White Paper Photonics Switzerland
Industry and science jointly recommend a funding focus "TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER PHOTONICS" for Switzerland's national research programs. The White Paper Photonics Switzerland (co-authored by Ursula Keller) will be distributed to policy-makers and industry representatives, starting today.
external page Link to NCCR MUST News
Download Download white paper (PDF, 5 MB)
Ultrafast - or ultra-short pulse - laser technology is dramatically impacting many areas of photonics, from basic science to industrial manufacturing and biomedicine. The design and performance of the lasers behind these applications will be critical for creating new applications and opening new market opportunities.
The current and future impact of ultrafast lasers was also recognised with the 2018 European Inventor Lifetime Achievement Award (Link).
At ETH Zurich the next generation laser research requires better infrastructure and we therefore have proposed the creation of a new shared technology platform at ETH Zurich.
Shared technology platforms make sense for a professor when they …
• enable experiments that go beyond the possibilities of a single professorship in terms of complexity, know-how, and resources
• allow to tackle truly interdisciplinary problems that go beyond the boundaries of individual departments
• allow groups to collaborate on science and technology developments, sharing the burden of operating their key enabling technology and acquiring the relevant know-how
• facilitate entry of young researchers (e.g., ERC grantees, young fellows, assistant professors) into “equipment-heavy” science
• enable education of students from different departments
• Well-accepted example at ETH Zurich: cleanroom facilities
FIRST Lab, www.first.ethz.ch
• Proposed for ultrafast lasers at ETH Zurich
FAST Lab, www.fastlab.ethz.ch