SPARK · Spatiotemporal photonic technologies

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Project objective

Light is at the heart of today’s information technologies. Optical fibres carry the internet, and photonic integrated circuits link light with electronic computing. As data traffic, AI, autonomous systems and 6G networks grow, they demand photonic hardware that can control light far faster and more efficiently than today’s mostly static components. Without new approaches capable of ultrafast, reconfigurable operation, progress in computing, communication and quantum technologies will slow down. Meeting these challenges requires a shift toward systems that control light in both space and time.SPARK responds to this need by combining spatiotemporal metamaterials with spatiotemporally structured light. Together, these allow programmable optical responses with control over frequency, phase, momentum, polarization, and angular momentum at ultrafast speeds. SPARK DN will educate 15 Doctoral Candidates to become Europe’s first cohort of researchers able to work across ultrafast optics, metamaterials, nanophotonics, inverse design, quantum electrodynamics, and advanced fabrication. Through international mobility, joint supervision, and industrial secondments, the DCs will gain experience linking fundamental research to real-world technologies. The research and training activities run in parallel across three connected areas: developing spatiotemporal metamaterials and their theoretical foundations; generating and controlling spatiotemporal light fields with metasurfaces and photonic crystals; and demonstrating early technologies for ultrafast computing, imaging, and communication. This coordinated structure ensures that DCs learn to collaborate across disciplines and integrate theory, design, and experiment.SPARK’s combination of scientific innovation and structured doctoral education equips the network to train researchers capable of driving Europe’s advancement in next-generation digital systems, sustainable technological development, and sovereign photonic solutions.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVEN · EindhovenCoordinatorNetherlands
• HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS A/S · BIRKERODDenmark
• IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE · LondonUnited Kingdom
• INESC MICROSISTEMAS E NANOTECNOLOGIAS - INSTITUTO DE ENGENHARIA DE SISTEMAS E COMPUTADORES PARA OS MICROSISTEMAS E AS NANOTECNOLOGIAS · LisboaPortugal
• INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO · LisboaPortugal
• INTERNATIONAL IBERIAN NANOTECHNOLOGY LABORATORY · BragaPortugal
• INTERUNIVERSITAIR MICRO-ELECTRONICA CENTRUM · LeuvenBelgium
• JCMWAVE GMBH · BerlinGermany
• Menditech, Sensores de Fibra Óptica, S.L. · PamplonaCity levelSpain
• NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNO · Den HaagNetherlands
• NIREOS SRL · MilanoItaly
• PICADVANCED, SA · ILHAVOPortugal
• PICOSUN OY · EspooFinland
• ULTRAFAST INNOVATIONS GMBH · Garching bei MunchenCity levelGermany
• UMEA UNIVERSITET · UMEASweden
• UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE MADRID · MadridSpain
• UNIVERSIDAD PUBLICA DE NAVARRA · PamplonaSpain
• UNIVERSITE DE NAMUR · NamurBelgium

Links

• View on CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101310184