HOPES theme tackles the challenges driven by the vision of the future Internet of Things and the M2M communication world, in an area of research combining microwaves and optical approaches.
The general goal is to advance the state of art of electronic and photonic components that are expected to have a large impact in the development of cyber-physical and smart systems. Activities aim at providing new knowledge and innovative solutions for embedded and autonomous systems, where interconnected objects will be able to communicate and interact with their environment. Interdisciplinary research, combining these advancements with chemical or biological principles opens up further exciting opportunities for environmental sensing, smart health or biological systems.
For this purpose, research activity spans a wide area, investigating materials, devices and systems for applications where electromagnetism energy plays a crucial role: communication networks, embedded systems, sensing, imaging, biology… The activities cover the core-building blocks of electrical and optical engineering, from in-depth understanding of physical phenomena and material properties, to the development of new concepts, novel modeling techniques, fabrication technology, testing, and validation on a prototype.
HOPES draws on the expertise of four teams investigating complementary aspects of electronics and photonics to address needs in miniaturized, multi-functional and low-power building blocks enabling their further integration into networked components and intelligent systems. Research in these areas takes benefit from the growing convergence between optical and electronic studies and their cross-fertilization through a common application field. Furthermore, emerging nanotechnologies reinforce the opportunities to build a common vision of systemic integration, based on the implementation of generic technologies enabling the heterogeneous integration of electronic and photonic devices into smart systems. HOPES investigates new fabrication technologies at the forefront of advanced nanotechnologies and emphasizes interdisciplinary research that connects these technological developments to alternative device concepts and societal needs.
The HOPES theme federates the activity of 4 research teams :