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Barcelona
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France
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France
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France
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Germany
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Israel
ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences was founded in 2002 by the Government of Catalonia and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, both of which are members of its board of trustees along with the Cellex and Mir-Puig Foundations, philanthropic entities that have played a critical role in the advancement of the institute. Located in the Mediterranean Technology Park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, the institute currently hosts 400 people, organized in 26 research groups in 60 state-of-the-art research laboratories.
Research lines encompass diverse areas in which photonics plays a decisive role, with an emphasis on basic and applied themes relevant to medicine and biology, advanced imaging techniques, information technologies, a range of environmental sensors, tunable and ultra-fast lasers, quantum science and technologies, photovoltaics and the properties and applications of nano- and quantum materials such as graphene, among others.
In addition to two consecutive accreditations of the Severo Ochoa national program for research excellence, ICFOnians have been awarded 15 elite ICREA Professorships and 35 European Research Council grants. ICFO participates actively in the European Technological Platform Photonics21 and is very proactive in fostering entrepreneurial activities, spin-off creation, and creating collaborations and links between industry and ICFO researchers. To date, ICFO has helped create 8 start-up companies.
Researchers
Darrick Chang (Prof.), leader of the Theoretical Quantum Nanophotonics Group at ICFO. He specializes in theoretical quantum optics, atomic physics, and nanophotonics. Research highlights include pioneering proposals for quantum plasmonics, novel protocols involving atom-nanophotonic interfaces, quantum optomechanics using optically levitated particles, and strong light-matter interactions using graphene plasmons. He has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant and was a PI and Scientific Coordinator of FET-Open XTrack Project GRASP. He has published over 60 papers, including 16 in the Nature family of journals.
Daniel Hümmer (PhD) is a Post-Doc at the group of Prof. Darrick Chang. Daniel is a physicist specialized in quantum field theories and theoretical high-energy physics. During his PhD at the University of Innsbruch, he studied the role of phononic excitations in near-field quantum optics and levitodynamics.
Leticia Tarruell (Prof.), leader of the Ultracold Quantum Gases Experimental Group at ICFO since 2013. Ph.D. at ENS Paris (2008); Post-doc at ETH Zurich (2008-2012); Chargée de Recherche CNRS at Institut d’Optique Bordeaux (2012-2013). Her research focuses on experimental quantum simulation with ultracold quantum gases, including fermionic bulk and optical lattice systems, and mixtures of Bose-Einstein condensates. She is the author of 22 publications, including 1 in Nature and 2 in Science. She has received 11 grants as PI since 2014.
Vasiliy Makhalov (PhD) graduated by the Lobachevsky University in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. During his PhD and PostDoc research periods in both the Russian Academy of sciences and the Kastler-Brossel laboratory in France, he acquired extensive experience in cold atoms and quantum simulations. He is now a Postdoctoral Researcher in the group of Prof. Leticia Tarruell working on quantum simulations and he will be contributing to the research carried out within DAALI.
Lukas Heller studied Physical Engineering and Physics in Austria and Germany before moving to ICFO to carry out his PhD in Quantum Optics. In particular, he investigates the suitability of cold atoms as efficient light-matter interfaces and faithful storage media for quantum states of light.
Jonatan Höschele studied in Stuttgart and joined the Ultracold Quantum Gases group of Prof. Leticia Tarruell as a PhD student in January 2019. He is building up a new experiment to realize subwavelength-spaced ordered arrays of ultracold strontium atoms to explore cooperative effects in atom-photon scattering.
Sandra Buob carried her studies in Physics at the ETH in Zürich before joining the group of Prof. Leticia Tarruel for a PhD. In particular, her work is related to the study of optical lattices filled with strontium atoms.
Hugues de Riedmatten (Prof.), ICREA Professor and group leader at ICFO. Prof de Riedmatten is a specialist of experimental quantum optics, atomic physics and quantum communication. His main scientific achievements include the first demonstration of long-distance quantum teleportation, the first demonstrations of elementary quantum networks with cold atoms, the first demonstrations of solid-state quantum memories and the first demonstration of quantum communication between disparate quantum network nodes. All of these achievements have received significant attention from the scientific community and from the media worldwide. He has published over 87 papers (h-index 41), WoS) including in Nature (6), Science (1), Nature family (7) and PRL (16). He has received 12 grants as PI since 2010, including an ERC starting grant, two quantum flagship projects and a Moore foundation grant.
Auxiliadora Padrón-Brito, (PhD) student working on the Rydberg experiment. Auxiliadora is a specialist in quantum non-linear optics with Rydberg atoms. She will be a first-time participant to FET under Horizon 2020.
Klara Teophilo, (PhD) graduated by the University of São Paulo, acquired extensive experience in cold atoms and quantum information experiments during PhD and postdoctoral research projects. Currently, she is a postdoc with Prof. Hugues de Riedmatten.
Jan Lowinski is a PhD student in group Quantum Photonics with Solids and Atoms at ICFO. Interested in quantum technologies with cold atoms and how technology changes our society.
Support Team
Marta Sans (PhD) Project manager at ICFO. From 2015 to 2019, she worked as a post-doctoral researcher in Biophysics at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, Germany. Since November 2019 she’s part of the Projects Unit at ICFO, where she has been managing FET European coordinated proposals and projects, as for example, the ICFO coordinated Optoelectronics Work Package of the Graphene Flagship, the European Union’s biggest scientific research initiative. Together with the Coordinator, she will ensure the progress and quality of DAALI.
Victor Herrero, KTT Project manager at ICFO. Victor Herrero is a chemical engineer who devoted his professional career to public/private funding at EU level, cumulating +12 years of experience into technology development, research strategy, and venturing. Before joining ICFO, he worked as a professional consultant, being the bridge between enterprises and breakthrough technologies, offering a seamless end-to-end service to leverage financial resources. Now, he is a project manager of the Quantum Technologies portfolio and all related strategic activities at ICFO’s KTT unit.
Alina Hirschmann (PhD), Science communication officer at ICFO. She obtained a double B.Sc. degree in Physics and Astrophysics from Florida Institute of Technology- FloridaTech. In 2009, she obtained her PhD degree in Astrophysics from the UPC (Barcelona) through the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) and a Master degree in Communication Management (2018). She has focused her career in Science Communication, a position that she has held since 2009. She is currently the Science Communication officer at ICFO and will be coordinating, together with Marta Martín, the Communication and Dissemination actions of the project.
Marta Martín, Science communication officer at ICFO. She holds a BSc in Environmental Biology, an MSc in Neurosciences and a postgraduate degree in Science Communication. She started her career as a researcher in evolutionary biology and has since focused on communicating and disseminating science, covering several fields of research.
IxBlue (former Muquans) is a dynamic French SME, which is the world’s leading company to design, produce, and commercialize quantum sensors based on laser-cooled atoms.
Muquans is a spin-off from the Institut d’Optique (France) and Observatoire de Paris (LNE-SYRTE, France), where the core technology has been developed for more than 15 years. Especially active in the fields of Quantum Technologies, we are used to supporting ambitious research activities. We have developed unique scientific and technological expertise in high-precision quantum measurements and laser systems dedicated to atom cooling, and our product portfolio is currently composed of an absolute quantum gravimeter, a high-performance atomic clock, and frequency-controlled research-grade laser systems dedicated to Quantum Physics experiments. Our team of scientists, engineers and technicians gathers deep skills over a wide range of competencies: quantum physics, lasers & optics, electronics & micro-wave, opto-mechanics, and real-time software. We are also supporting other FET-open calls and European Joint Research Programs.
Contact person
Jean Lautier-Gaud, MBA, PhD, conducted his research in applied Quantum Physics in the field of high-precision measurements at LNE-SYRTE laboratory (Observatoire de Paris), the French National Metrological Institute for Time & Frequency. He worked on simplifying cold atom quantum physics experimental set-ups, in order to facilitate their utilization outside of laboratories and transfer these technologies to Industry. He developed a compact atom accelerometer dedicated to on-field measurements. After an MBA degree, Dr Jean Lautier-Gaud is now ixBlue’s Director of Business Development and Sales.
Born from the merger of Université Pierre et Marie Curie and Université Paris Sorbonne, whose campuses are in the heart of Paris, Sorbonne Université covers all major disciplinary fields and offers new transversal academic and research programs. Sorbonne Université becomes a fully multidisciplinary research-intensive university with three faculties: Humanities and Social Sciences, Medicine and Sciences & Engineering. With more than 53,400 students (among them 10,200 international students), 4400 doctoral students, and 6300 researchers, Sorbonne Université is one of the leading French universities. The university is involved in numerous European and International partnership agreements and has France’s largest scientific library and infrastructures bringing together the best talent in a wide array of these disciplines. With 8,500 publications per year (approx. 10% of all publications in France), Sorbonne Université is a major player in the international knowledge and innovation economy.
The European Affairs office, which is in charge of the EU projects at Sorbonne Université, has managed so far 150 FP7 and 100 H2020 projects (including 42 ERC grants and 45 industry-sponsored research chairs). The EU office will manage all the financial, administrative, and legal aspects for the participation of SU in this project.
This project will take place in the Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, specifically in the Quantum Optics division. This division has been a recognized leader in the manipulation and storage of quantum fluctuations of light, aiming to demonstrate new tools for quantum information processing. Notably, the most recent studies have mainly concerned the demonstration of quantum effects with semiconductor structures, the generation of multimode and non-Gaussian states of light, the use of quantum effects for the improvement of optical measurements, and the demonstration of multimode and fibered quantum memories based on large atomic ensembles.
Researchers
Julien Laurat, a Group Leader and Full Professor at Sorbonne Université, is spearheading both experimental and theoretical research at Laboratoire Kastler Brossel. His aim is to develop the scientific and technical capabilities required for the realization of quantum networks. Consequently, his work encompasses the development of light-matter interfaces for quantum storage, the generation of non-classical states, and the implementation of networking protocols using these resources. This research not only involves fundamental studies but also applied investigations in quantum optics, non-linear optics, cold atoms, photon detection, and nanophotonics. Notably, his major achievements include the first generation of optical Schrödinger cat state and hybrid entanglement of light, as well as the demonstration of a segment of a quantum repeater involving four synchronized quantum memories. Furthermore, he achieved the first demonstration of quantum memory for twisted light and guiding light.
In 2012, he was awarded an ERC Starting Grant and was also elected to the Institut Universitaire de France. He has authored more than 65 papers, with an h-index of 26 and 2900 citations. Additionally, he has given 40 invited conference talks. Moreover, he has been involved in 6 European projects, coordinating 3 of them.
The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (C2N) belongs to the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and to the Paris-Saclay University.The main specialty of C2N concerns cutting-edge nanofabrication techniques, using more than 2800 m2 of cleanroom facilities. C2N is the largest French academic nanotech facility, coexisting with a laboratory of more than 400 researchers. The center advances the fields of material science, nanophotonics, nanoelectronics, nanobiotechnologies, and microsystems, as well as nanotechnologies.
In all these fields, its research activities span the entire range from fundamental to applied science. Specifically, the fabrication process implemented in the project will benefit significantly from the know-how developed by the NanoPhotonIQ group at C2N, particularly in fabricating 1D and 2D semiconductor photonic crystal waveguides and nanocavities. Moreover, it will benefit from the expertise of an epitaxy specialist and engineers dedicated to specific clean-room processes. Consequently, C2N’s contribution to DAALI encompasses the entire chain, from the design of optimized photonic crystal slow-light waveguides with atomic access, to MOCVD epitaxy of low-loss GaInP layers, lithography, etching, passivation, and characterization. Furthermore, the NanoPhotonIQ group members involved in DAALI bring together extensive expertise in nanotechnology, spectroscopy, nonlinear optics, and quantum information, thereby facilitating interactions with the other partners.
Researchers
Kamel Bencheikh (CR CNRS), leader of the quantum information activity of the NanoPhotonIQ group, combines rare expertise in quantum information, spectroscopy, and photonic crystals, with the first achievement of repeated quantum non-demolition measurement, spectroscopy and EIT of rare-earth ions, and design and technology of semiconductor photonic crystal nanocavities and waveguides. He has developed an original design of suspended photonic crystal waveguides and nanocavities. He will be a first-time participant in FET under Horizon 2020.
Ariel Levenson (DR CNRS), Head of the NanoPhotonIQ group and former director of the National C’Nano Network. His recent research achievements combine micro and nano-photonics in photonic crystals and waveguide arrays, and nonlinear dynamics and quantum optics. He will be a first-time participant in FET under Horizon 2020.
Fabrice Raineri (MC Paris Diderot University), is an expert on III-V semiconductor and hybrid photonic crystal technologies. He was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2016. He will be a first-time participant to FET under Horizon 2020.
Isabelle Sagnes (DR CNRS), Head of the RENATECH Network, is the leader of the MOCVD epitaxy team, and the most active French academic expert on III-V semiconductor metal-organic epitaxy.
Humboldt University (HUB) is one of the 11 Excellence Universities in Germany. Its research and science campus in Berlin-Adlershof is among the 15 largest science and technology parks in the world. ‘Optics & Photonics in the Extremes’ is one of the key research directions comprising research objectives such as light with the lowest or highest intensities, complex (quantum) states of light, and photons interacting with atom-like objects or photonic nanostructures. The Rauschenbeutel group has pioneered the coupling of neutral atoms with photonic nanostructures and has opened a realistic approach to bringing together quantum optics with atoms and photonics. Key results of the group in recent years include:
- The first demonstration of trapping of laser-cooled atoms in the evanescent field surrounding an optical nanofiber
- The realization of a chiral light-matter interface between dipole emitters and guided fields, which demonstrates propagation direction-dependent light-matter interactions.
- Realization of integrated optical isolators and circulators based on chiral light-matter interaction.
Researchers
Arno Rauschenbeutel (Prof.), leader of the Fundamentals of Optics and Photonics Group at HUB. His research focuses on experimental quantum optics, nanophotonics, hybrid quantum systems, optical nanofibers, and optical microresonators. His group has pioneered the use of subwavelength-diameter optical fibers in quantum optical experiments. Arno Rauschenbeutel received a Marie Curie Excellence Award (EC), a European Young Investigators Award (ESF), a Lichtenberg-Professorship (VolkswagenFoundation), an ERC Consolidator Grant, and an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation).
Philipp Schneeweiß (PhD), senior scientist. He has extensive experience on coupling quantum emitters to micro- and nanostructures. During his award-winning PhD, he was the first to interface a Bose-Einstein-Condensate with a single carbon nanotube. Currently, his research interest is focused on cold atoms that are trapped and optically interfaced using light in optical nanofibers. Within the group of Arno Rauschenbeutel, P. Schneeweiss and his team performed key experiments on the nanofiber system and developed fundamental methods for the manipulation of quantum emitters close to micro- and nanophotonic structures.
Jürgen Volz (PhD), senior scientist. He received his PhD at the LMU Munich for realizing single-atom-based light-matter quantum interfaces. From 2007-2011 he worked in the group of Jakob Reichel at the LKB as a postdoctoral researcher on coupling Bose-Einstein condensates with high-finesse fibre-based Fabry-Pérot cavities. He joined the group of Arno Rauschenbeutel in 2011 as a Marie Curie Fellow. His current research focuses on the realization of quantum interfaces by coupling individual atoms to whispering-gallery-mode microresonators and on the investigation of the character of light-matter interaction in nanoscale optical devices.
The Weizmann Institute of Science is a leading multidisciplinary basic research institution in the natural and exact sciences, established in 1934 and named for Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel and Founder of the Institute. The Weizmann Institute cultivates a unique thriving scientific environment and access to the best graduate students in Israel.
In particular, in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Physics, the Institute hosts a strong community consisting of several experimental groups. These include ultracold atoms (Davidson), attosecond physics (Dudovich), nanophotonics (Oron), and optical metamaterials (Leonhardt). Additionally, it features groups in quantum memory and Rydberg atoms (Firstenberg), trapped ions (Ozeri), Zeeman slowing of molecules and quantum chemistry (Narevicius), and quantum optics and cavity-QED (Dayan). Furthermore, another advantage of the Weizmann Institute is that it hosts only a graduate school (without B.Sc. studies), resulting in a very light teaching load for the researchers. Consequently, this allows the PIs to focus almost entirely on research.
Researchers
Barak Dayan (Prof.), head of the Weizmann Quantum Optics Group. Dayan has wide experience in quantum optics and cavity-QED, from the demonstration of nonlinear interactions with entangled photons (Weizmann), through the first observation of strong coupling between single atoms and chip-based micro-resonators (as a postdoc at Jeff Kimble’s group in Caltech, 2005-2008), to the demonstration of all-optical switching of single photons by single photons and photon-atom SWAP gate (Weizmann). He will be a first-time participant to FET under Horizon 2020.
Abraham Shanzer (Prof.),from the Organic Chemistry department at Weizmann. Shanzer co-instructs two of Dayan’s students (Ori and Tal) on the subject of rare earth (RE) complexes. With over 35 years of experience in synthetic chemistry focusing on heavy metals, Avi Shanzer is an expert in organic and inorganic chemistry. His works vary from bio-mimetic chemistry, through synthesis of multilayered structures on solids, and spectroscopy, to extremely efficient RE fluorophores. He will be a first-time participant to FET under Horizon 2020.
Tal Ohana (M.Sc., PhD student), she will be a first-time participant to FET under Horizon 2020.
Ori Mor (M.Sc., PhD student), he will be a first-time participant to FET under Horizon 2020
Dor Korn (M.Sc., PhD student),he will be a first-time participant to FET under Horizon 2020.
Dor Korn (M.Sc., PhD student),he will be a first-time participant to FET under Horizon 2020.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 899275 under the funding call FETOPEN-01-2018-2019-2020 – FET-Open Challenging Current Thinking.