NextGenPCF Project Wraps-Up

The European project NextGenPCF for the development of next-generation photonic crystal fibers was officially closed on February 3, 2010.

Based at the Horiba Medical site, the project was launched in June 2006 as part of the European Union’s "Information Society Technologies (IST)" program. It arose from the European contribution to the field of photonic crystal optical fibers and the innovative applications that resulted.

An international consortium of 20 partners was brought together to find and develop applications in the biomedical, environmental and telecommunications fields.

Supercontinuum Spectra after beam dispersion on a grating.

In the area of phototherapy, a Raman laser based on photonic crystal fiber technology was developed to allow the treatment of tumors while avoiding the need for photosensitive chemicals.

In the cellular diagnostics field, supercontinuum sources for flow cytometry were developed to enable highly multiplex methodologies and improved identification of some pathologies.

In environmental sensing, hollow core photonic crystal fiber now replaces traditional gas cells. This fiber sensor allows long interaction lengths with high sensitivity. The light guidance is tuned to methane and is highly selective. The response time is also very fast.

Also, in the telecommunications area, a Raman booster amplifier has been developed to raise the signal power at the entry of the fiber (+40 percent) to obtain a good quality of signal reception, allowing high power transmission through data links.

Presenting at the concluding program were Jonathan Knight, professor and head of the department of physics at the University of Bath in the UK, Philippe Nerin, director of the research department of Horiba Medical in Montpellier, France, and Pierre Sansonetti, project coordinator of Draka Holding N.V., of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

For more information, visit: www.horiba.com/medical