Place : Auditorium de la Cité des sciences, La Villette
The French Physics Society, in partnership with the Cité des Sciences, is hosting an exceptional evening hosted by Anatole Chouard to learn all about quantum mechanics, from general principles to quantum computers and the world of the infinitely small and the infinitely large.
The QITE Photonics team at MPQ recently published an article in Optica Quantum.
The QITE team at the MPQ Laboratory, in collaboration with STMicroelectronics, C2N, and INPHYNI, published a paper in Optica Quantum on the generation and engineering of two-photon states using III-V/SOI hybrid devices.
This study, featured on the cover of the February 25, 2026 issue, combines an AlGaAs photon-pair source with a silicon photonic platform, enabling room-temperature operation and full compatibility with standard semiconductor technologies.
Operating in the telecommunications C-band, the device delivers high photon-pair generation rates and excellent quantum signal quality. A new integrated coupling scheme allows the generated quantum state to be shaped and controlled directly on the chip.
This breakthrough is a key step towards the development of scalable, electrically driven quantum photonic systems for future applications in quantum communication and information processing.
Figure : Artist’s sketch of the hybrid device: photon pairs are generated in an AlGaAs waveguide. A coupling taper shapes and controls their wavefunction, then transfers them into the underlying silicon waveguide.
Place : Institut d'Optique Graduate School, Palaiseau France
The European Quantum PhD Days are back at Paris-Saclay University. This event is exclusively for PhD students, giving you the opportunity to discuss your work, get to know each other, and enjoy some special moments together.
Register and submit an abstract for a talk or poster. Find all the information you need on the dedicated website
Place : Collège d'Espagne, CIUP, 7 E Boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris
At the International Conference on Quantum Communication and Security, Marina Cagnon-Trouche, Léonardo Rincon Celis, and Antoine Chapuis will perform their dance show “Nothing (but interactions)” at the Collège d’Espagne in the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris.
Have you ever wondered what life is like for a doctoral student in quantum physics? Through this performance, the budding researchers and artists paint a moving portrait of their hours spent in the laboratory. An ode to research, small daily joys, and youth that is not to be missed!
This performance is intended for the general public and CIUP students. Admission is free and no reservation is required. The show will be followed by a discussion with the doctoral students.
The entire show will be performed in English.
Students will become familiar with various ultra-sensitive measurement techniques (conductance and electrical fluctuations, thermodynamic probes, including entropy), cryogenic techniques for temperatures in the millikelvin range, electron beam nanofabrication in the exceptional facilities of the C2N, and advanced quantum mechanics. The student’s work will encompass all aspects of the project, including theoretical analysis and modeling.
In classical Computer Science many composite systems are modelled by dynamical networks, for instance computer processes, neurons, biochemical agents, particle systems, market agents and social network users. This because those systems, e.g. social networks agents, have the capabilities to spawn, disappear, connect and disconnect. Whilst standard quantum theory focusses on the quantisation of the individual systems within networks, a recently developed quantum networks theory seeks to quantise all features of dynamical networks—including their connectivity and population.
The Master 2 student will conduct theoretical research on quantum superpositions of graphs and causal unitary operators that evolve such superpositions without information traveling too fast, i.e., while respecting graph distance.
This short-term internship aims to introduce the student to the field of quantum nanodiamonds and to the main optical characterization techniques used in physics and materials science. It is carried out within the framework of the NanoG4V project (PI M. De Feudis), funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), which aims to produce a new generation of high-quality, quantum-grade nanodiamonds for a wide range of applications, such as extreme-condition sensing, nanoscale thermometry, and live-cell dual-color imaging. The student will join the CQSD group of the MPOE team at the IRCP Institute.
The student will be trained in the study of nanodiamond samples using Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature, employing different laser wavelengths (green, red, blue). The measurements will allow the identification of diamond and graphite phases, as well as different color centers, such as silicon-vacancy (SiV) and nitrogenvacancy (NV) centers, and the understanding of their spectroscopic signatures. The internship will include a strong experimental component: sample preparation and handling, hands-on use of a Raman/PL spectrometer (Renishaw software), understanding of the general operation of the instrumentation and its electronics. Particular attention will be devoted to data processing and analysis. The student will learn how to exploit experimental results using scientific
software (Origin, etc.) to produce high-quality graphs, perform mathematical fitting procedures, and generate 3D representations. An introduction to data structuring and compatibility between different file formats (e.g. between Python and Origin) will also be provided. The internship will be supervised by the Ass. Prof. Mary De Feudis (project leader) and a PhD student, within an active and stimulating international research environment.
For interested students, this internship may lead to higher-level internships, including the processing of data obtained at the SOLEIL synchrotron (tomography, radiography, X-ray diffraction).
Layered Carpy-Galy oxides (general formula AₙBₙO₃ₙ₊₂, e.g. La2Ti2O7) are a versatile family of ferroelectric materials consisting of perovskite blocks separated by additional oxygen planes. Their uniaxial in-plane polarization, arising from cooperative oxygen octahedral rotations, makes them fundamentally different from conventional ferroelectric perovskites and potentially valuable for electro-optic applications (e.g. photonic integrated circuits). In our laboratory, through epitaxy we stabilized high-quality, single-crystalline thin films of these compounds, with nearly fourfold increase in ferroelectric polarization [1]. This opens the way to investigate their electro-optic properties, in particular, the Pockels effect, which describes the linear modulation of refractive index of a material under an applied electric field. Studying this effect in layered ferroelectrics will provide insight into how their uniaxial in-plane polarization influence electro-optic coefficients, thus evaluating their potential for compact on-chip electro-optic
modulators [2].
During the internship, the student will learn the basics of thin-film structural characterization (X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy) to determine film orientation and quality; perform ellipsometry measurementsto extract the refractive indices and assess the material’s birefringence; set up and carry out electro-optic coefficient measurements using a laser, Soleil-Babinet compensator, polarizer, and photodiode combined with lock-in amplifier detection [3] to quantify the effective electro-optic coefficients; compare results with theoretical predictions/canonical ferroelectric materials and uncover how the anisotropic layered structure and uniaxial in plane polarization affect electro-optic properties.
The project will primarily focus on thin-film optical characterization and data interpretation, with a brief
introduction to material properties. The knowledge in optical measurements (ellipsometry, birefringence, etc.) is a plus.
You will be working under the supervision of: Elzbieta Gradauskaite (elzbieta.gradauskaite@cnrs-thales.fr , CNRS), Manuel Bibes (CNRS), Jérôme Bourderionnet (Thales), Gilles Feugnet (Thales).
Rare-earth perovskite nickelates (RNiO₃, with R a rareearth element) are correlated oxides that exhibit sharp, tuneable metal–insulator transitions (MITs). Their electronic properties are highly sensitive to lattice distortions and strain (Fig. 1), making them excellent model systems for studying structure–property coupling in quantum materials. Our group has demonstrated that the MIT in nickelate thin films can be shifted toward room temperature by mixing Sm and Nd in controlled ratios, opening opportunities for
device-oriented applications. Building on this progress, the proposed project aims to achieve active and reversible control of the transition through strain engineering. Epitaxial films will be grown on piezoelectric substrates (BaTiO₃ or PMN-PT), where an applied gate voltage dynamically modulates the biaxial strain and, consequently, the MIT. The resulting strain-driven tuning will be explored through
transport and infrared optical measurements to realize dynamically tuneable properties relevant for thermo-optical applications.
The student will grow and optimize nickelatesthin films of selected compositions using Pulsed Laser
Deposition (PLD) technique on piezo electric substrates. He/she will also perform a complete structural
characterization of the thin films through X-Ray reflectivity (XRR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Reciprocal
Space Map technique (RSM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Resistivity measurements as a
function of the temperature and gate voltage will determine the influence of strain on the metal-insulator
transition, while optical characterization, including thermal reflectance, emissivity measurements and
ellipsometry, will assess the strain-dependent infrared behaviour. Experience with electrical transport
and optical characterization techniques will be considered an asset, along with strong experimental
skills, data analysis capabilities, and the ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment
bridging academic research and industrial innovation.
You will be working under the supervision of: Lucia Iglesias (CNRS) and Julian Peiro (Thales) at
Laboratoire Albert Fert located in Thales Research and Technology building on the Paris-Saclay campus.
Ferroelectrics are polar materials whose switchable polarization can be used to store non-volatile information. Among them, BaTiO₃ (BTO) stands out for its low-voltage switching and high endurance in thin-film form. Remarkably, BTO can also become conducting when doped with electrons, leading to a rare coexistence of ferroelectricity and metallicity. This unconventional combination raises key questions: how do structural distortions, carrier density, and electrostatic screening interact at the nanoscale? How does this balance evolve with film thickness, doping level, or epitaxial strain? Beyond fundamental interest, creating a 2D conducting channel – either a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) or a lightly
doped polar metal – within the same ferroelectric matrix offers a new route to mitigate interface defects that limit the performance of ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs).
The goal of the internship is to grow epitaxial BaTiO3 films by hybrid molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), a technique enabling atomic-scale control and the highest material quality. The intern will:
This internship will provide strong hands-on experience in thin-film growth, advanced characterization, and device physics. Depending on progress, it can be extended into a PhD thesis focusing on the physics and applications of ferroelectric-metallic oxides.
You will work at C2N with Thomas Maroutian for film growth, and at the Laboratoire Albert Fert with Manuel Bibes for ferroelectric characterization and device studies.
