OPTIcal liMIting and SwiTching with nanoscale photonic structures (OPTIMIST)

Current solutions against laser threats are limited to fixed wavelength filters, and they are bulky and narrowband in their protection. Moreover, frequency agile lasers have the potential of defeating fixed filters, and broadband filters are severely plagued by low transmittance. This underscores the need for further research in novel technologies for eye and sensors protection. Our team is committed to realize a novel class of self-activating optical limiting and switching devices, with large angular acceptance and bandwidth, fast response and reset times and high laser damage threshold. To achieve such devices we will research new concept devices, based on metallic and dielectric photonic resonators (thin-film multilayers and nanoparticles) incorporating phase-change materials (PCMs), such as vanadium oxide.