Photonics & Optics Division

[IMAGE: Cleanroom interior with yellow lighting, optical tables covered with laser optics, and semiconductor processing equipment in the background]

Figure 1: Class 100 cleanroom in Building 1. Visible are two optical tables with active vibration isolation, a mask aligner (left rear), and the thin-film deposition cluster tool (right). Photograph taken 2002.

The Photonics & Optics Division, under Dr. Akira Tanaka, is ISOCTA's longest-established research group. It operates Class 100 and Class 1000 cleanroom facilities in Building 1 with a total area of approximately 280 m².

Core capabilities include laser source development (UV through mid-IR), non-linear optical materials characterisation, thin-film deposition (sputtering, e-beam evaporation, PECVD), and optical metrology.

Major Equipment

System	Specification
Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser	<50 fs pulse width, 1 kHz rep rate, 2 mJ/pulse
CW Nd:YAG laser system	Single-frequency, 25 W @ 1064 nm, 10 W @ 532 nm
Optical parametric oscillator	CW, tunable 2.5–4.5 μm, <100 kHz linewidth
Spectroscopic ellipsometer	UV–NIR range, variable angle, mapping stage
E-beam evaporation system	4-pocket, cryo-pumped, base pressure <5×10⁻⁸ mbar
Mask aligner	UV contact/proximity, 2 μm resolution

Detailed equipment inventory and booking calendar are available on the intranet.

[IMAGE: Rooftop platform at dusk with optical telescopes and laser equipment mounted on tripods, pointing toward the horizon]

Figure 2: Free-space optical communication testbed on the Building 1 roof platform. The transmitter telescope (centre) is a 150 mm Cassegrain design. The receiver assembly is visible in the background.

Full division page with project descriptions…

Photonics & Optics Division

Major Equipment

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