Formed in 1975 at the Gleb Wataghin Physics Institute, UNICAMP to investigate optical fiber communications, it was initaly funded by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa no Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), CPqD (CPqD), Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (PADCT), and Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP). From 1996 to 2001 it has been a part of the Núcleo de Excelência em Fotônica em Telecomunicações, NexFot, funded by the PRONEX program, from the Brazilian Ministry for Science and Technology (MCT).
Its members are closely linked to the research and coordination of three major projects: Optics and Photonics Research Center (CePOF), Kyatera Project (KyaTera),and National Institute of Photonics Science and Technology for Optical Communications (Fotonicom). The Group research topics of optical communications – fiber optics, optical devices, and investigates ultrafast phenomena (devices that work in times of second quadrillions, or femtoseconds).
