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A multidisciplinary team of researchers from Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê has recently published work that provides essential analytical models and experimental tools for the development of Luminescent Solar ConcentratorsÌýfor use in high-speed optical sensing and communication applications.

Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSCs) are a technology that offers an unprecedented ability to collect,Ìýconcentrate andÌýdirectÌýlight to a desired location. These properties have,Ìýto date,Ìýmade LSCs an excellent candidate for the large-area harvesting of light in applications such as renewable energy.

Recently, these beneficial characteristics of LSCs have made them a promising candidate for use in free-space optical-communications, however, an LSC's ability to preserve high-speed variations in the properties of the received light must be understood and optimised for successful integration in applications such as LIDAR, LiFi and optical Signal Processing.

As a photonic based technology, LSCs utiliseÌýfluorescence, the absorption and reemission of photons,Ìýto trapÌýlight inÌýthe hostÌýmaterial. Trapped light is then able to travel long distances within the materials, similar to propagation of light within an optical fibre.

The slow timescales of fluorescence eventsÌýand multiple reabsorptions of photons can have a detrimental impact on maintaining the high-speed variation in light utilised for communication applications.

PublishingÌýin the nature journal, Light: Science andÌýApplications, the team of researchers, including members of the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Institute of Communications and Connected Systems (ICCS),ÌýexploreÌýtheseÌýdynamic effects of LSCs and associated systems, an area of work that to date has had little focus from the community.

The team's work has provided essential theoretical and experimental tools to fully understand these dynamic processes within LSCs, unlocking their potential for the entire community.Ìý

Speaking about the impact of the work, lead author Dr Mark Portnoi said:

"We can now model large scale systems, predicting and optimising their properties without even fabricating the devices.ÌýThe impact should see substantially reduced development cycles at lower costs, accelerating advances and innovations in the area.

"In our group alone we expect to explore the work for applications inÌýhigh-speed, wide-field-of-view optical detectors;Ìýoptical signal processing;ÌýLIDAR and real-time sensors, to name just a few."

To enable the success of the work required a multi-university and multi-disciplinary team. Within ICCS,Ìýphotonic applications expertise wereÌýprovided by Professor Ioannis Papakonstantinou, head of the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Photonic Innovations lab, along with members of his group.ÌýProfessor Izzat Darwazeh, director of ICCS provided expertise on communication system design and modelling.Ìý

The team also included the groups of Dr Thomas MacDonald from Imperial College London,ÌýDr Paul Haigh from Newscastle University, and Prof Ivan Parkin of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Chemistry.

Speaking on the multidisciplinary effort and impact of the work Professor Papakonstantinou, head of the PhotonicÌýInnovations lab in the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, said:

"Luminescent Solar Concentrators are complex photonics systems which only recently we have started understanding properly. Harnessing their full potential requires collaboration across many interdisciplinary areas: photonics, electronics, chemistry and material synthesis.

"Our work here is testament to the collaborative approach all of our colleagues take to their work and the importance of engaging outside of our respective fields to enable innovation."Ìý

The publication was a result of work supported by the EPSRC project MARVEL, an EPSRC Doctoral Training Award and the European Research Council Starting Grant IntelGlazing.ÌýÌý

Links

• Professor Ioannis Papakonstantinou's Profile
• Professor Izzat Darwazeh's Profile
• MARVEL Project