Credit: OSAKA UNIVERSITY

Photonics researchers at Osaka University in Japan are celebrating the news that they have secured seven years of funding, worth a total of ¥4.5 billion (∼$50 million), for their Photonics Advanced Research Center (PARC). The grant will help to fund a new five-storey 5,000 m2 PARC facility that is currently under construction on the University's Suita campus. The facility, due to open in early 2011, will house state-of-the-art equipment for techniques such as laser Raman microscopy, e-beam lithography and sputter deposition, and will support research in fields such as nanophotonics, imaging, sensing and biophotonics.

Satoshi Kawata, the director of PARC, said in a kick-off speech in Osaka on 13 April that an important aspect of the centre is its strong collaboration with local firms such as Mitsubishi Chemicals, Sharp, Nitto Denko, Shimadzu and IDEC, among others. Indeed, the new building will provide space for researchers from these companies through an 'industry on campus' approach, with the aim of benefiting the local economy and Japan's research capabilities.

“The aim of the programme is to promote interdisciplinary research in advanced nanophotonics and plasmonics, and to produce long-term scientific and technological innovation through collaboration between Osaka University and collaborating companies,” explained Hiroshi Iwasaki, programme manager at PARC. “PARC's scope ranges from basic research to applied science and industrial technologies, with a special focus on practical applications.”

PARC's research staff are working on projects such as the development of plasmon-enhanced Raman imaging with nanometre-scale resolution, plasmon-based biochip sensors, luminescent nanoparticle markers for biological imaging and the structural engineering of liquid crystals.

Iwasaki told Nature Photonics that the new research building is scheduled to be completed by the end of January 2011, and will feature an intelligent, energy-efficient lighting system based entirely on LEDs.