Nonlinear and Electro-Optical Materials

We combine selected activities related to the research into the properties of nonlinear optical materials and electro-optical and electromechanical materials. The main objective of our research is the discovery of new principles and natural causations and the study of physical phenomena in which optical materials react with a static or quasi-static electric field and mechanical effects. Our focus is primarily on ferroelectric monocrystals and transparent ferroelectric ceramics. Sophisticated instruments for suppressing vibrations in optical systems, adaptive optics systems, and systems for generating higher harmonics are examples of a relevant application in this category.

Team and equipment

• a team with considerable experience of simulations covering static as well as dynamic response and linear as well as nonlinear systems including modal and frequency analysis
• students whose dissertations and master´s theses address issues such as refractive index distribution modelling and optical wave propagation through nonlinear optical materials, development of measurement methods for the characterization of spatial refractive index distribution in nonlinear optical materials, experimental methods for transparent piezoelectric thin film application, or deformable mirror design
• mathematical analysis software such as Matlab, Wolfram Mathematica, COMSOL Multiphysics, or Virtual Lab
• electrotechnical facilities and optical equipment for the design of measurement arrangements such as holographic microscopy or tomography

Activities

We perform fundamental material research in the following areas:

• research into optical, dielectric, and electromechanical properties of ferroelectric domain structures, using numerical simulations based on a so-called phase-field model
• methods for simulation of optical wave propagation in ferroelectric materials
• experimental methods for the characterization of refractive index distribution in nonlinear optical materials by means of digital holographic microscopy and tomography
• experimental methods for the characterization of domain structures in ferroelectric materials based on the measurement of nonlinear macroscopic dielectric response
• research, development, design, and fabrication of composite structures with piezoelectric or electrostrictive materials, development of control electronics and control algorithms for application in adaptive optics, production of deformable mirrors and systems with spatially tunable optical length
• numerical simulations of complex systems using the final elements method

Projects

• Adaptive acoustic metasurfaces for active control of the sound field
• Planar acoustic metamaterials with active control of acoustic impedance PDF (0.5 MB)
• Digital holographic tomography of ferroelectric domain walls PDF (0.7 MB)

Cooperation

We closely cooperate with research institutions in the Czech Republic and abroad, for example Technical University in Liberec, Czech Technical University in Prague (Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering), Fraunhofer Institute (Germany), National Taiwan University (Taiwan), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne – EPFL (Switzerland), Technical University of Dresden (Germany), CIS Institut für Mikrosensorik (Germany).

Contact

prof. Ing. Pavel Mokrý, Ph.D. 
Tel.: +420 487 953 903 
Email: mokry@ipp.cas.cz