ERC Stg project
3DnanoGiant
3DnanoGiant pioneers the development of novel nonlinear photonic materials that can revolutionize nanoscale technology in the field of integrated photonics.
3D integrated photonic nanostructures with Giant optical nonlinearity
Leveraging the exceptional optical nonlinearity of liquid crystals and employing advanced 3D printing at the nanoscale, we will fabricate heterogeneous functional platforms, or chiplets, enabling all-optical processing across diverse dimensionalities—from 2D to 3D+1.
The Principal Investigator: Sara Nocentini
As a First researcher at National Metrology Institute of Italy (INRiM) in the Division of Metrology for Innovative Materials and Life Sciences, Sara Nocentini focuses her research into responsive advanced materials for cutting-edge photonic applications. Her expertise encompasses liquid crystalline polymers, polymer photonics and advanced fabrication techniques, including two-photon direct laser writing, that are at the base of her scientific production.
She is author of high-impact research in the field of 3D responsive materials for photonics, microrobotics, and cryptography and she has been an invited speaker in more than 15 national and international conferences. Beside 3DnanoGiant, she serves as the Principal Investigator for both a metrological project focusing on MEMS sensors and the national PRIN 2022 project, “Multi-step optical encoding in anti-counterfeiting photonic tags based on liquid crystals – PHOTAG.” She is member of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE) since 2025.
Project Overview: shaping the future of All-Optical Computing
Where We Are
The future of all-optical computing and data processing lies in photonics. While fiber optics have revolutionized data communication, the manipulation of the optical signal still depends on energy-intensive electronic-optical conversions. The challenge? Current materials lack the nonlinear properties, processability, and integration capabilities needed for true all-optical signal processing.
What We Do
With 3DnanoGiant, we aim to develop novel nonlinear photonic materials to push integrated photonics beyond its limits. Our approach will harness the large optical nonlinearity of liquid crystals in combination with nano-porous polymer networks and 3D nanopatterning to demonstrate:
- Multidimensional nonlinear photonic components on hybrid devices
- Soliton-based 3D (+1) printing for bottom-up fabrication
From 2D logic gates to self-oscillating 3D photonic crystals, we tackle new photonic materials that can expand the number of operations on chip.
What We Change
We will contribute to integrated nonlinear photonics, delivering practical and scalable heterogeneous chiplets with optical nonlinearities for:
- All-optical computing
- Energy-efficient data processing
- Machine learning in physical hardware
With 3DnanoGiant, the target is more efficient nonlinear photonic chips.
