Integrated Optics & Sensing

Contact: matthieu.roussey@uef.fi
Find all the group members on UEFconnect

We create novel components, methods, and devices by exploring new possibilities and different aspects of conventional and unconventional systems… What if there was no limit?

By combining the computing power of CSC with the cleanroom facilities of UEF and our dedicated lab, we design, fabricate, and characterize customized photonic integrated circuit from fundamentals to prototypes.

More information about our research topics is given below.

Research topics

Fabrication processes development – Pushing the limits

Using UEF’s clean room facilities we are developing new processes and methods to achieve ultra-high control on the micro and nanostructures we need. Our goal is to control the field’s location inside waveguides, manage the polarization during the propagation, and understand the modes formed in the waveguides.

Atomic layer deposition for high quality material deposition, gradient index material deposition, multilayers.
Electron beam lithography for precise nano-structuration, grey scale exposure is used to control the cross section of the waveguides in a free form manner.
3D optical printing promotes high integration level of our chips with optical fiber, fluidic cells, and other external devices.

Smart waveguides – Developing new waveguides and micro/nano structures for easier integration

Working on strip-loaded platforms offers multiple degrees of freedom for the materials, the structures (shape and size), and reduce considerably the losses in an easy way. It enables working at all scales on nearly flat or curved substrates.

Multiple platforms: silicon, silicon nitride, glass, lithium niobate, ALD-materials, polymers.
New platforms for visible wavelengths – going towards mesoscopic photonics for fast photonics computing.
Active photonic glass waveguides platform: collaboration with Laeticia Petit (Tampere) and Jean-Emmanuel Broquin (Grenoble France).
Milli-micro- and nano-structures on waveguides with active control of their properties.

Dielectric surface waves – Harvesting dielectric surface waves for the highest sensitivity

Dielectric surface waves have the potential for long-distance propagation through TE or TM polarization. We explore this field with the aim of integration in photonic integrated circuits.

Long-term collaboration with Politecnico di Torino (Italy) and FEMTO-ST institute (France).
Single emitter coupling.
Pulse/CW regimes.
Full control of the SW generation using diffractive optical elements, high quality fabrication.
SW on non-flat surfaces (sphere, fibers, random surfaces).

Microplastics and environmental sensing – Applications for big challenges

Pollutants and their detections are very important for environmental sustainability. In the group we focus our applications mainly on detecting and identifying microplastics in water and atmospheric sensing.

Atmospheric sensing (Academy of Finland/UEF PROFI 6): detection of terpenoids to prevent forest fires.
MP detection (PREIN mini project, Co-innovation Business Finland CEIWA, EU-RIA IBAIA).
Telecom “tools” for other applications.
National and international industrial collaborations.

Members

GROUP LEADER:

Prof. Matthieu Roussey
Waveguides, micro- and nanostructures, sensors, photonic crystals, imaging and microscopy, spectroscopy

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

Dr. Tianlong Guo
Micro and nanostructured surfaces, metamaterials and metasurfaces – Design, fabrication, characterization

Dr. Ana Gebejes
Environmental monitoring, hyperspectral imaging

Dr. Isaac Doughan
Smart sensors on advanced integrated optics platforms

DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

Ebere Onah
Design and fabrication of active waveguides

Antonin Patricio-Gomez
Smart photonic chips and advanced active devices

Janvit Tippinit
Uncommon application of arrayed waveguides

Olli Ovaskainen (in collaboration with Dispelix)
Arbitrary shaped waveguides

Sidra Muntaha (in collaboration with VTT)
Grating out-couplers on thick silicon platform for LiDAR applications

Fangfang Li
Fabrication of hybrid waveguide for environmental monitoring

Evellyn Santos Magalhaes (in collaboration with TAU)
Upconversion in active photonic glasses

MASTER STUDENTS and INTERNSHIPS 2024-2025

Ayda Nasiri
Surface wave-assisted single molecule detection

Abdullah Mahmood
High-resolution HSI of microplastics by image fusion

Nina Leinonen
Hyperspectral imaging of microplastics in different water matrices

Alexis Marconnet
Multi-pixels gratings for selective spectral imaging

Selected recent bibliography

I. Doughan, K. Oyemakinwa, O. Ovaskainen, M. Roussey, “Strip-loaded Mach-Zehnder interferometer for absolute refractive index sensing,” Sci. Rep. 14:3064 (2024).
S. T. Muntaha, A. Hokkanen, M. Harjanne, M. Cherchi, P. Suopajärvi, P. Karvinen, M. Pekkarinen, M. Roussey, and T. Aalto, “3D Printed Lenses for Vertical Beam Collimation of Optical Phased Arrays,” 3D printing and additive manufacturing, 11 (3), e1227-e1234 (2024) DOI: 10.1089/3dp.2022.0314.
J. Tippinit, M. Kuittinen, M. Roussey, “Hybrid graphene-silicon arrayed waveguide gratings for controlled on-chip spectrometry,” Photonics 11, 302 (2024)
B. Hrovat, E. Uurasjärvi, A. Koistinen, K. Peiponen, M. Roussey, M. Viitala, “Preparation of Synthetic Micro- and Nanoplastics for Method Validation Studies,” Science of The Total Environment 925, 17182 (2024)
A. L. Asilevi, E. Descrovi, H. Pesonen, M. Roussey, and J. Turunen, “Multiple Bloch surface wave excitation with gratings,” Journal of the European Society: Rapid publication 20(1) (2024).
D. Le, A. Ranta-Lassila, T. Sipola, M. Karppinen, J. Petäjä, M. Kehusmaa, S. Aikio, T.-L. Guo, M. Roussey, J. Hiltunen, and A. Popov, “High-performance portable grating-based surface plasmon resonance sensor using a tunable laser at normal incidence,” Photonics Research 12(5) 947-958 (2024).
I. Doughan, A. Halder, A.L. Asilevi, M. Roussey, J. Turunen, E. Descrovi, Erica Mogni, Paolo Biagioni, Michele Celebrano, “Temporal and spectral signatures of the interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and Bloch surface waves,” APL Photonics 9, 046106 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0183704
A. Gebejes, B. Kanyathare, B. Hrovat, D. Semenov, T. Itkonen, M. Keinänen, A. Koistinen, K.-E. Peiponen, M. Roussey, “Hyperspectral imaging of irregular-shaped microplastics in water,” Science of The Total Environment 944, 173811 (2024).
D. Le, M. Kreivi, S. Aikio, N. Heinilehto, T. Sipola, J. Petäjä, T.-L. Guo, M. Roussey, and J. Hiltunen, “Surface plasmon polariton enhanced upconversion luminescence for biosensing applications,” Nanophotonics 13(21), 3995-4006 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2024-0247
Z. Tang, T. Guo, Y. Augenstein, A. Troia, Y. Liu, M. Roussey, C. Rockstuhl, and E. Descrovi, “Coupling light into a guided Bloch surface wave using an inversely designed nanophotonic cavity,” App. Phys. Lett., 125 (18) (2024)
I. Doughan, A. Adler, I. Reduto, T. Aalto, M. Koivurova, M. Roussey, J. Turunen, “Modal strength of multi-mode channel waveguide determination using wavefront folding interferometer,” Scientific Reports 14:28665 (2024)
A. Ranta-Lassila, D. Le, T. Sipola, M. Karppinen, J. Petäjä, M. Kehusmaa, S. M. Aikio, T.-L. Guo, M. Roussey, J. A. Hiltunen, A. P. Popov, “Stress biomarker detection with a grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance sensor,” Opt. Engineering 63(11), 117103 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.63.11.117103
S. T. Muntaha, A. Hokkanen, M. Harjanne, M. Cherchi, P. Suopajärvi, P. Karvinen, M. Pekkarinen, M. Roussey, T. Aalto, “Optical beam steering and distance measurement experiments through optical phased array (OPA) for long-range LiDAR applications,” accepted to Optics Express (2024).