Alessandro Pitanti

  • CNR Researcher
  • alessandro.pitanti@nano.cnr.it
  • Pisa
  • +39-050-509879
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Short Bio

I graduated from University of Pisa in 2006, defending a thesis on the theoretical optical properties of Si/Ge multi-quantum-well heterostructures investigated with the tight-binding technique.

Moving to University of Trento for my PhD, under the supervision of prof. Lorenzo Pavesi, I started to focus on experimental Si photonics in visible and near-infrared range, in particular on silicon nanocrystals as active material in different waveguide and resonating photonic devices.

In my first post-doc at NEST – Scuola Normale Superiore and CNR-Nano, in Alessandro Tredicucci's group, I shifted to the THz spectral range, where I developed efficient, room-temperature detectors based on semiconductor nanowires and smart photonic structure from light extraction and control in Quantum Cascade Lasers.

Joining my expertise in photonics and charge transport, I won a Marie Curie fellowship with the aim of devising opto-electro-mechanical systems under the supervision of prof. Oskar Painter at the California Institute of Technology.

After coming back to NEST in 2014 and obtaining a permanent position in 2017, I am currently consolidating new research lines in near-infrared and THz optomechanics, as well as in strain engineering in 2D materials.

Research Interests

My research efforts are mostly focused in micro and nano-scale optomechanics, joining together photonics devices and mechanical resonators for novel applications in the field of classical and quantum optics. In the near-infrared range I am mostly interested in exploiting the vectorial properties of photons for enabling angular optomechanics, where both polarization and orbital angular momentum are coupled with mechanical degrees of freedom on the chip-scale. In the long wavelength range, including GHz and THz, I developed new detection schemes employing thermomechanical bolometers, capable of fast operation and scalability for sensor arrays. Employing optical probes at different wavelength, I also investigate behaviour of purely mechanical resonators, creating artificial material or complex substrates for nanoscale actuation of 2D materials.
The devices I investigate span from photonic and phononic crystals to optical and mechanical metasurfaces as well as cantilevers, trampoline membranes and Surface Acoustic Waves, made of group-IV, group III-V or metallic materials. Hybrid systems are also being investigated especially concerning their use in quantum computing applications.

Selected Recent Projects

Selected Publications

  • A. Pitanti, T. Makkonen, M. F Colombano, S. Zanotto, L. Vicarelli, M. Cecchini, A. Griol, D. Navarro-Urrios, C. Sotomayor-Torres, A. Martinez, J.Ahopelto, High-frequency mechanical excitation of a silicon nanostring with piezoelectric aluminum nitride layers, Phys. Rev. Appl. 14, 014054 (2020)
  • M. Fink, M. Kalaee, R. Norte, A. Pitanti, O. Painter, Efficient microwave frequency conversion mediated by a photonics compatible silicon nitride nanobeam oscillator, Quantum Sci. Tech. 5, 034011 (2020)
  • S. Zanotto, A. Tredicucci, D. Navarro‐Urrios, M. Cecchini, G. Biasiol, D. Mencarelli, L. Pierantoni, A. Pitanti, Optomechanics of chiral dielectric metasurfaces, Adv. Opt. Mat. 8, 1901507 (2020)
  • M.F. Colombano, G. Arregui, N. E. Capuj, A. Pitanti, J. Maire, A. Griol, B. Garrido, A. Martínez, C. M Sotomayor-Torres, D. Navarro-Urrios, Synchronization of optomechanical nanobeams by mechanical interaction, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 017402 (2019)
  • Masini*, A. Pitanti*, L. Baldacci, M. S. Vitiello, R. Degl'Innocenti, H. E. Beere, D. A. Ritchie and A. Tredicucci, Continuous-wave laser operation of a dipole antenna terahertz microresonator, Light Sci. Appl. 6, e17054 (2017). * equal contributions
  • M. Fink, M. Kalaee, A. Pitanti, R. Norte, L. Heinzle, M. Davanço, K. Srinivasan and O. Painter, Quantum electromechanics on silicon nitride nanomembranes, Nat. Comm. 7, 12396 (2016)
  • A. Pitanti, J. M. Fink, A. H. Safavi-Naeini, C.U. Lei, J. T. Hill, A.Tredicucci and O. Painter, Strong opto-electro-mechanical coupling in a silicon photonic crystal cavity, Opt. Expr. 23, 228907 (2015).
  • A. Pitanti, D. Ercolani, L. Sorba, S. Roddaro, F. Beltram, L. Nasi, G. Salviati and A. Tredicucci, InAs/InP/InSb Nanowires as Low Capacitance n-n Heterojunction Diodes, Phys. Rev. X 1, 011006 (2011).
  • A. Pitanti, M. Ghulinyan, D. Navarro-Urrios, G. Pucker and L. Pavesi, Probing the spontaneous emission dynamics in Si-nc based microdisk resonators, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 103901 (2010).

 

 

Istituto Nanoscienze 

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

 

PEC: protocollo.nano@pec.cnr.it

Partita IVA 02118311006

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Pisa NEST

Piazza San Silvestro 12

56127 Pisa, Italy

phone +39 050 509418

fax +39 050 509550

segreteria.nest@nano.cnr.it

Modena S3
via Campi 213/A
41125 Modena, Italy
phone +39 059 2055629
fax +39 059 2055651
segreteria.s3@nano.cnr.it

Istituto Nanoscienze Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Facebook-f Instagram Twitter Linkedin
Pisa NEST

Piazza San Silvestro 12, I
56127 Pisa

phone +39 050 509525/418

fax +39 050 509550

Modena S3

via Campi 213/A, I 

41125 Modena 7

phone +39 059 2055629

fax +39 059 2055651″