Jerome Wenger NanoBioPhotonics

Two positions are currently open with funding from China Scholarship Council CSC and Groupe Ecoles Centrales GEC-CSC:

- One for a PhD: "Optically-controlled thermal nanotweezers to manipulate single nano-objects"

- One for a postdoc: "Deep UV optical nanoantennas to enhance the ultraviolet autofluorescence of single proteins"

Find them on the https://gec-csc.fr/ website with application form, section Natural & Life sciences: Physics & Astronomy. Application deadline January 10 2024!

We're thrilled to introduce the latest addition to our research family, Hamza Khelidj! Hamza joins our team with a passion for nanoscience and a keen interest in the development of zero-mode waveguide nanoapertures.

Hamza's expertise in nanofabrication promises to be a game-changer in our ongoing quest for cutting-edge research and innovation. We're excited to see the incredible contributions that Hamza will make to our team and to the field of nanoscience as a whole. Together, we're destined to create a future filled with breakthroughs and discoveries.

We are pleased to announce the arrival of  Xinyu Fang, who will be joining us as a PhD student for the next four years with CSC-Centrale funding. She will be working with us on a research project on ultraviolet autofluorescence imaging.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Xinyu and encourage you to reach out to her with any questions or for collaboration opportunities.

In a recent breakthrough, the journal Communication Physics published a study titled "Experimental evidence of Förster energy transfer enhancement in the near field through engineered metamaterial surface waves." This research delves into the intriguing interplay between surface plasmons and Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET), shedding light on a relatively unexplored phenomenon.

Through microwave experiments, the study reveals that by exciting surface waves on a specialized metasurface, FRET can be greatly enhanced in the near-field region. In essence, this means that energy transfer between two emitters, when separated by distances smaller than the wavelength of light, can be efficiently controlled.

The key to this breakthrough lies in the metasurface—a carefully designed interface that can regulate dipole-dipole energy transfer. By harnessing metamaterials, researchers crafted this metasurface to act as a conduit for precise FRET manipulation.

The implications of this discovery are vast and hold the potential to impact various fields from advanced lighting to photovoltaics.

Within our new ERC Proof of Concept project “PrintNano4Fluo”, we aim at bridging the technological gap between nanophotonics and single molecule fluorescence techniques. Our vision is to develop a cost-effective and scalable nanofabrication technique to produce nanophotonics devices with high optical performance. These nanophotonic devices will be further used by our group and our scientific collaborator worldwide to further advance biophysics studies focusing on single molecules.

To strengthen our multidisciplinary team, we are seeking for a specialist of nanofabrication of nanostructures using focused ion beam milling and related methods. The selected candidate will be performing the nanofabrication using our in-house dual-beam focused ion beam FIB system (FEI db235 Strata). He/she will also be involved in sol-gel nanoimprint lithography and in the sample characterization using scanning electron microscopy and optical spectroscopy.

Bringing nanophotonics tools to the end users single molecule microscopists is a distinctive way to make a true impact in the fields of nanosciences and biophysics to break into the physical limits set by diffraction.

More info in the pdf file enclosed below. See it also on Euraxess 121712.