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Applied Photonics Group

Applied Photonics Group (APG) is a multidisciplinary Research Group, recognized as outstanding by Basque Science System with stable financing from Basque, Spanish Ministries and European Projects. The core of APG is comformed by physicists, but there are also mathematicians, telecommunication, electrical and mechanical engineers, biochemicals... just to name a few.

Nowadays, APG collaborates with prestigious Research Groups of the international scientific Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) community and fiber optic community in general. In addition, part of our research work is being carried out in cooperation with several techological centres and companies in order to develop prototypes for industrial applications based on optical sensors or requiring them, such as aircraft monitoring, for example. Our research projects and activities require a well equipped laboratory, which was created and it is being improved thanks to finantial support from our local institutions and from the European ones.

APG Research Group has at present 20 Ph.D.s and 6 Ph.D. students working in different areas:

  • Manufacture of microstrutured plastic optical fibers
  • Manufacture of active fiber optics
  • Interferometric fiber optic sensors based on Fabry Perot cavities and modal coupling for detection of chemical, biological and physical parameters.
  • Microfluidic Raman systems and hydrogels
  • Fiber optic sensors for aeronautical applications and structural health and turbine monitoring.

The group leader is Prof. Joseba Zubia. and the leaders of the aforementioned research lines are Prof. Joel Villatoro, Prof. David Novoa and Prof. Asun Illarramendi.

The leader of APG, Prof. Joseba Zubia, started his research activities in the current field (Polymer Optical Fibres and Applied Photonics) in 1993 as a supervisor of a Ph.D. thesis. Since then, an ever growing research team coordinated by him has been carrying out an extensive research on the characteristics, possible applications and optimization of new types of POFs and related optical devices, such as POF-based optical amplifiers, lasers and sensors.

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ESPECTROLIVE 

Research on the use of spectroscopy and complementary technologies in detecting phytosanitary products in situ in whole olives.

Main objective

Investigate the application of spectroscopy and electronic nose technologies for the detection of phytosanitary products in whole olives in situ in order to ensure compliance with regulatory limits for these compounds in olive oils and perform real-time monitoring of the production process that allows rapid identification of problems and immediate action related to the presence of contaminants, helping to reduce waste and improving the efficiency and quality control of olive oils, as well as performing an appropriate classification of the fruit, before milling, to achieve "zero residue" oils, which are highly valued by today's consumers.

Specific objectives

The specific technical objectives carried out in the Applied Photonics Group are: 

  • Raman
  1. Optimize Raman spectra acquisition parameters to improve the resolution and accuracy of the results (maximize the signal-to-noise ratio). 
  2. Identify and quantify the concentration of specific phytosanitary products in the samples.
  3. Develop multivariate models for classifying different varieties of phytosanitary products and examining their evolution over time.
  4. To evaluate the sensitivity and selectivity of the technique in comparison with other existing analytical techniques.
  5. Validate the results obtained by means of cross-validation techniques and comparison with reference values.

Expected outcomes

  1. A real-time olive classification system is based on the presence of contaminants.
  2. Promotion of the health properties of olive oil as a sales argument for these products. 
  3. Improvement of olive oil export channels through better compliance with restrictive regulations on the presence of phytosanitary residues in olive oil. 
  4. Improvement of the competitiveness of the olive oil sector and the associated auxiliary industry. 
  5. Promotion in the agro-industrial sector of sensor technologies aligned with Industry 4.0.

Partners

  • INOLEO (Coordinator)
  • SECPHO (SOUTHERN EUROPEAN CLUSTER IN PHOTONICS AND)
  • AOTECH (ADVANCED OPTICAL TECHNOLOGIES S.L.
  • ISR (INTEGRACIÓN SENSORIAL Y ROBOTICA SL)
  • UNIVERSIDAD DE JAÉN (UJA)
  • UNIVERSITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (UPV/EHU)

Duration

From 05/2023 to 04/2024

Budget

308,010 €

Grant program

Support grants for Innovative Business Groups to improve the competitiveness of small and medium-sized companies and the call for applications for 2023, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

Funder

Spanish Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MINCOTUR).