Micro- and nanoscale organic photonics

Photonic devices based on organic materials have enabled significant improvements across a broad range of technological applications, including sensing, computing, energy harvesting, and light-emitting devices. A particularly compelling strategy for expanding their functionality relies on the integration of photochromic molecules, whose reversible light-induced isomerization allows the optical, mechanical, and electronic properties of a device to be dynamically tuned by an external light stimulus. In this seminar, some recent works exploiting this approach are presented. The results demonstrate how photochromic molecules can be integrated into very different photonic platforms, from 3D-printed all-optical processors [1] to optomechanical systems [2] and strongly coupled microcavities [3], enabling new degree of freedoms over the device functionality. These findings collectively highlight the versatility of photochromic materials as a general tool for the design of next-generation optically-tunable photonic devices.

[1] D’Elia et al., All-Optical Processors by 3D Printable Photochromic Materials, Light Sci. Appl. (2025).
[2] Cagetti et al., Photochromic Molecules Enable Optical Control of Optomechanical Coupling in a Cavity, Opt. Mat. (2025).
[3] Cargioli et al., Active Control of Polariton-Enabled Long-Range Energy Transfer, Nanophotonics (2024).