Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers

What Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers does

Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers (LPL, UMR 7538) is a French public research laboratory jointly operated by CNRS and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, headquartered in Villetaneuse, Île-de-France. The lab conducts fundamental and applied research in laser physics, light–matter interactions, quantum gases (Bose–Einstein condensates and magnetic quantum gases), ultra-high resolution molecular spectroscopy, optical frequency metrology, organic photonics, and biophotonics, organized across roughly ten specialized teams including BEC, GQM, OIA, SAI, BMS, OMA, MMTF, OPAL, and PN.

Its core technical assets include unique experimental infrastructure for cold atoms, frequency combs, quantum cascade lasers, and the REFIMEVE national fiber-optic network — coordinated by LPL together with LTE and RENATER — which disseminates ultra-stable time and frequency signals across France and to European metrology partners. The lab also hosts the OPAL team, a main partner in the OPHELIA international research laboratory with Kyushu University (Japan) focused on organic optoelectronics, and contributes to the Labex First-TF excellence network.

LPL has no commercial revenue model: it is funded through French public research grants, CNRS institutional support, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, and competitive national/EU grants. Its primary 'customer' is the academic and scientific community, served via peer-reviewed publications, seminars, PhD/postdoctoral training, and collaborative research projects. Goto-market is community-led, with dissemination through conferences, joint seminars, and outreach activities rather than product sales.

Name

Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers

Legal name

Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers

Website

https://www-lpl.univ-paris13.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers (LPL, UMR 7538) is a French public CNRS/Université Sorbonne Paris Nord research laboratory in Villetaneuse conducting frontier research in laser physics, quantum gases, molecular spectroscopy, optical frequency metrology, and organic photonics, serving the academic and metrology community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Villetaneuse

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: LPL is a Joint Research Unit (UMR 7538) of CNRS and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, funded through French government research grants, competitive funding agencies, and institutional support

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers (LPL) is a public research laboratory (UMR 7538) jointly operated by CNRS and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord that conducts fundamental and applied research in laser physics, quantum physics, optical frequency metrology, molecular spectroscopy, organic photonics, and light-matter interactions. The laboratory coordinates the REFIMEVE national fiber optic network for disseminating ultra-stable time and frequency signals across France and Europe, and trains doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in frontier physics.

Product overview

Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers (LPL) is a CNRS-Université Sorbonne Paris Nord joint research laboratory (UMR 7538) focused on light-matter interactions. Rather than a commercial product company, LPL operates as a research institution comprising multiple specialized teams: BEC and GQM study quantum gases; OIA and SAI investigate atom-at-interfaces phenomena; BMS characterizes biomolecules via spectroscopy; MMTF conducts molecular spectroscopy and frequency metrology; OPAL and PN develop organic photonics and nanostructures. The lab also coordinates the national REFIMEVE fiber optics network for disseminating precision time and frequency signals, and produces scientific publications and PhD researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OPAL (Optique et Photonique pour les Lasers Organiques): Research team focusing on organic photonics and lasers
• OIA (Optique et Interférométrie Atomiques)
• SAI (Spectroscopie Atomique aux Interfaces)
• BEC (Condensat de Bose-Einstein)
• GQM (Gaz Quantique Magnétique)
• BMS (BioMolécules et Spectroscopie)
• OMA (Optique en Milieux Aléatoires)
• MMTF (Métrologie, Molécules et Tests Fondamentaux)
• PN (Photonique et Nanostructures)
• REFIMEVE
• OPHELIA

Products and services

• REFIMEVE Network A national fiber optic metrology network for disseminating ultra-stable time and frequency signals across France and to European collaborators. Coordinated by LPL with LTE and RENATER, supporting applications in fundamental metrology, precision measurements, and geophysics sensing.
• Research Seminars Program Regular seminar series at LPL featuring external researchers presenting work on quantum sensing, molecular spectroscopy, quantum logic control, and related physics topics. Open to the academic community as part of the laboratory's knowledge dissemination activities.
• OPHELIA International Laboratory Participation LPL's OPAL team is a main partner in OPHELIA (Organic PHotonics and Electronics International Laboratory), a CNRS-Kyushu University international research laboratory focused on organic optoelectronics and organic lasers. Official launch ceremony held in Tokyo on April 1, 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• 71% increase in data rate with energy efficiency below 10 pJ/bit for micro-LED optical communications

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Kyushu University (Japan) - OPERA CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026CNRS and the OPERA center at Kyushu University launched OPHELIA (Organic PHotonics and Electronics International Laboratory), a new international research laboratory focused on organic optoelectronics. LPL's OPAL team is one of the main partners, particularly through research on organic lasers. Led by Fabrice Mathevet (CNRS Chemistry). Official launch ceremony held in Tokyo on April 1, 2026.
• LTE (Laboratoire national de métrologie temps-fréquence)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLPL coordinates the REFIMEVE national network (Réseau Fibré Métrologique à Vocation Européenne) together with LTE and RENATER. This fiber optic network disseminates ultra-stable time and frequency signals across France and to European collaborators.
• RENATERcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRENATER is a partner in the REFIMEVE network for disseminating time and frequency signals across the French telecommunications fiber network.
• Labex First-TFmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLPL is one of the 5 main partners of Labex First-TF, an excellence laboratory focusing on time and frequency research.
• LSPM-CNRSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint seminars organized between LPL and LSPM-CNRS (Laboratoire de Physique des Matériaux et Spectroscopie), two physics laboratories of the Institut Galilée SPN.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• National Physical Laboratory (NPL, UK): UK national metrology institute connected to REFIMEVE via cross-border fiber links to France. Operates in the same time/frequency metrology domain and collaborates with LPL on European metrology initiatives.
• INRIM (Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Italy): Italian national metrology institute connected to REFIMEVE via cross-border fiber links. Operates in the same time/frequency metrology domain and collaborates with LPL on European metrology initiatives.

Direct peers

• SYRTE (Systèmes de Référence Temps-Espace, Observatoire de Paris): French national time-frequency metrology laboratory at Observatoire de Paris, directly comparable to LPL's REFIMEVE-related work on ultra-stable frequency dissemination and atomic clocks. Operates closely with French metrology infrastructure alongside LPL.
• Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (LKB, ENS Paris / Sorbonne / Collège de France): Premier French quantum physics laboratory with overlapping research in cold atoms, Bose-Einstein condensates, precision metrology, and light-matter interactions. Direct peer of LPL on quantum gases, BEC, and precision measurement.
• Laboratoire Aimé Cotton (LAC, CNRS / Université Paris-Saclay): French CNRS laboratory specializing in molecular spectroscopy, light-matter interaction, and laser physics. Closely comparable to LPL's MMTF and BMS teams on high-resolution molecular spectroscopy and laser-based characterization.
• OPERA Center, Kyushu University (Japan): Japanese research center focused on organic optoelectronics and organic photonics, the co-founder (with CNRS) of the OPHELIA international laboratory in which LPL's OPAL team is a main partner.
• Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ, Germany): Leading German research institute on quantum optics, cold atoms, and BEC experiments. Closely comparable to LPL's BEC and GQM teams on quantum gas research and precision quantum measurement.
• JILA (University of Colorado Boulder / NIST): US joint university-NIST institute for quantum physics research, including BEC, ultracold molecules, and precision measurement. Comparable to LPL on cold atom and quantum gas research, though operating at larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, USA): US national metrology institute with extensive programs in optical frequency metrology, atomic clocks, and quantum sensing. A broad incumbent that operates at significantly larger scale than LPL across the same fundamental metrology domains.
• Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB, Germany): Germany's national metrology institute, a premier European time/frequency laboratory connected to REFIMEVE via cross-border fiber links. A larger, established incumbent operating across metrology domains where LPL's MMTF team and REFIMEVE network contribute.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lpl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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