Our research is focused on the physical properties of glass and glass-ceramics for applications in photonics and optolectronics. Bulk and film materials are synthesized and investigated looking at the particular optical properties one can obtain and control by doping with active ions and crystalline nano-phases. Doped silica glass and glass-ceramics are technologically interesting for their signal amplification properties in the telecom windows, nonlinear and light-emission properties induced by dopants and crystalline nano-phases, and good optical transmission and compatibility with existent glassy-silica based devices. Fundamental aspects of the study regard the spectroscopy of rare earth ions, point defects, and wide-energy-gap nanostructures in optical hosts. Synthesis techniques have also been optimized to obtain good dispersion of active ions and crystalline nano-clusters in glass-based materials.
Research lines: