iXblue and the Hubert Curien Laboratory are proud to announce today the creation of the LabH6
Saint-Etienne, May 27, 2019
iXblue and the Hubert Curien Laboratory (UJM/ CNRS / Institut d’Optique Graduate School) are proud to announce today the creation of the LabH6, a joint research laboratory focusing on the study of optical fibers and optical fiber-based sensors in harsh environments.
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iXblue and the Hubert Curien Laboratory, which have been working together since 2006 on studying the vulnerability of optical fibers in a variety of nuclear environments, are opening up their joint research laboratory, the LabH6. |
Combining complementary skills
The new LabH6 brings together all complementary skill sets of both partners. It will benefit from the synergy between iXblue’s R&D capabilities in fibers and components and the experimental and modeling tools of the Hubert Curien Laboratory, which develops experimental methods and simulation tools for the characterization and description of the behaviour of optical and photonic components and systems in a variety of harsh environments.
In depth material knowledge for technological breakthroughs
The LabH6 goal is to characterize the vulnerability in radiative environments of different types of materials and optical fibers, to understand and identify the mechanisms that are at the origin of this deterioration, and to develop and confirm simulation tools capable of predicting how they will respond. With an influence on numerous applications in space, nuclear sector, medicine or even high-energy physics, such scientific advances will allow to develop disruptive technologies in these fields.
A joint research laboratory for greater complementarity of the public/private partnership
By creating this joint research laboratory, iXblue Fibers and Components Division and the Hubert Curien Laboratory allows the research activity to be structured within the framework of a national policy to establish closer ties between those working in scientific research and economic partners in France.
“The LabH6 gives a formal structure to a longstanding collaboration between our two teams”, explains Benoît Cadier, Manager of the Fibers and Components Division. “We have worked together on numerous projects, publications and PhD studies. These have allowed us to gain an understanding of many physical issues and major technological advances such as the modification of the composition of the core of double-clad Erbium-Ytterbium co-doped fiber which allows it to be used in space for 1.5 μm high-power amplification applications.”
“Our resources really are complementary to those of iXblue, both in the design and production of fibers, as well as in their characterization using means of irradiation,” adds Sylvain Girard, scientific lead of the project. “LabH6 means we can define a joint scientific program in which we will both take part. The idea of this laboratory is to make breakthroughs in the field of photonics by managing to control the response of optical fibers under conditions of irradiation, either to make them insensitive to radiation, or to enable them to be used as means of detection. It is by developing models which we hope to be predictive, that we will be able to know, in advance, how the systems are going to age. This will enable us, by working backwards from the predicted results, to anticipate problems ahead of time and to design new architectures for the systems.”
