Photonics emerging branch in Science & Tech field

Lokmat News Network

Aurangabad, Sept 15:

Photonics technology is a new emerging branch in Science and Technology field because it is used in almost every aspect of life, ranging from smartphones, and display screens to

to highly innovative science.

The academicians and educationists said that one can find its usage in information processing, telecommunications, light detection, metrology, lighting, spectroscopy, photonic computing, holography, medical field, agriculture, laser material processing and robotics. Only two educational institutes have Photonics courses across the State.

Dr Narendra Mathakari, a Professor from the School of Physics, MIT World Peace University-Pune which offers a postgraduate degree course in Photonics said that almost all the work in technology, which till now could be done with the help of electrons, can be done in a better way with the help of photons.

“Photonics will make its mark in many fields in the future, be it medical, defense, agriculture, entertainment, computer science or robotics. The 20th century belonged to electronics but the 21st century will belong to photonics. The scope of photonic devices was expanded with the Covid-19 outbreak. The Global photonics market was valued at 589.82 billion (USD) in 2020, and by 2026 it is expected to reach 1019.77 billion (dollar),” he said.

“Although this degree is mainly in physics, its specialisation is photonics. Graduates can excel as researchers, professors, technicians or entrepreneurs in both physics and photonics. There is no doubt that this branch is a golden opportunity for those who want to make an impact in such an innovative science of Photonics,” he added.

Rajarshi Shahu College (Autonomous Latur) is another institute that also offers a PG course in Photonics.

Head of the Physics Department of Rajarshi Shahu College Dr Abhijit Yadav said that photonics which is regarded as the next generation technology is a hi-tech subject resulting from the fusion of optical technology and electronics.

“To put it into simple words, photonics is a scientific subject that encompasses generation, emission, transmission, signal processing, amplification, modulation, switching, detection and sensing of light. Photonics and optics are two of those fields in physics wherein the jobs available are more than the applicants. The global shortage of photonics specialists has made these skilled professionals highly in demand. Candidates who have obtained a degree in optics or photonics can look for suitable positions in national research laboratories and industries, some of them being lasers, nanotechnology, radiation treatment, telecommunications, optical materials, and medical imaging,” he added.