Research
Photo Credit: Josée Lecompte
Ultrafast Science and Technology
Ultrafast lasers and technologies allow scientists to get a glimpse of microscopic phenomena occurring at the atomic and molecular levels.
Photo Credit: Josée Lecompte
Possible Applications
The uses of these technologies are varied. In academic research they have applications in the fields of spectroscopy, nonlinear and quantum optics, biomedical imaging and many more.
They also have applications in the 5 key innovation sectors of Canada:
Environment and agriculture
Natural resources and energy
Information and communications technologies
Advanced manufacturing
Health and life sciences
For example, ultrafast lasers are used for advanced manufacturing with high precision microprocessing of materials, giving rise to new information and communication technologies.
Research Projects
Available
INRS EMT, Varennes, QC
Graduate Student Positions (PhD) in the Extreme Photonics at Tsuneyuki Ozaki’s lab
Research fields : High-order harmonic generation, Advanced Terahertz spectroscopy, Biophotonics.
3 projects are available for PhD positions :
- Project #1: Femtosecond high Average-power Micro-joule & Milli-joule Extreme-Ultraviolet Source
(FAMEUS) - Project #2: Nonlinear Terahertz Photonics
- Project #3: High-sensitivity, high-throughput Terahertz Sensor for Biology & Medicine
For more details, click on the title.
Tsuneyuki Ozaki
Professor
INRS EMT and O/E Land Inc., Varennes and LaSalle, QC
Development of a passive mode-locked fiber laser at 1300 nm spectral region
This project involved the design, construction, and characterization of a self-starting, passively mode-locked fiber laser operating in the O-band, centered at a wavelength of 1310 nm. Leveraging advanced fiber optics and mode-locking techniques, the laser was engineered to produce pulses with durations in the nanosecond range. The use of passive mode-locking—achieved through a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror in a figure-9 configuration—ensured simplicity, stability, and cost-effectiveness, making it a strong candidate for applications including telecommunications, medical imaging, and spectroscopy.
The system demonstrated stable pulse generation across a 120 nm tunable wavelength range, with a fundamental repetition rate of 12.7 MHz. Pulse durations ranged from 10.4 ns to 58.8 ns, and the spectral bandwidth varied between 0.21 nm and 0.41 nm. Stability and self-starting operation were supported by a polarization controller and a fiber-based phase shifter.
Key milestones included the design and assembly of the fiber laser cavity, optimization of mode-locking conditions, and thorough characterization of pulse parameters. The performance of the laser was benchmarked against conventional sources, with improvements in tunability, stability, and spectral characteristics.
This compact and robust laser system offers strong potential for integration into advanced photonic systems, supporting further developments in nonlinear optical microscopy, optical coherence tomography, and high-speed data transmission. Overall, this project contributes meaningfully to the field of fiber-based pulsed lasers, advancing the understanding and implementation of passive mode-locking techniques in the 1310 nm spectral region.
Narges Amouzandeh
M. Sc. Student, with Professor François Légaré from INRS EMT and O/E Land Inc.
