On 1 November we started the fourth project of the Horizon 2020 program, which is the biggest funding program for research and innovation in the European Union ever.
In the WaterSpy project with partners from Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Austria and Germany we will work on developing a portable device that will allow for monitoring water quality using the infrared spectrum in the range of 6-10 μm. The solution is based primarily on the use of advanced tunable quantum cascade lasers (QCL) as well as fast and sensitive photodetectors (produced in VIGO Photonics S.A.). With this method it will be possible to analyse the biochemical properties of the samples directly in liquid or solid form. The task of VIGO will be to produce an infrared detector integrated with fiber, and dedicated electronics.
The research coordinator is CY.R.I.C Cyprus Research and Innovation Center Ltd.
The cost of a project having last for three years is 4 133 301.25 EUR (of which 3 049 206.74 EUR EU contributions).
More about the project at:
http:/cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/206173_en.html
Other projects in which we participate as part of the Horizon 2020 program:
• MIRHAB, involving the development of a prototype production line to serve the growing needs of European industry in the field of analyzers micro-sensor. The aim of the project is to ensure a reliable supply of photonic components, mid-infrared (MIR) and the reduction of investment costs to obtain them;
• CHEQUERS, whose aim is to produce a device allowing to identify trace amounts of explosives, intended for use by police and other uniformed services in the analysis of the place of explosion or places in which the explosives were created;
• MIREGAS, which assumed to create an instrument enabling the detection and identification of gases by means of medium-wave IR sources (mainly gas detection in industry and also monitoring or analysis environment).