The goal of the NewILUMIS project is to develop a new functional material based on a layered ceramic associated with a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) structure and a mesoporous topcoat as an innovative photonic component for lighting/sensing. In other words, the essence of the project is to develop a device that will be both a light source and a sensor!
How will this be achieved? The surface of the multilayer ceramic phosphor is covered with a special mesoporous coating containing glass-gold nanospheres. It is thanks to the interaction of the light wave with appropriately shaped dielectric-metallic particles that we obtain the effect of surface plasmon resonance. Modifications of the geometry of metallic structures and the parameters of the dielectric matrix allow for proper tuning to the frequency of electronic transitions of rare-earth ions, which are the active element of ceramics, and as a result, increasing the sensitivity of the system to ‘captured’ particles.
As a result, a new photonic component will be created with great application potential, including environmental protection, medical diagnostics, and water contamination detection – says Anna Kozłowska, Ph.D. D.Sc., Eng. the NewILUMIS project leader.
The spectrum of the new light source will be “sensitive” to, for example, dangerous water pollutants such as Pb2 + and Cu2 +, contributing to the creation of a portfolio of products useful in environmental protection.
The consortium working on the NewILUMIS project consists of:
🔸 Łukasiewicz – Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics, Poland
🔸 Institute of Research for Ceramics, France
🔸 Warsaw University of Technology, Poland
🔸 Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, Germany
🔸 Teknosystem Sp. z o.o., Poland
Last but not least: the creation of a demonstrator at the Fraunhofer IKTS Institute developed as part of the lighting-sensory component project, by producing a complete, hermetically sealed device, is an important step towards commercialization of the project results. The way it works is tested by an industrial partner – Teknosystem sp. z o.o.