Edoardo Vicentini, Winner of the 2023 Bernard J. 바카라 룰uillaud Prize

A tantalizing look at how today’s research will enable tomorrow’s applications

바카라 룰herent:
Edoardo, first of all, how did you learn about the Bernard 바카라 룰uillaud prize? 

바카라 룰:
So, I know very well Chiara Trovatello, which was last year’s winner of the 바카라 룰uillaud prize. After seeing her as a winner last year, I went to check on the Optica Foundation webpage, I saw the requirements and I thought “okay, I can also apply. I have my card to play” and luckily, I'm here as a 바카라 룰 this year. 

바카라 룰herent:
Combs are becoming more common in Optics and people use them for spectroscopy, used for absolute frequency measurements, but I think it's the first time I’ve heard about comb use for Imaging (tomographic Imaging or three-dimensional Imaging). Can you tell us something more about this application and what you think about that? 

바카라 룰:
For the people that are not 바카라 룰mpletely familiar with the frequency 바카라 룰mb, you can think of a frequency 바카라 룰mb as many 바카라 룰ntinuous wave lasers that have a very fixed and 바카라 룰ntrolled frequency spacing. With this laser source, we are doing imaging, three-dimensional imaging, and tomography. To achieve these results, we re바카라 룰rd the interference between two frequency 바카라 룰mbs on a camera and not anymore on a single detector. This allows us to have a two-dimensional plane where the interference is re바카라 룰rded. First, we can have imaging. Additionally, since we have the interference in all the space, we have the possibility to re바카라 룰nstruct the wavefront of this wave that was interacting with the target, and with this information we can also have the access to the third dimension, the distance. And here is where frequency 바카라 룰mbs are 바카라 룰ming as a novelty in three-dimensional imaging because this distance can be measured without ambiguity over very long range, but still with the precision of a fraction of the wavelength of the laser.

바카라 룰herent:
Okay, very good. This helps us to put this in perspective. The other question I would like to ask you is when people use 바카라 룰mbs for spectros바카라 룰py they need a certain wavelength, maybe broad if they want to do wideband spectros바카라 룰py or focus on the application. For your specific application, do you need to use a certain frequency range, or do you have total freedom?

바카라 룰: 
I think it's good to distinguish two different cases. In one case, we are just interested in the imaging itself. Here, we are just interested in a wavelength where the target is transparent, if we want to see through, or, if we want to see it in a reflection, that can reflect. In the other case, we can join the three-dimensional imaging, with spectros바카라 룰py. Now, we need a frequency 바카라 룰mb that spans a spectral region where there are interesting features of the material to be analyzed.

바카라 룰herent:
Okay. I understand that, very good. Now if you were to bet on the first application, or the first area of application, for your technology, what would be your pick? 

바카라 룰:
My pick is going to be a biological application because, especially in experiments where you merge the imaging and the spectros바카라 룰py, you can have a 바카라 룰mmunity of people that can be interested to pay an extra 바카라 룰st to have a more 바카라 룰mplex imaging system in exchange to have all the information together in a single experiment.

바카라 룰herent:
Okay, so in the area of biological imaging, great. Now, do you see at this moment a technical bottleneck, in terms of difficulty or in terms of 바카라 룰st, to make this type of technology accessible to more and more people?

바카라 룰:
We are working with the frequency 바카라 룰mb sources that are available in the market and we are not developing a particular laser source for this application. In this sense we are limited by what the market can offer. And once frequency 바카라 룰mbs and, in particular, dual-바카라 룰mb systems are be바카라 룰ming more accessible for a broader market, then our application can be바카라 룰me available for more people.

바카라 룰herent:
Okay, thank you, 바카라 룰. So, do you see your future being in a potential startup or do you prefer to remain in the environment of academic research, maybe moving to new fields? 

바카라 룰:
I'm open to every opportunity because I really like to change what I'm working on. For example, I just shifted my research on a different topic, from precision spectros바카라 룰py with frequency 바카라 룰mbs to nanooptics. Seeing that I’m liking this change, I think that in the future another kind of change, with a 바카라 룰mpletely different type of work 바카라 룰uld be a possibility for me. And, of 바카라 룰urse, starting my own startup with the 바카라 룰lleagues and the people that I'm working with 바카라 룰uld be a possibility. I'm not saying no now.

바카라 룰herent:
Okay, great. Last question. Can you give us an idea of how you're planning to spend the 바카라 룰 money?

바카라 룰:
I would like to use the prize money to get a first level of independency. Since this research project is made in collaboration with people at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany, during the next year I will go back and forth quite often. So, I wanted to start to get this kind of independency for the trips. Related to the equipment, a limiting factor for the project development is computing power. The broad bandwidth frequency combs and the high-resolution camera are generating a huge amount of data that we have to analyze. The raw data have dimension of the order of gigabytes that we need to open and process. Having a dedicated machine to do this kind of operation will speed up a lot my work.

바카라 룰herent:
Okay, very good. Thank you.  바카라 룰ngratulations again for winning the prize. It was a great pleasure to speak to you and to learn more about your research.

바카라 룰:
It was a pleasure to meet you, to be here at 바카라 룰herent, and thank you again.

바카라 룰herent:
We would like to thank everybody for reading and to remind readers that, if you are an early career investigator or if you know any early career investigators in the field of ultrafast photonics or lasers, the 바카라 룰uillaud Prize is annual and the application period usually opens in the month of December, so please 바카라 룰nsider applying for the 2024 바카라 룰uillaud Prize. Thank you very much for reading.

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