Centro de Ciências Ópticas e Fotônica

Abstract

I. Description and Characteristics of the Center: The Center acts in the field of Optics. It engages in three principal activities: abroadly based multi-disciplinary research program in optical physics, materials, instrumentation and applications, education and science diffusion programs involving out-reach to students of high-school age and to adults, and an industrial associates program, where the partnership with small high-tech industries in optics allows research results to be incorporated into their products. The Center has a well-established optics shop that helps to support all these activities; II. Research Activities: The Center conducts research on the nature of light-matter interactions along three distinct axes: (1) basic research at the atomic scale, investigating the physics of dilute Bose-condensed gases and atom-atom interactions in the presence of optical fields; (2) materials and instrumentation research, emphasizing those properties of materials significant for the development of new optics instrumentation, and (3) development and application of optical solutions to problems in a wider social and economic context such as medicine, dentistry, ophthalmology and agriculture. Most of the research programs developed at the Center are multi-disciplinary and involves different fields of knowledge such as chemistry, mechanical and electrical engineering, biology and others; III. Knowledge Transfer. One of the important characteristics of the Center is to spread information in the field of Optics. In order to accomplish this goal, two programs are developed: a) Education and Science Diffusion: activities involving out-reach to students of high-school age and to adults have already been developed in an ad hoc way during the past three years. Six independent, but complementary programs are directed to education and diffusion of science, mainly in the field of Optics. These programs are: a) Semóptica (a week on optics); b) science diffusion through video production and the use of local public TV; c) high-school propagator program; d) library of optics in cyberspace; e) training in optical microscope maintenance for technicians and f) scientific initiation for undergraduate students; b) Industrial Associates Program. The Optics group has already a tradition in the association with high-tech industries. Their participation at the Center is planned to take place in three different stages: a) exploratory research, where members of the center will do research in partnership with the industry, aiming to solve some industrial problem they have or to verify the viability for the development of new techniques and products; b) prototype and instrumentation development, where the development of an instrument prototype is sought, and c) commercialization, where projects developed in association with industries and already being commercialized, will have a continuous up-grading; IV. Brief Justification for the Center: overlapping interests link and stimulate the three research branches described above, and the investigators involved in them. The possibility of unifying them within the Center will amplify this natural feedback interaction and will foster an environment of mutually stimulating intellectual activity. The relative financial and administrative independence will result in an agile international exchange program, which is vital to preserve research excellence. It will also speed up the process of equipment acquisition and maintenance. On the other hand, the group has been sought by high-school students and teachers, and several other professionals due to its success with basic research and technological developments. This intense demand has compelled us to develop activities related to the community and presently we have an intense multi-disciplinary research program, as well as interaction with the productive sector, and a commitment to education and diffusion. Up to now, we have accomplished the realization of most of these activities in an ad hoc way. The establishment of a center will strengthen the present activities, intensifying the desired collaboration between basic and applied science, besides promoting the cooperation with the industrial and educational sectors; V. University Contribution: The University of Silo Paulo contributes with several items necessary to run the Center. These items include: 1) Physical space - The Center for Optical Sciences will be located in an area of approximately 1700 m2, physically divided in two sectors. The first sector has a useful area of 1400 m2, and comprises laboratories of basic and applied research, secretary, staff and student offices, reading and meeting rooms, etc. It corresponds to about one half of the three-store main Physics building, at the campus entrance. The three floors are connected by stairs in a way to provide close vicinity among researchers. The first floor comprises the laboratories of ophthalmology, nonlinear optics, laser spectroscopy of solids, atomic and molecular physics, metrology, and several facilities such as machine shop, cold air, vacuum and water supplies. There is also an annex with 140 m2 that contains laboratories of spectroscopy (Raman, luminescence, nonlinear optics, etc.). The second floor comprises laboratories dedicated to activities related to industrial developments, video production for science diffusion, applications of lasers to medicine and dentistry, and material science. The third floor comprises staff and student offices, secretary, reading and meeting rooms, computers, etc. On this floor, there is room for 27 students and 7 professors. We should mention that there are also more offices for students and professors in other parts of the same building. The second sector, with an area of approximately 300 m2 constitutes the optics shop that develops and produces high precision optical components and instruments. This is a unique facility that we had to introduce in the past to have easy access to precision optical components. It carries out activities of lapping, polishing, thin films coating, tests, etc. This facility, where 6 technicians work full-time, is well established and operates since 1985, producing our own dielectric mirrors, lenses, prisms and others; 2) Salaries - The university provides the salary for professors, technicians and secretaries, which roughly amounts to R$ 660.000,00/year. Besides, most of our graduate students have scholarships from several different agencies (CNPq, CAPES and FAPESP); 3) Equipment - The Optics Group already has several equipments that roughly amounts to about 5 million dollars. The main equipments are: several large frame Ar+/Kr+ lasers, dye lasers, Nd:YAG lasers (CW, Q-switched, mode-locked), Ti:sapphire lasers (CW and KLM), UV-VIS spectrometers, 2 Balzers evaporators, several cutting, drilling, lapping and polishing machines, etc.; 4) Other facilities - The University provides mechanics shop, graphic and cryogenic facilities besides paying electricity and water consumption, telephone, etc.