Laboratory of Optics / Photonics

Video summary

Inside the Optics / Photonics Laboratory

In this six-minute tour, Fernando Ramiro-Manzano introduces the Optics / Photonics Laboratory at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ, UPV-CSIC). The visit begins with its two optical tables and supporting infrastructure, such as water cooling for high-power equipment, an uninterruptible power supply, workbenches for sample preparation and electronic adjustments, a microscope for initial inspection, and equipment preserved for repair or reuse.

The laboratory stores materials and components such as samples, electrical probes, cables, microscope objectives, lenses, filters, mirrors, optical fibres and optomechanical parts used to assemble experiments. On the main optical table, researchers prepare, condition and measure light using sources such as lasers and a broadband supercontinuum source. Optical elements such as diffraction gratings separate spectral components from the visible to the near- and mid-infrared. Depending on the experiment, light can undergo processes such as polarization, phase modulation, chopping, spatial shaping or self-interference. When commercial devices do not meet the required conditions, custom components and setups are developed.

Samples, objectives and electrical probes can be positioned with nanometre-scale control and observed through different camera systems. The signals collected from several angles include phenomena such as reflection, transmission, scattering and emission. The tour also introduces connected instrumentation, such as lock-in amplifiers, laser drivers, signal conditioners, oscilloscopes, temperature and detector controllers, and computers used for acquisition and control.

If you would like to visit the laboratory in person, practical information and directions are available on the About page.

Special thanks to Roberto Fenollosa Esteve.