LabCom Starlight+

PIs: Giorgio Santarelli (LP2N), Nick Traynor (TOPTICA).
Associated permanent members: Germain Guiraud (TOPTICA), Kentin Poncelet (LP2N).
The Starlight+ Joint Laboratory brings together the expertise of TOPTICA Photonics SAS in high-performance fiber lasers and the Photonic Systems group at LP2N in laser physics, low-noise optoelectronics and advanced metrology.

Its research focuses on high-power, ultra-low-noise laser sources, fiber amplification, nonlinear frequency conversion and precision noise control, with applications ranging from advanced photonics to quantum technologies.

Starlight+ combines fundamental research, advanced metrology and industrial development to enable new generations of robust high-performance laser systems.

Graduate students&Postdocs&engineers: Coline Lavit (LP2N), Peyo Planche (TOPTICA), Thomas Dubé (LP2N), Thomas Chembero (LP2N), William Vaillant (LP2N).

Presentation

Starlight+ was created in late 2014 following its selection by the ANR LabCom programme and started its activities in 2015. After the initial three-year phase, the joint laboratory was selected in 2017 for the ANR LabCom Consolidation programme, establishing the collaboration on a long-term basis.

More than ten years later, Starlight+ has developed into a lasting partnership between LP2N and TOPTICA Photonics SAS, combining academic research and industrial expertise in high-power, low-noise laser technologies.

The LabCom benefits from the strong photonics and quantum ecosystem of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, including NAQUIDIS - Nouvelle-Aquitaine Quantum Disruptive Center, now continued through the NAQUIDIS+ initiative. It also benefits from the close proximity of major regional actors such as ALPhANOV, the optics and laser technology centre, and the ALPHA-RLH competitiveness cluster.

This particularly rich environment promotes strong interactions between advanced laser research, quantum technologies and industrial applications.

Road Map

The scientific programme is structured around four main research directions:

High-power, ultra-low-noise fiber lasers and amplifiers
Development of new fiber laser and amplifier architectures, including rare-earth-doped and Raman systems, combining high power, single-frequency operation and extremely low intensity and phase noise over a broad spectral range.
Advanced laser noise metrology and control
Development of measurement techniques and active control strategies for intensity, frequency and phase noise, together with new approaches to laser stabilization, spectral narrowing and frequency agility.
New wavelengths through nonlinear photonics
Development of efficient nonlinear frequency-conversion architectures, including SHG and SFG, to extend high-power low-noise operation from the infrared toward the visible and ultraviolet and to access wavelengths that are difficult to reach directly.
Laser technologies for scalable quantum systems
Development and qualification of robust laser architectures addressing the growing requirements of quantum computing, quantum sensing and precision measurements, with particular emphasis on power scaling, low noise, reliability and integration.

Through these activities, Starlight+ combines fundamental laser physics, advanced metrology and industrial development, with the objective of transforming new concepts into scalable laser technologies for the next generation of scientific and quantum systems.