- Solar energy
- Biophotonics
- Microwave photonics
- Plasmonics
- Quantum photonics
- Fibre optics
- Optoelectronics
- Optical materials

Photonics for devices, networks and energy
Photonics have an often unseen but crucial role to play in almost all areas of life, enabling new and advanced technologies. The Centre for Research in Photonics at uOttawa is a world-recognized research facility in which our Faculty’s researchers are hard at work to bring you the latest developments and innovations to truly transform our present into the future.
Areas of research
Research in photonics, that which embraces the science and technology of light, is having an impact on our lives much like what has been seen in previous electronic and digital revolutions. The various applications of photonics range from communications technology (i.e. transmission of voice, video and data on light waves) to entertainment systems, and from biology (i.e. surgeons utilizing lasers in surgery) and quantum computation to environmental sensing (i.e. laser scanners reading bar codes) and green technologies (i.e. solar energy).
What's happening in this field?

uOttawa's SUNLAB shines light on future of green energy
Hinzer continues to teach with the university’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and serves as the founder and director of the SUNLAB, which is Canada’s premier solar cell research facility.

Converting energy at the nanoscale to reduce energy waste
Professor Raphael St-Gelais and his team are working to create a solution that would recycle this heat into electricity using a portable conversion module, which could be mounted directly onto any hot surface.