Welcome to the Research Group Microstructured Optical Fibres
We are an independent research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, established in 2021, working at the forefront of photonic crystal fibre (PCF) technology. Our mission: to develop cutting-edge tools that harness light in new ways—both for fundamental research and real-world applications.
What We Do
Our work focuses on microstructured optical fibres, including:
- Solid-core fibres, where light is guided through a glass core
- Hollow-core fibres, which enable:
- Strong light-matter interactions when filled with gases or liquids
- Particle trapping and transport in a controlled, protected environment
Together with the fibre fabrication team at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL), we custom-design and build these fibres to suit our research needs—and those of collaborators across Europe and North America.
Pushing the Boundaries of Photonic Crystal Fibre Applications
Our group leverages hollow-core photonic crystal fibres (HC-PCFs) and solid-core PCFs for both fundamental research and practical applications. Our group operates across two locations:
- At the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL), we explore nonlinear fibre optics, including supercontinuum generation, quantum optics and optical trapping of particles in fibres.
- At the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), we host one lab focusing on quantum optics and one on monitoring chemicals using fibre-based systems.
Contact
Research Group Nicolas Joly
Professor for Photonics
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
and
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
Staudtstr. 2
91058 Erlangen, Germany
Research team leader Professor Nicolas Joly
"“Prodigieuse lampe tempête! […] Lorsque je la vis, suspendue à une branche de figuier, brûler, brillante, avec la sérénité d’une lampe d’autel, j’en oubliai ma soupe au fromage, et je décidai de consacrer ma vie à la science…” Marcel Pagnol.
Our Team
Lower row: Hyunjun Nam, Soumya Chakraborty, me, Minjae Hong
Upper row: Nivedita Vishnukumar, Zeinab Hakim, Achille Bogas-Droy, Carla Brunner, Markus Lippl, Florian Schorn, Daniel Häupl
