Optics Laboratory

The laboratory is primarily dedicated to research activities and the development of Bachelor's and Master's thesis projects. It is also used for practical teaching sessions and laboratory exercises.

Main research activities

The laboratory's main research activities include:

• Microwave Photonics and Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) systems for next-generation mobile networks and radio astronomy applications, the latter carried out in collaboration with the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).
• Characterization of integrated electro-optic components for Microwave Photonics applications and investigation of optical fiber coupling techniques.
• Optical monitoring technologies and distributed optical fiber sensing for geothermal, electrical engineering, and civil engineering applications.

Laboratory instrumentation

• RF-Optical Probe Station equipped with: motorized sub-micrometric positioning stages for optical fiber alignment, RF probes up to 50 GHz, lensed fiber probes (FWHM approximately 2 μm) operating at 1550 nm and 850 nm, optical fiber positioners for both vertical and edge coupling, and a temperature-controlled chuck (up to 150 °C) for thermal testing.
• Optical spectral analysis: Wideband Optical Spectrum Analyzers (600–1750 nm, 70 pm resolution) and a scanning Fabry–Pérot interferometer operating at 1310 nm and 1550 nm.
• Polarization control and measurement equipment: Polarization Controller, Polarization Extinction Ratio Meter, Polarization Dependent Loss (PDL) Meter, and Polarization Synthesizer operating at 1310 nm and 1550 nm.
• Instrumentation for testing optical links and components: Variable Optical Attenuators, Optical Switches, Return Loss Meter, Optical Power Meters, and a Laser Linewidth Measurement Setup at 1310 nm.
• Optical sources and detectors: Tunable Laser (1518–1627 nm), DFB laser sources (1060 nm, 1270 nm, 1310 nm, 1330 nm, and 1550 nm), Fabry–Pérot lasers (1310 nm and 1490 nm), VCSEL sources (850–940 nm), and broadband laser sources (up to 100 nm bandwidth centered at 1550 nm).
• Components for RF signal transmission over optical fiber: External optical modulators at 1550 nm with bandwidth up to 40 GHz and broadband photodiodes (500–1630 nm) with bandwidth up to 45 GHz.
• Optical fibers: SMF-28, MMF OM3, 780HP, and polarization-maintaining (PM) fibers, with lengths ranging from a few meters to 25 km.
• Optical fiber accessories: Fusion splicer, digital microscope for optical connector inspection, and fiber cleaning kits.
• Passive fiber-optic components: Polarization beam splitters/combiners, couplers, circulators, reflectors, and other passive components operating from 850 nm to 1650 nm.
• Electrical instrumentation: DC current sources for laser diodes, voltage sources, and digital multimeters.
• RF transmission/reception testing and characterization: Spectrum Analyzer / Signal Generator and Analyzer (9 kHz–6 GHz, 31.25 MHz analysis bandwidth), Vector Network Analyzer (100 kHz–8 GHz), and Communication Signal Analyzer up to 15 GHz.

Available software

COMSOL Multiphysics, in-house software for the generation and reception of next-generation wireless signals (LTE, 5G), and MATLAB software for instrument control and automated measurement procedures.

Teaching and training activities

Laboratory sessions for Bachelor's and Master's degree courses, as well as thesis projects on optical fiber communication systems (for the transmission of wireless and, more generally, radio-frequency signals over optical fiber) and optical sensing technologies.