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PhD Student: Bárbara Diego Lisboa

Directors: Dr César Moreno, Universidad de Cantabria (UNICAN) and Dr Maria Soler, Senior Researcher at NanoBiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications Group at ICN2

Short Abstract: Recent advancements in materials science, particularly in the bottom-up synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, have enabled the fabrication of complex graphene nanoarchitectures with atomic precision, such as the nanoporous graphene (NPG) or functional graphene nanoribbons (GNR). The precise control on the nanostructures geometry and dimensions is critical for fine-tuning their optical and electronic properties, as well as for incorporating new functionalities to broaden their application potential. The aim of this PhD thesis is to explore and demonstrate the application of these novel graphene nanomaterials in advancing silicon nanophotonic technologies. Specifically, NPG is integrated into the Bimodal Waveguide (BiMW) biosensor as both atomically precise biofunctionalization scaffold and as size-selective membrane for in-line filtration of biological samples. Furthermore, the optical properties of the NPG-BiMW hybrid system are deeply studied and characterized, leading to the discovery of interesting light manipulation capabilities through the NPG layer. This has facilitated the development of on-chip polarization filters and rotators, which may be incorporated into photonics integrated circuits (PICs), contributing to technology miniaturization.