Pr. Belén Villacampa

Department of Condensed Matter Physics
Faculty of Sciences. Building A, 1st floor
University of Zaragoza – Campus San Francisco.
E-50009 Zaragoza, Aragón, SPAIN
Phone: +34 876 553759
e-mail: bvillaca@unizar.es

Research background and interests

My research career began in the field of inorganic materials for laser applications, where I developed a strong background in photophysics and advanced spectroscopic techniques, particularly time-resolved photoluminescence and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR). During my doctoral studies at the University of Zaragoza, this training provided a solid experimental foundation for the study of photoactive materials.

A strategic shift towards organic materials took place during a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre National d’Études des Télécommunications (CNET, Paris), within Prof. Zyss’s group, where I focused on the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of organic systems and the development of experimental NLO techniques, with particular expertise in Electric Field Induced Second Harmonic Generation (EFISH). This work was further extended after my return to Zaragoza, covering NLO responses from the molecular to the polymeric scale.

In 2015, I joined the Photoactive π-Functional Systems Group, expanding my research towards photovoltaic devices. My current research focuses on the photophysical and spectroscopic characterization of emerging photovoltaic materials, with particular emphasis on charge-transfer processes, structure–property relationships and device-relevant properties. These activities are carried out in close collaboration with international research groups within European and Ibero-American networks, strengthening the transfer of expertise from nonlinear optics to energy-related photoactive materials.