Projects
Method and instrument for in-situ measurement of light depolarization by birefringent particles suspended in water; a polarized transmissometer (PolTrans) Ghent University
Aquatic ecosystems provide essential services to society; from acting as a sink for atmospheric CO2 to food production. However, aquatic environmental health and services are under risk of irreversible damage, requiring continuous fit-for-purpose monitoring. The aim of the PolTrans project is to build a low-power, compact, submersible sensor for the autonomous measurement of birefringent particles in water, namely 1) calcium carbonate ...
Development and validation of an on-the-fly hybrid QM/MM approach to quantitatively address the influence of solvent molecules on the predicted IR and VCD spectra of chiral solutes in polar and apolar solvents. University of Antwerp
Metasurfaces and Their Applications in Polarization Conversion and CP Antennas KU Leuven
Metamaterials (MMs) are artificial media exhibiting special properties that are not found in natural materials. Metasurfaces (MSs), as a type of two-dimensional metamaterials, have the advantages of low profile, low loss, easy fabrication and integration into devices, etc. They have received a huge attention in physics and engineering over the last decades. The thesis will focus on MSs and their applications in polarization conversion, ...
Plasmonic Waveguides and Antennas KU Leuven
The field of plasmonics has received great attention during the past years. Plasmonic devices are characterized by their small electrical size which enabled researchers to overcome the challenge of the size mismatch between the bulky photonic devices and the small electronic circuits. Plasmonic metals are characterized by their lossy dielectric nature which is different from the highly conductive classical metals. Consequently, the design of ...
Development and validation of an on-the-fly hybrid QM/MM approach to quantitatively address the influence of solvent molecules on the predicted IR and VCD spectra of chiral solutes in polar and apolar solvents. University of Antwerp
Chiral semiconductor nanophotonics for ultraresolved molecular sensing Ghent University
Chirality plays a pivotal role in chemistry and medicine because most biological molecules have either right- or left-handed conformations. Circular dichroism can distinguish the chirality of matter thanks to a small difference in absorption of light with opposite circular polarizations. However, it is severely limited by low sensitivity and low spatial resolution due to weak chiral light-matter interaction. As a result, using light, we ...
Next-generation phased array based Ultrasonic Polar Scan system for the characterization of visco-elastic materials KU Leuven
Non-destructive testing (NDT) refers to techniques that are used in the life-cycle of a structural component to investigate their quality, functionality and 'health' without destroying the object, nor affecting its properties. The development of NDT techniques is ever-evolving and needs continuous upgrading because of the emergence of new industrial materials, the increasing demand to more sensitive and more quantitative characterisation and ...
Wearable Antenna and Rectenna Designs for WBAN and H-IoT Applications KU Leuven
The evolution of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) and Healthcare Internet of Things (H-IoT) technologies has foregrounded the pivotal role of wearable antennas and rectennas (WANRs) in the upcoming technological paradigm, promising unprecedented innovations. Despite their potential, the seamless integration of these devices encounters challenges, spanning from material and body-induced factors to system-level requirements. This research has ...
Novel Sn catalysis for the production of acrylic acid KU Leuven
Instigated by the growing societal demand for a more sustainable and circular economy, the chemical sector needs to abandon fossil-based carbon and material disposal, and shift to renewable bio-based carbon and material recycling. However, in contrast to fossil resources, bio-based substrates typically possess more functional groups, which increase their polarity and reactivity. It is therefore preferred to process such reactive polar ...