Infrared spectroscopy (IRS)

The InfraRed Spectroscopy group (IRS group) is a research team based in the Department of Physics at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. The team is formed by university professors, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral students who collaboratively research in the IRS laboratories, located on the fourth floor of the Fermi Building at the “Dipartimento di Fisica” in the center of Rome—where both Enrico Fermi and Ettore Majorana have obtained part of their historical achievements.

The team specializes in the investigation of solid-state materials, nanostructures, and biological systems using optical spectroscopy across a broad spectral range, from the far-infrared to the mid-infrared and up to the ultraviolet. Broadband Fourier-transform spectroscopy is the main experimental tool, complemented by grating spectrometers, infrared microscopes, quantum cascade lasers and terahertz amplifier-multiplier chains.

Additionally, the IRS group collaborates with long-standing national and international partners to access infrared synchrotron radiation, single-crystal and thin-film material growth, electromagnetic simulations and nanofabrication technologies, further expanding its research capabilities.

Research Lines

Infrared
Plasmonics

Biophysics

Quantum wells

Two-dimensional semiconductors

Hyperspectral Imaging in VIS-SWIR range

Announcements

30/01/2025

Congratulations to Antonia Intze on successfully defending her PhD thesis in Life Sciences at Sapienza University of Rome! 🎉👏

01/11/2024

Congratulations to Erica Fragomeni and Maria Gambelli for starting their PhD in Mathematical Models for Engineering, Electromagnetism and Nanosciences at Sapienza University of Rome! 🎉

01/08/2024

New paper out in Nano Letters!

We combine photothermal expansion infrared (IR) nanospectroscopy with electrostatic AFM probes to measure nanometric volumes where the IR field enhancement and the static electric field overlap spatially.

30/07/2024

New paper out in IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology!

We investigated the effect of continuous-wave (CW) radiation at 0.6 THz on pathological protein aggregates of α-synuclein and TDP-43.

30/05/2024

Congratulations to Simone Sotgiu on successfully defending his PhD thesis in Physics at Sapienza University of Rome! 🎉👏

30/05/2024

Congratulations to Andrea Massi on successfully defending his PhD thesis in Physics at Sapienza University of Rome! 🎉👏

17/05/2024

Congratulations to Maria Eleonora Temperini on successfully defending her PhD thesis in Mathematical Models for Engineering, Electromagnetism and Nanosciences at Sapienza University of Rome! 🎉👏

20/10/2023

New paper out in APL!

We have developed a conductive-atomic force microscope coupled to a mid-infrared (IR) quantum cascade laser that allows to measure mid-IR photocurrent maps and spectra with nanometric spatial resolution.

21/06/2023

New paper out in PRL!

A low-energy Raman probe shows enhanced coupling between electrons and Brillouin zone boundary optical phonons in graphene near the Dirac point.

07/02/2023

New paper out in Remote Sensing as part of the Special Issue Transport Infrastructure Monitoring Based on Remote Sensing

01/01/2023

Welcome to the IRS lab to Dr. Fritz Berkmann, from University of Stuttgart, who has joined us for a postdoctoral fellowship!

17/12/2022

All our bio-colleagues have been awarded at Biocube meeting in Sestriere: best talk in biophotonics, best project contest and..winner of the spectroscopic eye challenge!

21/11/2022

New paper out in ACS Nano! Light-Matter strong coupling regime detected at the single resonator level through AFM-IR spectroscopy.

13/12/2022

New paper out in Journal of Nanobiotechnology: "Antenna-enhanced mid-infrared detection of extracellular vesicles derived from human cancer cell cultures"