Photonic & Microwave Systems

General presentation of the SyPH research center

Preamble: The SyPH research center was created in January 2021, it is one of the two research centers resulting from the reorganization of the former MOM research center (Microwaves, Optoelectronics and Materials).

Head of SyPH center : Prof. Ali KHENCHAF

1- Staff of the SyPH center

The SyPH research center is located on 4 different sites : École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées Bretagne (ENSTA Bretagne), IMT Atlantique (IMT Atlantique), Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Brest (ENIB), Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO).

2- Scientific themes of SyPH center

The work carried out within the SyPh research center aims to improve the performance of systems (photonics, optoelectronics and microwaves), in different fields of application (at sea, on land, airborne or satellite): communication, telecommunications , radar, electronic warfare, GNSS, remote sensing, ... with the introduction of innovative models and algorithms taking into account various constraints and specificities:

- Specific features and / or constraints related to the system and / or the sensor considered,

- Environmental constraints,

- Constraints linked to energy consumption,

- Taking into account the computation time aspects with a view to the system implementation.

In order to achieve the scientific objectives, the SyPH research center is organized around two teams:

ASMP: Architectures, and Microwave & Photonic Systems
o The ASMP team's research project focuses on optimizing the performance of photonic and opto-hyper systems, by combining reflections on the calibration and configuration of the devices considered, the definition of architectures as well as agile compensation hardware faults, through early processing of the digital signal and the introduction of machine learning techniques to effectively understand these signal formatting.

o Keywords: Optical communications, Opto-hyper functions, Radio-on-fiber, SOA-based architectures (Semiconductor Optical Amplifier), Power-on-fiber, Acousto-optical subsystems, Monitoring and compensation of the optical physical layer , Optical networks.

PIM: Propagation and multi-scale interactions
o The research carried out within the PIM team aims to develop and improve modeling and optimization tools. These are intended to represent and understand certain phenomena resulting from the interaction of waves with the environment and / or objects. These electromagnetic phenomena or behaviors are observed at different scales ranging from material to system. These developed tools can also be used by other teams or poles of the laboratory for the modeling of devices or components.

o Keywords: Propagation channel, Electromagnetic characterization and modeling, EM signature, High performance simulation, Clutter, Massive MIMO, Telecommunication, Radar applications, GE, Remote sensing, GNSS, Macromodeling.

3- Objectives, strategy and target indicators of the SyPH research center

Main objectives targeted:
- Exploitation of optical and microwave approaches to provide solutions to problems raised by the future of broadband and / or multi-sensor systems.

- Advance knowledge in the development of modeling, simulation and architectures that will have an impact on future intelligent systems - autonomous, on-board,… - (communication, radar, GE, GNSS,…).

- Propose hybrid concepts integrating photonic and electronic technologies to increase decision-making in an increasingly dense and constrained context and environment.

- Taking into account the specificities and constraints: energy, frequencies, antennas, polarizations, environmental, flow, precision, real time, ...

Elements of adopted strategy :
- Continue the development of strong and recognized activities while being in line with the guidelines of the ANR (National Research Agency), the DGA (Directorate General of Armament), the EU ...

- Development, innovations and optimization of optoelectronic functions.

- EM modeling & characterization of the propagation channel.

- Increase our expertise by continuing to develop links with the communities: socioeconomic (with concrete and operational applications), at the level of state organizations and also internationally.

- Continuation and development of joint and innovative projects in Opto-Hyper (hybrids) for concrete applications, by relying on skills in physics, optoelectronics, electromagnetism and microwave
- Take advantage of
* Inter-team links, with the MatRF, IA & Ocean poles,

* Our close relations with industry and state organizations

* Our involvement in joint laboratories and Scientific Interest Groups - GIS (Orange, Thales, etc.)

* Support from the CPER supported by the French state and the regions (SpaceTech-DroneTech and Phot-Breizh) 2021-2026

Target indicators :
- Increase and enrich our skills and expertise in the development of methodological elements allowing the improvement of the performance of different systems: communication, surveillance, detection, localization, tracking, remote sensing, etc.

- Maintain quality scientific production (journals, communications, patents, etc.)

- Pursue relevant collaborations with the socioeconomic community through various projects and programs of interest

- Increase our outreach (editorial responsibilities, involvement and organization of conferences, expertise with organizations, etc.) and attractiveness on topics of strong expertise

- Maintain a good quality of supervised theses: duration, professional integration rate, ...

- Continue and strengthen our involvement in training programs for and through research

4- Research facilities and platforms

The teams of the SyPH research center have several experimental facilities including the following platforms, devices and tools:

- Characterization of RF materials and devices in millimeter and submillimeter bands

- Anechoic chamber and radar targets

- Target detection radars (in X and Ku bands)

- 3 experimental benches (Opto-Hyper, optical comm., Power-on-fiber)

- Specialized tools and software: HFFS, FEKO, ADS, CST-MWS, MicroStripes, Winprop, IE3D, SolidWorks, OrCAD ...

5- Collaborations and partnerships

Via its two teams ASMP and PIM, the SyPH research center has important collaborations both at regional and national level, but also at international level. Thus, the researchers of the pole are involved in several collaborative projects, at the same time with industrialists, states and academics. This section dedicated to collaborations and partnerships is a strong point of the two teams of the SyPH research center.