The following project started in 2025.

In the Nano-Argovia project Nano Diffractive Optics, an interdisciplinary team is developing optical elements on a nanometer scale that can be used for three-dimensional imaging in an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system.

Concentric ring lenses
The researchers are focusing on the production of so-called fraxicon lenses. Unlike a normal lens, these lenses are not smooth or spherical but rather consist of numerous thin, concentric rings. These rings have jagged or stepped structures that deflect light — in this case, laser light — into a narrow beam (a Bessel beam) that remains the same over a long distance.

In this two-year project, led by project manager Professor Bojan Resan (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, School of Engineering and Environment), the researchers plan to produce fraxicon lenses with a sharp tip in the sub-micrometer range using direct laser writing techniques.

Determine the potential of mass production
To this end, the team is analyzing and optimizing each process step so that the lenses can subsequently be produced in large quantities. The researchers will then test the lenses in a recently developed ultra-high-resolution OCT imaging system.

The team from FHNW, the Paul Scherrer Institute and the industrial partner XRnanotech is also investigating how various optical gratings can be produced using different lithography techniques. These gratings need to have numerous lines per millimeter and deflect either infrared or UV rays depending on their structure. Gratings of this kind are already well established, but the production methods used today are difficult, costly and inflexible. In the Nano Diffractive Optics project, the researchers want to explore the potential for mass production through direct writing or nanoimprinting.

Collaboration between:

FHNW School of Engineering and Environment

Paul Scherrer Institute

XRnanotech GmbH (Villingen)

In the Nano-Argovia project Na-LTS, an interdisciplinary team is developing a tissue plaster that can be used in the mouth to support rapid wound healing with the help of lasers.

Support of the healing process
Soft tissue in the mouth plays a significant role in the preservation of teeth and implants. Receding gums are therefore a problem, and serious cases can require the transplantation of mucous membrane and connective tissue. In this procedure, oral surgeons take the required tissue from the palate area.

Now, a team of researchers led by project manager Dr. Franziska Koch (Thommen Medical AG) is planning to develop a palate plaster that supports the healing process and minimizes complications in the event of such interventions. The researchers plan to use this plaster in conjunction with a widespread medical technique known as laser tissue soldering. Contained within the plaster are various nanoparticles, which heat up when exposed to a laser of a certain wavelength — while surrounding tissue remains unaffected. Targeted warming leads to the thermal denaturing of proteins, which act as biological “glue,” at the desired location. This leads to rapid closing of the wound — with no need for stitches or clips.

Prototype development
The project team, which comprises Thommen Medical and researchers from the FHNW Schools of Life Sciences and Engineering and Environment, benefits from the industry partner’s long-standing experience. This allows the team to take account of specific regulatory requirements for medical projects in terms of the choice of materials and nanoparticles right from the outset of this two-year project. The aim is to develop a prototype of the tissue that can serve as a basis for the subsequent product authorization and market launch.

Collaboration between:

Thommen Medical AG (Grenchen)

FHNW School of Life Sciences

FHNW School of Engineering and Environment

As part of the Nano-Argovia project QAmp, researchers from the start-up YQuantum, the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the University of Basel are working together on a key building block for the next generation of quantum computers: extremely low-noise amplifiers for quantum signals.

Signal amplification
At the heart of this technology is a “traveling-wave parametric amplifier” (TWPA), which is needed to convert weak signals from quantum computers into classical electrical signals — with the least possible additional noise. The aim of the project is to develop an amplifier that has as little physical influence on the signals as possible and therefore allows the precise and scalable reading of qubits.

Led by Professor Christian Schönenberger and Professor Andrea Hofmann (Department of Physics, University of Basel), the team is working with industry partner YQuantum to develop a new generation of these amplifiers. The devices are based on superconducting Josephson junctions and use specially developed low-loss structures to amplify signals as efficiently as possible. This work benefits from the partners’ complementary areas of expertise: While the University of Basel handles the characterization of the amplifiers at extremely low temperatures, PSI works with the PICO clean room infrastructure to facilitate production on 8-inch silicon wafers — a major step toward the integration of numerous components in an extremely small space.

Within two years, this ambitious project aims to produce market-ready amplifiers that are not only more compact than current systems but also operate much closer to the absolute quantum noise limit. This should allow the reliable reading of 1,000 qubits — a vital step in the further development and scalability of quantum computers.

Collaboration  between:

University of Basel, Hofmann group

Paul Scherrer Institute

YQuantum (Villigen)

In the Nano-Argovia project Senamag, researchers are investigating a cheap and effective system for detecting water pollution.

Modified nanoparticles
The researchers in the Nano-Argovia project Senamag are using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) whose surfaces are modified with polymer chains. These particles can bind specifically and selectively to certain pollutants that, if they are present in the water, cause the particles to cluster together. These clusters then get caught in a filter and are immobilized by a “magnetic trap.” In the absence of pollutants, the particles remain small and isolated and can therefore flow through the filter without problems.

Cost-effective and efficient
The magnetic trap, which consists of a magnet and magnetometer, is responsible for concentrating and detecting the pollutants. The magnetometer measures the magnetic field of the clustered particles but does not register a significant signal in the case of isolated MNPs.

Led by Professor Joris Pascal (University of Applied Sciences and Arts FHNW, School of Life Sciences), the researchers are aiming to offer a cost-effective and efficient method for detecting water pollution. In the future, they plan to use several of these detectors in water supply networks to monitor pollution events in real time and track specific pollutants so that they can immediately raise the alarm if pollutant limits are exceeded. This could significantly improve water quality monitoring on a large scale.

Collaboration between:

FHNW School of Life Sciences, FHNW

School of Engineering and Environment

Mems AG (Birmenstorf)