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Department of Physics

The Cavendish Laboratory
 

Biography

Before coming to Cambridge, I was a postdoctoral fellow/group leader in the Photonic Crystal Fibre Science division of Prof. Philip Russell at the Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, Germany. Before that, I did my PhD research on "Ultrafast optical switching of photonic crystals”, supervised by Prof. Willem Vos at the University of Twente and the FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF) in the Netherlands. 

Research

I am interested in nanoscale light-matter interactions, including optical-, thermal-, and fluidic forces. Our Optofluidics laboratory in the Maxwell Centre develops novel optical techniques, based on optofluidic waveguides and spatial light modulators, to study such interactions in a highly-controlled way. We have, for example, optically propelled micro- and nanoparticles in hollow-core photonic crystal fibre and used them as microscale probes that measure thermally driven flow or electric fields. Current efforts focus on optical and opto-thermal  manipulation and detection of biomolecules and nanoparticles.

Our methods also enable photochemical and catalytic reactions on sample volumes that are five orders of magnitude smaller than in conventional methods. The well-defined waveguide modes allow monitoring such reactions by in-situ absorption and Raman spectroscopy. These fundamental studies are expected to have a strong impact on the development of new photocatalytic systems for solar fuel generation, the understanding of battery chemistry, and on flow chemistry in general.

Our research is highly interdisciplinary and makes full use of existing expertise in nanoparticle spectroscopy, catalysis, microscopy, and microfluidics, both at the Cavendish and across the School of Physical Sciences.

Publications

Key publications: 

Excitation of higher-order modes in optofluidic photonic crystal fiber
Andrei Ruskuc, Philipp Koehler, Marius A. Weber, Ana Andres-Arroyo, Michael H. Frosz, Philip St. J. Russell, and Tijmen G. Euser
Opt. Express 26,30245 (2018).

Long-range optical trapping and binding of microparticles in hollow-core photonic crystal fibre
Dmitry S. Bykov, Shangran Xie, Richard Zeltner, Andrey Machnev, Gordon K. L. Wong, Tijmen G. Euser, and Philip St.J. Russell
Light: Science & Applications 7, 22 (2018).

Effect of stray fields on Rydberg states in hollow-core PCF probed by higher-order modes
G. Epple. N.Y. Joly, T.G. Euser  P. St.J. Russell, R. Löw.
Optics Letters 42, 3271 (2017).

Flying particle sensors in hollow-core photonic crystal fibre
D. Bykov. O. A. Schmidt, Tijmen G. Euser, and Philip St.J. Russell. 
Nature Photonics 9, 461 (2015).

Rydberg atoms in hollow-core photonic crystal fibres
G. Epple, K. S. Kleinbach, T. G. Euser, N. Y. Joly, T. Pfau, P. St.J. Russell, and R. Löw 
Nature Comms. 5, 4132 (2014).

Photonic crystal fibres for chemical sensing and photochemistry
A. M. Cubillas, S. Unterkofler, T. G. Euser, B. J. M. Etzold, A. C. Jones, P. J. Sadler, P. Wasserscheid, and P. St.J. Russell. 
Chem. Soc. Rev. 42, 8629 (2013).  (invited review, front cover)

Chemical and (Photo)-Catalytical Transformations in Photonic Crystal Fibers
M. Schmidt, A. M. Cubillas, N. Taccardi, T. G. Euser, T. Cremer, F. Maier, H. P. Steinrueck, P. St.J. Russell, P. Wasserscheid, and B. J. M. Etzold. (invited review, front cover)
Chem. Cat. Chem. 5, 641 (2013).

Reconfigurable optothermal microparticle trap in air-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber
O. A. Schmidt, M. K. Garbos, T. G. Euser, and P. St. J. Russell
Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 024502 (2012).

Dynamic control of higher-order modes in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers
T. G. Euser, G. Whyte, M. Scharrer, J. S. Y. Chen, A. Abdolvand, J. Nold, C. F. Kaminski, and P. St.J. Russell 
Opt. Express 16, pp. 17972-17981 (2008).

A complete list of publications can be found on:
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-2876-2014

University Associate Professor
Fellow of Magdalene College

Contact Details

Email address: 
Room 185a, Bragg Building
Cavendish Laboratory,
JJ Thomson Avenue
Cambridge
CB3 0HE
+44 (0)1223 747039

Affiliations

Classifications: 
Specialities: 
Person keywords: 
photochemistry
Experimental condensed matter physics
Energy Materials
Assembly and function of complex systems
optical trapping
nanophotonics