2nd International Workshop on Photonics Applied to Electromagnetic Measurements (PEM2017)

The 2nd International Workshop on Photonics Applied to Electromagnetic Measurements (PEM2017), hosted by the IT'IS Foundation, was held at the Volkshaus in Zurich, Switzerland on October 5 – 6, 2017. The PEM workshops are devoted to the research, development, and application of photonics in electromagnetic measurements and closely related fields, such as fiber-optic signal transmission, photonic signal processing, display integrated antennas, and photonic device technology.

The PEM workshops were initiated by the PEM Technical Committee of the Japanese Institute of Electronic, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE). The first PEM workshop was held in Kyoto, Japan in 2015. Zurich were chosen for the location of the second workshop towards broadening the international base of the IEICE PEM Technical Committee. Prof. Niels Kuster of the IT’IS Foundation organized this second workshop with technical support from Prof. Hiroshi Murata (Osaka University), the chair of the IEICE PEM Technical Committee.

Each day of the 2-day workshop began with a keynote address. After the opening ceremony on Thursday, Dr. Satoru Kurokawa of Japan’s National institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) gave a keynote presentation entitled “Antenna Measurement Using Photonics Applied to Electromagnetic Measurement Technology," in which he described the development of antenna measurement systems capable of operating at up to 40 GHz. Prof. Lukas Novotny of the Swiss Federal Technical Institute Zurich gave Friday morning’s keynote presentation on “Controlling Light-Matter Interactions on the Nanometer Scale,” in which he reviewed recent as well as early developments in near-field optical imaging and optical nanomanipulation.

The IT’IS Foundation was represented by Dr. Myles Capstick with an invited talk on “Photonic Measurement Technology for Electrically Small Antennas” and two oral presentations by Dr. Sven Kuehn on “Removing the Cable Effect from Antenna Radiation Pattern Measurements with a Radiofrequency-over-Fiber Link” and “Microphotonic Voltage Probe Used in MRI Environments for Medical Implant Immunity Testing.”

The first day of the workshop featured a morning session on basic theory and techniques, an afternoon session on EM measurement systems and new applications, and a poster session. Attendees were then treated to a tour of IT'IS laboratory facilities and an apéro. The evening culminated with a dinner of traditional Swiss fondue at the Jurablick Restaurant Uetliberg, famous for its fabulous views of the Alps.

The workshop continued on Friday with a session on new technologies and finished with a special session on biomedical applications. As part of the closing ceremony, awards sponsored by Schmid & Partner Engineering AG were presented for Best Scientific Contribution and Best Visuals. The cash prize of CHF500 for the Best Scientific Contribution was awarded to Dr. Maya Mizuno (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology) for her presentation entitled "Reflection Property Measurement of Skin in THz Range Using Spectrometer with Photoconductive Antennas". The award for Best Visuals, CHF300, was presented to Prof. Yukihisa Suzuki (Tokyo Metropolitan University) for his talk entitled "Non-Invasive Temperature Elevation Measurement under Millimeter Wave Exposure with Transparency Phantom Including Micro-Encapsulated Thermo-Chromic Liquid Crystals."

The next PEM workshop is scheduled to take place in Japan in 2019.