Novel technology on ultrafast and intense light pulse generation gets funded

The first FET Open Horizon 2020 grant agreement has been signed following the first cut-off of the call for proposals opened in 2014. The ULTRAQCL project proposes a new technology for ultrafast and intense light pulse generation and is the first of many more to come.

‘With the signature of the first FET Open H2020 grant agreement, the exciting research to discover emerging technologies is about to begin. In the coming days we will be signing more grant agreements with other organisations having other new and promising ideas’ says Timo Hallantie, the Head of Unit in charge of this scheme, managed by the Research Executive Agency (REA).

The ULTRAQCL project is an example of this new adventure. Ultrafast and intense light pulse generation is a technology underpinning numerous applications across the physical, chemical and biological sciences. Although there have been impressive developments in semiconductor-based devices for pulse generation in the optical range, there is a lack of such advances for the terahertz (THz) frequency range, despite proven applications in imaging, metrology and non-destructive testing.

In the ULTRAQCL project the consortium is seeking to break through this technological gap, using innovative and novel semiconductor concepts for the generation of intense and short THz pulses. Using THz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) as a foundational device and their unique ultrafast properties, they aim to achieve pulse generation that is radically beyond the current state-of-the-art.

The project will implement original schemes and apply them to key applications highlighting the potential of ultrafast QCLs as ubiquitous technology for the THz range. These applications will include gas sensing with unprecedented sensitivity and quantum optics for advanced communication systems.

Coordinated by ‘Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique’ (Laboratoire Pierre Aigrain, Ecole Normale Superieure) the ULTRAQCL project has a total budget of € 2,8 million. It will start on October 1st 2015 and the consortium is composed of five research institutions from four different EU countries.

Overall FET Open will receive 40% of the total FET (Future Emerging Technologies) budget in Horizon 2020. This scheme funds projects on ideas for radically new future technologies. The ideas should be at an early stage when there are few researchers working on a project topic. It can involve a wide range of new technological possibilities, inspired by cutting-edge science, unconventional collaborations or new research and innovation practices.