The research and development activities carried out within the EMPhASys laboratory involve not only professors and researchers, but also undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students in engineering. The main research areas in which Bachelor's and Master's theses, funded research projects, and scientific publications are developed for sensing, environmental, healthcare, ICT and telecommunications applications include:
Theoretical and numerical investigation, experimental fabrication, and characterization of photonic and optoelectronic devices and microsystems based on optical waveguides, optical fibers, and free-space optics, including structures employing liquid crystals, composite materials, and polymers on glass and silicon substrates.
Electro-optically controlled photonic structures.
Optically controlled nonlinear photonic structures.
Channel waveguide devices on glass and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platforms.
Reconfigurable micro-optofluidic devices based on liquid crystals, PDMS, and SU-8.
Integrated waveguide-based lab-on-chip platforms for biosensing applications.
Waveguide biosensors incorporating plasmonic nanostructures and metamaterials.
High-efficiency, low-cost solar cells based on amorphous/crystalline silicon heterostructure technology.
Mechatronic systems for automatic control in space and satellite applications, with a particular focus on environmental monitoring.
MEMS and MOEMS devices and systems for biomedical applications.
Microcontroller-based programmable electronic circuits and embedded systems.
Electronic sensors and systems for environmental monitoring, civil engineering, healthcare, and information and communication technology (ICT) applications.