subjects deals with the didactic and pedagogical approach of the physics education, especially of the physics, educational experiments with newer technology and methodic.

Photodynamic therapy is a noninvasive therapy for non-melanoma skin cancer. Photodynamic therapy involves the activation of a photosensitizing drug by visible light to produce activated oxygen species within target cells, resulting in their destruction. In addition to its therapeutic uses, optical spectroscopy is a helpful tool to prove the efficacy of PDT. It provides information on the distribution and degradation of sensitizers at the tumor’s treatment area, the formation of fluorescent photoproducts, changes in tissue autofluorescence, light absorption and scattering in tissue induced by photodynamic treatment.
In this project photodynamic therapy (PDT) with topical application of methyl 5-aminolevulinate was used to treat non-melanoma skin cancer and actinic keratosis. The interval between the photosensitizer application and illumination was 3 h. The incident light dose was mostly 75 J cm−2, at ~635 nm wavelength. An imaging system was used to monitor spectroscopic signals during the PDT of tumors to display the localization and extension of skin tumors and to check therapy effectiveness. The spectra were classified and compared to histopathology to evaluate the efficiency in diagnostic discrimination employing optical spectroscopic techniques. Our findings indicate the potential of combination of PDT and spectroscopy as a reporter of treatment outcome. Further work is under way, in order to establish optimal treatment schemes.