ERC Advanced Grant for Albert Polman

AMOLF director and group leader Albert Polman has received a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant of 2.3 million euro.

Polman will use this grant to start a research program on "optical metamaterials", materials that consist of a complex network of metallic and dielectric nanostructures, in which light propagates in unusual ways. These materials have a negative index of refraction, leading to backward wave propagation. This enables, among others, the realization of lenses that can make extremely sharp images. Polman will also use the new metamaterials to create ultra-thin solar cells and to study the interaction between light and mechanical vibrations.