- PhD Students
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Félix Gudin
Félix Gudin started his PhD in November 2023 with funding from Université Côte d’Azur. His research focuses on advancing amplitude stellar interferometry, a key technique for high-resolution astronomical imaging, through the use of frequency combs and optical heterodyne detection. To overcome current stellar interferometry limitations, he is also exploring the development and integration of astrophotonic components such as photonic lanterns.
Victoire Thibaut
Victoire started her PhD in December 2024 as part of a European project named VISUAL (Versatile Infrared Light Source for Advanced Illumination). The research project, titled "Femtosecond mid-infrared driver for nanophotonic accelerators", aims to develop an infrared light source to drive the generation of ~MeV electron beams through electron acceleration in dielectric periodic structures. The expected outcome is a disruptive table-top source of MeV electrons with high brightness. She began by designing and studying a mid-infrared difference-frequency generation (DFG) system pumped by a VISUAL Ytterbium laser. Then, she will assess the damage threshold of silicon nanostructures provided by FAU and, finally, conduct electron acceleration experiments at FAU.
- Postdocs
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Shallu Dhingra
Shallu Dhingra received her B.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Panjab University, India, in 2017. She subsequently joined the integrated MS–Ph.D. program (2018–2024) at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, where she was awarded the prestigious Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) in 2020 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. Her doctoral research focused on the design and synthesis of discotic liquid crystalline materials for applications in organic electronics. In October 2024, she joined the Complex Photonic Systems and Materials team at the Institut de Physique de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, as a postdoctoral researcher. Currently, she investigates the biomimetic replication of natural photonic architectures using chiral liquid crystals to develop structurally tunable, multicolor optical tags with potential applications in anti-counterfeiting technologies, optical encryption, and smart responsive coatings.
Natan Monvoisin
Natan Monvoisin received his Master's degree in materials science and engineering from INSA Rennes (National Institute of Applied Science, Rennes, France) in 2019. During his doctoral research at LAAS-CNRS, he explored the control of electrical injection in VCSELs by demonstrating novel nanostructured transparent electrodes and enhancing in-situ optical monitoring of the fabrication of electro-optical confinement oxide layer(s). In 2024, he joined the Institute of Physics of Nice as a postdoctoral researcher. His work focuses on assessing the capabilities of an innovative large-area thermo-optically-addressed spatial light modulator (TOA-SLM), based on liquid crystals, for spatial amplitude modulation of high-energy infrared laser beams.
Rajath Sawant
Rajath Sawant obtained his BS-MS degree majoring in Physics from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, India in 2017. He carried out his doctoral research on optical metasurfaces for imaging and quantum optics applications at CRHEA, a CNRS laboratory and received his PhD degree in 2020. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Bourgogne, Dijon from 2021 to 2024 and his research focused on phase change materials for photonic computing and optical heterodyne interferometry for nonlinear optics. In 2024, he joined the Institute of Physics of Nice (INPHYNI, Nice) as a postdoctoral researcher and his current research is about designing III-V semiconductor nanoamplifiers and exploring the integration of phase change materials in nanolaser arrays.
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