NANO-GLASS welcomes its two first Early Stage Researchers

Iliyan Karadzhov and Davide Rizzotti are the two first Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) that have officially joined the NANO-GLASS project after passing their six-month training period.

Iliyan comes from the city of Plovdiv (Bulgaria). He holds a BSc degree in Physics from the University of Sofia (Bulgaria) and a master’s degree in Photonics from the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Germany). Moreover, he has experience in design and production of thin film optical coatings because he worked at the OPTIX Co. (Bulgaria) for 2 years.

Iliyan Karadzhov: “The project, facilities and expert knowledge at ICFO will provide an excellent environment for me for a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles utilized in the process of device fabrication.”

“Durable multifunctional micro-nano-structured surfaces” is the title of Iliyan’s Individual Research Project (IRP) that he will be working for the next three years. His IRP is being supervised by Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri (ICFO) and co-supervised by Dr. Bruno Paulillo (ICFO) and Dr. Prantik Mazumder and Dr. Todd St. Clair from Corning Incorporated. The main goal of Iliyan’s project is to develop inexpensive and mass scalable nanofabrication processes that allow multifunctional and durable surfaces for display technologies.

Iliyan joined ICFO, his hosting institution, in September 2021, after a successful recruitment process for the ESR1 position. He applied to this ITN because he thinks that “the project, facilities and expert knowledge at ICFO will provide an excellent environment for me for a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles utilized in the process of device fabrication.”

During his training period, Iliyan acquired the necessary theoretical and experimental skills to start his independent work on the project. “I have learned the basics of optical surfaces phenomena, calculated several preliminary models, and started the fabrication of the desired structures,” says Iliyan. He expects that, “during the project, I will be able to collaborate with exceptional scientists and engineers and move current display technologies one step further.”

During his first months at ICFO Iliyan has been able to, “discover new language, new friends and new cycling roads. I like the warmth of not only the climate in Barcelona, but also of the locals.”

Davide Rizzotti officially started as ESR of the NANO-GLASS project in June 2022. He joined ICFO on December 2021 after leaving his beloved Verona (Italy). He studied Physics at the University of Trento, spending also half a year in Tübingen (Germany) thanks to the Erasmus+ Program. Afterwards, he became interested in quantum optics phenomena and did a master’s in Physics at the University of Trento, specializing in Nanophotonics.

Davide Rizzotti: “Being part of a project like NANO-GLASS is a unique opportunity that gives me the possibility to meet and merge together both the industrial and the research world.”

He embarked on the NANO-GLASS project because he was interested in studying and working on real life quantum applications, addressing the challenge from a practical point of view. For the next three years, he will be working on the IRP titled “In-fiber quantum photon generators and processors.”His project will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Valerio Pruneri (ICFO) and co-supervised by Dr. Stefano Signorini (ICFO) and Dr. Jun Yang (Corning Inc.) and Dr. David A. Loeber (Corning Inc.). Davide’s IRP aims at producing new quantum fiber-sources and fiber-devices to be used in fiber networks for quantum communication.

During his six-month training period, Davide studied and prepared simulations about the photon generation phenomenon and did specific training on fiber post-processing procedures and machines. “This training period has been important to me because it made me discover the wonderful field of fiber manufacturing and post-processing that will accompany me for the next few years,”says Rizzotti. According to Davide, “being part of a project like NANO-GLASS is a unique opportunity that gives me the possibility to meet and merge together both the industrial and the research world. I am really looking forward to it!”

Now, he looks back and remembers the adventurous first month in Spain: everything was new, from the language to the living place and the working environment. “It was an unexpectedly big challenge for me, but it made me grow a lot. Now, everything is settled: I know a lot of people, the city, and my project fully started,” Rizzotti says. It is finally time for him to enjoy his time in Barcelona and make his contribution to the world of quantum communications.