Détails

Mis à jour : 30 Avril 2025

Interested by research in laser frequency stabilisation and metrology ? 

The research topic "Laser Interferometry : Optical Fiber, Metrology and Frequency Stabilization" explores and develops new approaches based on fiber-based interferometers for :

• Stabilisation of laser frequency
  
• Measurement with laser interferometry
• Metrology of lasers and photonic devices

Laser interferometry has been underlined by the French High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education as one of the four most important scientific topics of Université Côte d'Azur in term of worldwide acknowledgement.

The main applications of the ultra low frequency noise lasers and the fiber interferometers are :

• Gravitational waves detection (ground based and in space detectors) (in operation LIGO, VIRGO, KAGRA, GEO600; future LISA; prospective LIGO Voyager, Cosmic Explorer, Einstein Telescope) (see D. Shadmany Thesis and [8] for prospective studies on fiber-based gravitational wave detector). Fiber interferometers are used in ARTEMIS for the aforementioned future laser interferometer gravitational wave detector in space LISA. A spatialy resolved stray light detection system using fiber interferometer stabilized frequency swept laser has been developped to characterize the main optical systems of LISA (SL-OGSE) (see [6] , A. Roubeau-Tissot thesis and ARTEMIS LISA group web page) and a similar system is under developement for VIRGO.
• Quantum Technologies & Communications (see for ex. [1],[2],[3],[Muniz 24], [Jing 24], [Isichenko 24])
• Interferometric Optical Sensing, OTDR Temperature and Strain Sensing,  Distributed Acoustic Sensing, Oil and Gas Exploration
• Quantum opto-mechanics ([Cullen 24])
• Frequency metrology
• Satellite gravimetry (GRACE FO launched in 2018, future GRACE-C space mission, future NGGM ESA mission)
• Optical Coherent Communications ([4])
• Fundamental physics and astrophysics : Prospective applications of fiber optics interferometer include testing the interplay between general relativity and quantum physics with light [5]. Long optical delay line is also proposed to be used for the detection of dark matter [Yang 2015] [Savalle 2021][Manley 2023]

These research activities are part of the Engineering of photonic systems field of the Institute of the Sciences of Engineering and Systems and of the Optics and laser field of the Institute of Physics, two institutes of the CNRS. It is part of the Metrology and laser stabilisation team of ARTEMIS.

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Principal investigators :

•   Fabien Kéfélian (Dr), associate professor - Université Côte d'Azur (previously working on AdVIRGO laser)
     

 Contact informations ; personnal web page

 

 

• Main research subject: Spectral transfert of coherence (click) 

 

•  Michel Lintz (Dr, HDR), research fellow - CNRS (now member of LISA team for the Assembly, Integration, and Tests)

Contract researchers:

• Debanjan Show (UCA) - doctoral candidate

Associates:

• Jean-Pierre Coulon, electronics engineer - CNRS
  
• Dylan Sabulsky, electronics engineer - CNRS
• Angélique Guitard, administration - CNRS

 

Partenerships:

• Laser spectrum narrowing and Rayleigh backscattering (with Dr. G. Santarelli, LP2N, Institut d'Optique Bordeaux)
• T-REFIMEVE EQUIPEX (PI : A. Amy-Kein, C. Chardonnet , Université Sorbonne Paris Nord - Paris XIII)

 

Former Partenerships:

• StaLaR, Laser stabilisation on rare earth spectral hole burning (PI : Dr. Jean Etesse, Institut de Physique de Nice)
• Dispersion and stability of passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers integrated on silicium (PI : Dr. Guillaume Huyet, M. Marconi, Institut de Physique de Nice)
• Quantum@UCA, Testbed of quantum cryptography network (PI: Dr. Sébastien Tanzilli, Institut de Physique de Nice)

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NEWS :

• 29/04/2025 : Debanjan Show has succesfully defended his doctoral thesis, congratulation to him !
• 27/03/2025 : The paper Ultra-low noise transfer of spectral purity between two lasers of different wavelength using a heterodyne fiber by Debanjan Show, Stéphanie Grabielle, Jean-Pierre Coulon & Fabien Kéfélian is selected for an oral presentation at the CLEO Europe - EQEC conference in Munich
• 25-27/05/2024 : Debanjan Show, Dr. Stéphanie Grabielle and Dr. Fabien Kéfélian participated to the European Frequency and Time Forum (EFTF) in Neuchâtel in Switzerland
• 16/05/2024 : Stéphanie Grabielle gave a presentation of our recent results on laser frequency locking and spectral transfer of coherence with fiber interferometer at the time and frequency seminar of SYRTE laboratoire in Observatoire de Paris
• 02/04/2024 : three papers were selected for the European Frequency and Time Forum (EFTF), one of the main scientific conferences in the time & frequency domain. Those researches have been funded by LabEx FIRST-TF
• 09/11/2023 : Presentation by Dr. Stéphanie Grabielle (Spectral transfer of coherence using a fiber based interferometer : noise floor and locking methods) at the annual general assembly of the network of excellence First-TF (Network for Research, Innovation, Education, Services and Training in Time-Frequency, "LABEX")
• 30/10/2023 : New research subject selected by FIRST-TF Labex
• 02/01/2023 : Arrival of Dr. Stéphanie Grabielle as post-doctoral researcher, contract position funded by LabEx FIRST-TF. She will work on spectral transfer of coherence using fiber delay line interferometer
• 26/04/2022 : Arrival of Debanjan Show, who was selected by the doctoral school in fundamental and applied sciences as doctoral candidate fellow. Debanjan Show has a master in photonics from the University of Eastern Finland. He will work on spectral transfer of coherence using fiber delay line interferometer
• 21/03/2022 : The project TranSFIF has been selected by the steering comity of the network of excellence in time and frequency FIRST-TF for the funding of a post-doctoral researcher
• 11/03/2021 : The project StaLaR,Laser stabilisation on rare earth spectral hole burning, lead by Jean Etesse from Institut de Physique de Nice in partnership with Fabien Kéfélian has been funded by the research federation Döblin
• 10/2018 : International Conference on Space Optics - ICSO 2018 : Temperature control of a PM ring fiber cavity for long-term laser frequency stabilization by D. Phung, J-P Coulon, Michel Lintz, T. Lévèque., Chania, France. pp.1118054,
• 15/05/2018 : Arrival of Nasserdine Hamdani, trainee from INP Grenoble to work on the double stabilization of laser on a fiber ring cavity under the supervision of M. Lintz
• 03/01/2018 : Arrival of Dr Ha Phung, First-TF funded engineer, to work on long term interferometer stabilization by double locking for 6 months
• 29/06/17 : CLEO Europe/EQEC at Munich : Presentation of Experimental evidence of a fundamental noise floor at the tens of millihertz level in laser locking onto unbalanced fibre-based Michelson interferometer (F. Audo, J.-P. Coulon et F. Kéfélian)
• 08/06/17 : Presentation by Fabien Kéfélian of Experimental evidence of a frequency noise floor at 0.1 Hz/Hz^0.5 in laser locking onto Michelson fiber based interferometer (F. Audo, J.-P. Coulon and F. Kéfélian ) at the annual general assembly of the network of excellence First-TF (Network for Research, Innovation, Education, Services and Training in Time-Frequency, "LABEX")
• 25/04/17 : Arrival of Maxence Dupriez, trainee from université de Lille in master "light - matter", to work on long term laser stabilization by double locking on fiber based Fabry-perot interferometer under the supervision of M. Lintz
• 23/03/17 : Experimental evidence of a fundamental noise floor at the tens of millihertz level in laser locking onto unbalanced fibre-based Michelson interferometer, par F. Audo, J.-P. Coulon et F. Kéfélian accepted at CLEO Europe/EQEC 2017
• 03/02/17 : Release of the paper Efficient diode laser line narrowing using dual, feed-forward + feed-back laser frequency control by M. Lintz, D.-H. Phung, J.-P. Coulon, B. Faure and T. Leveque, in Review of Scientific Instruments 88, 026102 (2017)
• 07/10/16 : Presentation by Michel Lintz of "Dual", feed-forward + feed-back frequency control for efficient and convenient diode laser line narrowing at ICSO, International Conference on Space Optics (Biarritz)
• 10/07/2014 : The equipements for the project SyTraSCAIF (PI F. Kéfélian) has been funded by region PACA (exploratory research program)

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Former subjects of research :

• Long term laser stabilization by self-referencement of a fiber cavity (M. Lintz) (CNES funding)
  
• Spectral narrowing of diode laser (M. Lintz) (CNES funding)
• Laser Telemetry :
  
  • Projet Iliade : Mesures à haute exactitude et haute résolution (financement ANR 07-BLAN-0309-01, CNES et EDSFA)
  • Projet T2M : Télémètre à deux modes (financement CNES, Thales Alenia Space, PACA)

Former investigators and partners:

• Dr. Stéphanie Grabielle - contract researcher (LabEx FIRST-TF funded) in 2023 (now contract researcher for SPINA project in ARTEMIS)
• Nasserdine Hamdani, Phelma engineering school intern in 2018
• Dr. Ha Phung, doctoral candidate EDSFA 09/09-06/13, contract engineer in 2013, FIRST-TF funded contract engineer January-July 2018 (now permanent research engineer in OCA- Geoazur Lab)
• Maxence Dupriez, trainee 2nd year of master in physics option "light - matter" in université de Lille  - 2017
• Dr. Frédéric Audo, FIRST-TF funded contract researcher in 2016 (now engineer at CEA)
• Yassine Barje, trainee (Master Limoges) 2016 (now engineer at SFR)
• Lin Wei Yu, trainee (Master SupOptique) 2016 (now engineer at AMD)
• Mathieu Daldosso, trainee (INSA Toulouse) 2014 (now engineer at NXP Semiconductors)
• Johnny Fernando Martinez Vera, trainee (Master electronics Nice) 2012
• Dr. Clément Courde, doctoral candidate funded by Thales Alenia Space and Région PACA 09/07-02/11 (now permanent research engineer in OCA- Geoazur Lab)
• Dr. Alain Brillet, senior research fellow - Medaille d'or du CNRS recepient (now retired)