Thank you for visiting Photonics and Laser Engineering Laboratory at Bangor University, North Wales, UK. The team is led by Professor Zengbo (James) Wang, focusing on the development of next-generation photonics and laser technologies for wide ranges of applications in advanced manufacturing, super-resolution imaging, sensing, solar cell devices, among others.
One key scientific achievement by us is the pioneering of ‘microsphere nanoscope’ and super-resolution techniques and applications based on dielectric particle superlenses made from microsphere , spider silk , high-index nanoparticle and others. These were widely publicised. Check our featured interview (“Improbable vision“) and review chapter (“Super-resolution imaging and microscopy by dielectric particle-lenses“) we wrote about the technique.
Despite the commercial models are now available, their performance is still quite limited and suffers from limitations including low contrast, slow-speed, sample-dependent imaging quality and extreme-short working distance which all need to be addressed carefully with innovative solutions – we are leading many important innovations in solving these challenges (roadmap and Roadmap on Label-Free Super-resolution Imaging).
Our team also actively works in nanophotonics and metamaterials (e.g. ‘anti-laser’ filter), laser material processing (e.g. artificial surface, nano-marking) and solar energy, with wide applications in industry.
News:
- 2025-01: New paper: Microsphere-assisted super-resolution polarized light microscopy for polarization-sensitive materials
- 2024-10: New paper: Detection of picometer scale vibration by microsphere probe.
- 2024-04: New research on Superlens-Assisted laser nanostructuring of Long Period optical fiber Gratings (LPGs) for enhanced refractive index sensing published (link).
- 2023-12: A new equipment grant is awarded for the procurment of an state-of-the-art Enviromental Scanning Electronc Microcope (ESEM) with integrated E-beam lithography (EBL) module to enhance our research capacity.
- 2023-11: Our team has made a key contribution to the invited seminal article “Roadmap on Label-Free Super-resolution Imaging,” recently published in Laser & Photonics Reviews, with our focus on ‘Microsphere Superlens and Metamaterial Solid Immersion Lens.’
- 2023-06: New demonstration on detection of nanoscale vibration of cell: “Label-free Tapered Fiber Optic Sensor for Real-time in Situ Detection of Cell Activity” in IEEE Sensors.
- 2023-03: New publication on nanoparticle-assembled solid immersion lens in Small
- 2023-02: New high-power femtosecond fibre laser installed in our lab.
- 2022-11: Started research leave and academic visiting at Northeastern University, Boston, USA, to work on Leverhulme Trust fellowship project.
- 2022-09: New book on “Photonic jet: science and application” published (link)
- 2022-05: Tender for high power high repetition femtosecond laser (link)
- 2022-02: New funding approved for high-power high-repetition rate ultrafast laser system.
- 2022-02: Front cover paper “Photonic lenses with whispering gallery waves at Janus particles (invited)“ in Opto-Electron. Sci.
- 2022-01: New publication on ‘Localized photonic nanojet based sensing platform” on superlens with autofocus and micro sampling capability.
- 2021-12: Case study for Laser marking of medical instrument which pass harsh steam sterilisation tests.
- 2021-09: Guest editor of Special Issue “Photonic Jet: Science and Application” in Photonics journal.
- 2021-08: CPE project summer newsletter and promotion video is out – (newsletter) (video).
