Speaker
Description
Ultrafast femtosecond laser pulses provide a versatile platform for precision material processing, functional microfabrication and advanced optical imaging. Jana B. Nieder and her research group at INL developed laser-based approaches that exploit nonlinear light–matter interactions across photonic materials, diamond and biological systems. In three-dimensional microfabrication, two-photon polymerization on novel dye doped poymers enables the creation of complex photochromic microstructures with reversible light-induced colour changes [1]. In diamond, femtosecond laser writing offers a single-step route to nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color-center creation, with recent work investigating cumulative exposure effects and nonlinear pulse propagation to better understand and control defect formation [2]. For biomedical applications, broadband, sub-10-fs laser pulses enable label-free multiphoton metabolic imaging of living cells, while fluorescence lifetime analysis provides insights into cellular metabolism and responses to therapeutic interventions [3]. Together, these developments demonstrate the broad potential of ultrafast laser science, from controlled modification of materials at the microscale to quantum-enabled sensing and non-invasive investigation of biological processes. In this talk I will summarize main findings and point towards future perspectives.
Figure: Confocal fluorescence images and fluorescence spectroscopy data. By varying energy per pulse, femtosecond laser exposure time and focus depth, we identify how these parameters influence the process of color center creation, their distribution and optical properties. Figure taken with modifications from Ref: [2].
References
[1] Leote, J. P., Andrishak, A., Coelho, P. J., Fernandes, J. R., Maibohm, C., & Nieder, J. B., Advanced Optical Materials, “Single-Step Fabrication of Smart 3D Microstructures Exploiting Naphthopyrans as Photoinitiators and Photochromic Molecules.” (2026). https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.71810
[2] Silva, J. P., Maia, J. M., Gonçalves, I., Camarneiro, F., Maibohm, C., Marques, P. V. S., & Nieder, J. B., ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, “Cumulative Mechanism and Nonlinear Propagation Effects of Nitrogen-Vacancy Center Formation Induced by Femtosecond Laser Writing.” (2026). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6c12167
[3] Maibohm, C., Ferreira, R., Silvestre, O. F., Romero, R., Crespo, H., & Nieder, J. B., Journal of Physics: Photonics, “Evaluation of few-cycle laser pulses for label-free metabolic imaging on live cells.”, (2026) 8, 015011. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7647/ae1c06
Acknowledgements
This work was supported via the APECS Pilot Line which is co-funded by the Chips Joint Undertaking under Horizon Europe (No. 101183307), Digital Europe (No. 101182906), and national funding authorities; and by DIREQT which is co-funded by the Chips Joint Undertaking under Horizon Europe (No. 101291215) and participating national funding authorities, and the Health from Portugal project (C630926586-00465198) supported by Component C5—Capitalisation and Business Innovation, under the Portuguese Resilience and Recovery Plan.