Czech Academy of Sciences physics institute operating the HiLASE laser facility, specializing in photonics, scintillation materials, spintronics, and nanomaterial research.
FZU (Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences) is a leading Czech research institute specializing in laser physics, advanced materials, and particle detector technologies. They operate the HiLASE Centre of Excellence — one of Europe's most powerful diode-pumped solid-state laser facilities — and conduct fundamental and applied research in scintillation materials, spintronics, and nanophotonics. Their work spans from theoretical modeling of laser-matter interactions to practical applications in biomedical optics, security detection systems, and semiconductor manufacturing. They serve as both a research infrastructure provider for the European laser community and an active developer of new materials and photonic technologies.
Core capability demonstrated through HiLASE Centre of Excellence (EUR 7.3M), LASERLAB-EUROPE (two rounds), IMPULSE, EUCALL, CHAMPAGNE, and LADENTHER — spanning laser development, user access infrastructure, and laser-based nanomaterial synthesis.
Deep expertise in scintillating materials shown through INTELUM (scintillating fibres), ASCIMAT (advanced scintillation materials), HANSOME (hafnium oxide nanoscintillators), AIDA-2020 and AIDAinnova (detector infrastructures).
Active program in antiferromagnetic spintronics (ASPIN, EUR 729K as coordinator), topological solitons (TSAR), magnetic shape memory alloys (FUNMAH), and magneto-electric sensing (MAGNELIQ).
Research in nanoparticle synthesis, optical waveguides, and composite nanomaterials across ATLANTIC, LADENTHER, HANSOME, and NanED projects.
Participation in NanED (2021-2025) focused on electron nanocrystallography, diffraction, and macromolecular crystallography — expanding their characterization capabilities.
Operates and manages large-scale user facilities through HiLASE CoE, ELITRANS (ELI transformation), IMPULSE (laser user access sustainability), and contributes to PaNOSC open science cloud.
In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), FZU focused on building up its laser infrastructure (HiLASE Centre of Excellence, LASERLAB-EUROPE) and establishing expertise in scintillation materials and radiation damage physics (INTELUM, ASCIMAT). From 2019 onward, the institute shifted toward applied nanophotonics, laser-matter interaction modeling, and interdisciplinary applications — including nano-phototherapy for cardiovascular diseases (LADENTHER), standardized security sensor networks (aqua3S), and zero-defect manufacturing with opto-electronics (IQONIC). The trajectory shows a clear move from infrastructure-building and fundamental materials research toward application-driven photonics and cross-sector technology transfer.
FZU is transitioning from a pure physics institute into an applied photonics hub, increasingly targeting biomedical, security, and manufacturing applications for its laser and nanomaterial capabilities.
FZU balances leadership and partnership roles effectively — coordinating 13 of 34 projects (38%), which is unusually high for a non-university research institute. Their coordinator projects tend to be focused grants (MSCA fellowships, twinning actions) while they join larger consortia as specialist contributors for laser and materials expertise. With 255 unique partners across 37 countries, they operate as a well-connected hub rather than a loyal-partner organization, making them easy to integrate into new consortia.
FZU has built an extensive European network of 255 unique consortium partners spanning 37 countries, reflecting deep integration into the European laser and photonics research community. Their strongest connections are through pan-European infrastructure networks like LASERLAB-EUROPE and the AIDA detector collaborations.
FZU operates the HiLASE Centre of Excellence — one of the few high-power laser facilities in Central Europe offering industrial-grade laser systems for materials processing, surface treatment, and scientific research. This positions them uniquely at the intersection of fundamental physics and industrial applications, particularly in a region (Czech Republic) that is building itself as a European photonics corridor alongside the ELI Beamlines facility. For consortium builders, FZU brings both the scientific depth of an Academy of Sciences institute and practical infrastructure access that few partners in the EU-13 widening countries can offer.
