Edik Rafailov

Professor (Research), AIPT Aston University

  • Birmingham

Professor Rafailov's research interests include CW and ultrashort-pulse lasers; generation of light from UV to THz and biomedical photonics.

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Aston University photonics expert elected as Fellow of Optica

Professor Edik Rafailov is head of the Optoelectronics and Biomedical Photonics Research Group He is a member of Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, a world-leading photonics research centre Optica is the leading organisation for researchers and others interested in the science of light. A photonics expert at Aston University has been elected as a Fellow of Optica (formerly OSA), Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide. Professor Edik Rafailov is head of the Optoelectronics and Biomedical Photonics Research Group in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Aston University and a member of Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT), one of the world’s leading photonics research centres. He was elected for his ‘contributions to novel gain media for semiconductor lasers at wavelengths from 750nanometres to1300nanometres’. Optica is the society dedicated to promoting the generation, application, archiving and dissemination of knowledge in the field of photonics. Founded in 1916, it is the leading organisation for scientists, engineers, business professionals, students and others interested in the science of light. Fellows are selected based on several factors, including outstanding contributions to business, education, research, engineering and service to Optica and its community. Satoshi Kawata, 2022 Optica president, said: “I am pleased to welcome the new Optica Fellows. These members join a distinguished group of leaders who are helping to advance the field optics and photonics. Congratulations to the 2023 Class.” Director of AIPT, Professor Sergei Turitsyn said: “I am delighted that Edik has received this prestigious fellowship. “AIPT has one more Optica Fellow, that is a high honour in the field of photonics. “Edik joined Aston University in 2014 and since then his research has contributed to the Institute’s world-leading position in the fields of fibre and semiconductor lasers and bio-medical photonics, making impact on industry, scientific communities and society.” Fellows are Optica members who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics. As they can account for no more than 10 percent of the total membership, the election process is highly competitive. Candidates are recommended by the Fellow Members Committee and approved by the Awards Council and Board of Directors. The new Optica Fellows will be honoured at the Society’s conferences and events throughout 2023.

Edik Rafailov

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Biography

Edik U. Rafailov received the Ph.D. degree from the Ioffe Institute in 1992. In 1997 he moved to St Andrews University (UK) and 2005, he established a new group in the Dundee University. In 2014 he and his Optoelectronics and Biomedical Photonics Group moved to the Aston University (UK). He has authored and co-authored over 450 articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings, including two books (WILEY), ten invited chapters and numerous invited talks. Prof. Rafailov coordinated the €14.7M FP7 FAST-DOT project development of new ultrafast lasers for Biophotonics applications and the €12.5M NEWLED project which aims to develop a new generation of white LEDs. Currently he coordinate the H2020 FET project Mesa-Brain (€3.3M, aims to develop 3D nano-printing technology for functional three-dimensional human stem cell derived neural networks) and EPSRC proposal (£960k, compact THz based systems for neuroscience applications). He also leads a few others projects funded by EU FP7, H2020 and EPSRC (UK). His current research interests include high-power CW and ultrashort-pulse lasers; generation of UV/visible/IR/MIR and THz radiation, nanostructures; nonlinear and integrated optics; biomedical photonics.

Areas of Expertise

Biomedical Photonics
Nanostructures
Ultrashort-Pulse Lasers
Photonics
THz Radiation
Nonlinear and Integrated Optics

Education

Ioffe Institute

PhD

1992

Media Appearances

Tiny human brains grown in lab could one day be used to repair Alzheimer’s damage

The Telegraph  online

2017-08-04

Professor Edik Rafailov said the healthy tissue could one day be transplanted into damaged areas of the brain.

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Scientists grow human 'mini brains'

Medical Xpress  online

2017-09-14

The "miniature brains" start out as human skin cells, before a team at Aston University turns them into stem cells and then brain cells. At the moment, these "mini-brains" are less than 2mm across but the multi-disciplinary MESO-BRAIN team, led by Professor Edik Rafailov, is also researching how to create bigger, 3-D brain cell clusters using tiny scaffold-like structures and nanoprinting.

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Star Trek-style medical device uses laser beams to diagnose illness

BreakingNews.ie  online

2018-06-07

Professor Edik Rafailov, of AIPT, said: “This technology will allow a range of tests to be taken quickly, painlessly and without any reason for patients to feel nervous – there are no needles involved.

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Research Grants

Coordinator and Principal Investigator

FET OPEN Launchpad called SCAFFOLD-NEEDS

2019 - 2020

Coordinator and Principal Investigator

FET OPEN project NEUROPA

2020 - 2023

Principal-Investigator

H2020 project called AMPLITUDE

2020 - 2024

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Articles

Diode-pumped Yb:CALGO laser with conical refraction output

Solid State Lasers XXIX: Technology and Devices

A high power conical refraction (CR) laser was demonstrated based on Yb:CALGO laser crystal with a separate intracavity CR element. The CR laser delivered the maximum output power of 6.25 W at 25 W of incident pump power which is the highest output power for the CR lasers to date. The separation of the CR element from the laser gain medium reduced the complexity of laser pumping. The generated CR laser beam exhibited excellent quality with well-resolved concentric rings and the Poggendorff dark ring.

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Development of two-photon polymerised scaffolds for optical interrogation and neurite guidance of human iPSC-derived cortical neuronal networks

Lab Chip

Recent progress in the field of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has led to the efficient production of human neuronal cell models for in vitro study. This has the potential to enable the understanding of live human cellular and network function which is otherwise not possible. However, a major challenge is the generation of reproducible neural networks together with the ability to interrogate and record at the single cell level. A promising aid is the use of biomaterial scaffolds that would enable the development and guidance of neuronal networks in physiologically relevant architectures and dimensionality. The optimal scaffold material would need to be precisely fabricated with submicron resolution, be optically transparent, and biocompatible. Two-photon polymerisation (2PP) enables precise microfabrication of three-dimensional structures. In this study, we report the identification of two biomaterials that support the growth and differentiation of human iPSC-derived neural progenitors into functional neuronal networks.

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Conical refraction mode of an optical resonator

Optics Letters

The fundamental mode of a conical refraction resonator, i.e., an optical cavity where light experiences conical refraction (CR) from a biaxial crystal, is experimentally demonstrated in the plano-concave cavity configuration. We have discovered that the fundamental CR mode is characterized by the polarization and intensity structures of CR beams between the plane mirror and CR crystal, and it resembles the fundamental Gaussian mode with homogeneous polarization between the crystal and concave mirror. We theoretically explained this fundamental CR mode using the dual cone model and symmetry of the CR phenomenon and confirmed this explanation by numerical simulations.

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