GRAIL · Single Frequency Laser Inside a Crystal

At a time when the climate emergency and an ever growing energy-demanding population are major issues facing the world, it is clearer than ever that new integrated sensing technologies are needed to: (1) locally adapt to climate change (by monitoring and preventing environmental catastrophes) and (2) globally mitigate it (by developing the future greener technologies which will require from advanced self-monitoring system integrated sensors).State-of-the-art heterogeneous silicon photonics or plasmonics cannot withstand real-world environments and must be carefully protected; this leading to the question: Will it be possible to foresee a nanophotonic technology capable of withstanding extreme environments?GRAIL will explore a new 3D nanofabrication approach for embedding monolithic nanophotonic sensors inside harsh-environment resistant crystals, such as for example in the protective layer of a smart watch or on unmanned vehicles and remote monitoring systems.GRAIL is meant to develop novel single-frequency nanophotonic lasers (SFL) for future extreme-environment resistant sensors. This new type of laser will merge for the 1st time concepts from so far disconnected optical fields: photonic crystal fibers, semiconductor lasers, and rare-earth doped solid-state lasers. This leap will be enabled by the 3D-laser nanofabrication process recently discovered by the Host Supervisor, as well as by the expertise of the ER in SFLs for next-generation gravitational-wave detectors. GRAIL will also tackle the transfer of this technology to an award-winning EU-company on ultrafast laser fabrication.GRAIL will provide a high-quality training to the ER in nanophotonics, 3D-laser nanolithography, IPR & technology transfer whereas the Host will greatly benefit from the creation of a new international research field. The EU Industrial Partner will benefit from acquiring first-hand knowledge on the innovative SFL nanophotonic technology, an its mass-produccion studies.