As new Canada Research Chair, Professor José Azaña of INRS University’s Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre will continue moving research forward in the field of ultrafast photonic signal processing. His aim? To develop new optical devices to meet high-speed needs in telecommunications, ultra-high-speed IT, information processing, detection, and biomedical imaging.

Professor Azaña will receive $500,000 over five years under the Canada Research Chairs Program for fundamental and applied research to develop affordable, energy-efficient optical devices for high-speed signal processing, including transformers, differentiators, integrators, and more. In addition to testing device performance, he also plans to develop new functionalities for ultrafast information processing.

Another important facet of Professor Azaña’s work at INRS is training the next generation of researchers in this field in a high tech environment. Students will notably have the opportunity to work in the state-of-the-art Ultra-High-Speed Light Manipulation Laboratory and the Micro and Nanofabrication Laboratory. Professor Azaña will also have access to the new Dynamic Optical Linear Phase and Intensity Measurements (DOLPhIM) laboratory, funded in part by the Canada Foundation for Innovation. 

Professor Azaña’s unique skillset enables him to develop leading edge technologies aimed at replacing or optimizing the performance of electronics in telecommunications networks. He already has several inventions to his credit, including optical ultra-high-speed clocks, optical storage units, programmable information filtering and processing devices, and ultra-high-speed measurement systems.

For more on Professor Azaña’s research, see the article in INRS’s webzine, PlaneteINRS.ca.

Picture © Christian Fleury