Last week, TACTIC and the XLIM laboratory had the honor of hosting Dr. Maria Chernysheva from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technologies.

Our TACTIC students were thus able to attend several conferences: from DR Maria Chernysheva but also from two XLIM doctoral students (Younes EL MOUSTAKIME – TACTIC alumni & Siwar GHARBI – EMIMEP alumni). The day concluded with the XLIM Internship Forum.

This provided an opportunity for Master’s students to discover the various M2 internship opportunities offered by the laboratory and to interact with the teams on site to gain a better understanding of their activities and research topics.

More information on the lectures organized by Dr. Maria Chernysheva:

Lecture 1. Optical fibre and waveguide materials

Since the very first demonstration, fibre lasers have rapidly developed into a compelling platform for high-brightness light sources, opening new possibilities for a wide range of applications. This lecture will focus on the properties and design potential of modern optical fibres and waveguides, recent advances in their functionalisation, and evolving strategies for fibre and waveguide-based component fabrication and post-processing. The talk will highlight the current state of the field and outline directions for future development in laser technologies.

Lecture 2. Spectral and temporal versatility of fiber based laser sources

This talk will explore the evolving strategies for shaping ultrashort pulses in fibre laser systems. Beginning with conventional mode-locking schemes, the discussion will move toward emerging approaches that bypass traditional saturable absorbers for the formation of coherent structures and self-organisation. On the spectral side, the lecture will present the range of available and emerging rare-earth gain media, with a special attention given to how new gain materials can extend the operational window of fibre lasers into spectral regions of growing relevance for sensing, imaging, and nonlinear optics.

Bio

Maria Chernysheva received her PhD in Laser Physics in 2014 from the Fiber Optics Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She then continued her research at Aston University, UK, supported by two consecutive individual fellowships: the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship and the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship. In 2019, she moved to Germany to establish her own research group at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technologies. Her work focuses on ultrafast nonlinear optics, fibre lasers at emerging wavelengths, and shaping the dynamics of ultrashort pulses. Maria currently serves as a topical editor for Optics Letters and was Program Chair of the CLEO 2025 conference.

More information on conferences organized by doctoral students:

Younes EL MOUSTAKIME ‘s seminar: Artificial intelligence (AI) synthesis of nonlinear matching networks for the design of analog linearized CMOS/BiCMOS power amplifiers

Bio

Younes EL MOUSTAKIME is a PhD student at XLIM, University of Limoges, working on AI-assisted design of RF and microwave circuits. His research focuses on applying machine learning and optimization methods to automate the design and adaptation of Ka-band power amplifiers. He collaborates with Duoverse, a startup specializing in AI-driven simulation acceleration and optimization for electronic systems. He received his M.S. degree from the University of Limoges in 2023/2024 in High Technologies, Electronics, and Photonics.

Abstract

The thesis focuses on the design of a Ka-band power amplifier with AI-assisted impedance matching for improved linearity and efficiency. By training AI models on simulated datasets, the amplifier will be able to determine optimal load impedances and adapt its operation autonomously. The outcome aims to establish an Intelligent Integrated System (IIS) capable of maintaining high performance and robustness in Ka-band satellite communication (SATCOM) applications.

Siwar Gharbi’s seminar: Smart Light Transport Through Hollow-Core Multimode Fibers Using Deep Learning

Bio

Siwar GHARBI is a PhD candidate in optics and photonics under a CIFRE industrial fellowship between Alphanov and the XLIM Laboratory, within the Phocal research group at the University of Limoges. Her research explores AI-assisted control of structured light in hollow-core multimode fibres, with applications in high-power laser delivery and adaptive beam shaping.

Abstract

This PhD project aims to develop machine learning approaches for the shaping and dynamic control of light beams guided through hollow-core multimode optical fibres (HC-MMFs). By training neural networks to model the complex light transmission within these fibres, the method enables the prediction and generation of arbitrary output patterns from a spatially modulated input beam. This ongoing work contributes to the development of intelligent photonic systems capable of exciting and reconfiguring structured light with high precision at the fibre output, for applications in optical power delivery, and advanced laser technologies.