EPFL description

The EPFL premier mission is education of Swiss Engineers. It moreover strives to become a major research institution in Europe and the world. It has 5000 students and is moreover hosting more than 30 ERC Grants, more than any other European institution. The laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements within the institute of condensed Matter Physics at EPFL is lead by Prof. Tobias J. Kippenberg. The group presently consists of 5 postdoctoral researchers and 6 PhD students. The group is moreover part of the Swiss NCCR on “Quantum Science and Technology”. Moreover T. Kippenberg is coordinator of an ITN on “Cavity Optomechanics” The EPFL hosts a major clean room facility, the CMI, which is a user facility that provides internal and external users state of the art nano- and microfabrication technology. The CMI consist of 10 full time PhD level engineers that assist with micro and nanofabrication processing.

Prof. Tobias Kippenberg received his PhD from Caltech (2004), Habilitation (2009) from the LMU Munich and is presently Associate Professor in the Institute of Condensed Matter Physics at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland). His research interest are ultra high Q optical and mechanical micro- and nanostructures and their application for exploring mechanical systems in the quantum regime and a sources of optical frequency combs. His research accomplishments include, the first demonstration of a micro-resonator based frequency comb, the demonstration backaction laser cooling of mechanical oscillators, measurements of mechanical oscillators with an imprecision at and below that at the standard quantum limit, the demonstration of optomechanically induced transparency and the demonstration of quantum coherent coupling between light and mechanical oscillators. He has written review articles in both research fields (“Cavity Optomechanics”, Science 2008 and “Microresonators based frequency combs”, Science 2010). He has published more than 50 articles and has an H-factor of 30. For his invention of a novel principle to generate optical frequency combs he has been recipient of the Helmholtz Price in Metrology in 2009 as well as the EFTF Young Investigator Award. For his contributions to the field of cavity optomechanics, he has received the EPS Fresnel price in 2010.