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femtoQ is the laboratory at Polytechnique Montréal where we develop new methods and novel short-pulse laser technologies to study the quantum properties of light and matter on femtosecond timescales. femtoQ is created and directed by Prof. Denis Seletskiy with core funding from NSERC Canada Research Chair in Ultrafast and Quantum Photonics.

In order to derive ever faster and more precise photonic technologies of tomorrow we must first understand how light and matter interact at the most fundamental level. Quantum physics offers us the most precise description of this, however the current tools of quantum optics are not applicable to these short time intervals, namely time-domain description of light-matter interaction at the quantum level is largely lacking and so does the technology

How fast is ultrafast? For most photonic devices operating around the visible-near-IR spectral band, the natural timescale of interactions is of few femtoseconds (1 fs = 10-15 seconds), set primarily by the duration of the single oscillation of the light wave and the inertia of bound and free electrons in matter.   

Our team at femtoQ studies these regimes by exploiting quantum-enhanced laser technologies and novel quantum metrology tools we develop in-house. To learn more about the activities at femtoQ visit research and lab services, and to learn more about the science we invite you to browse through our publications. 

Get in touch if you have any questions or you want to work together on the quantum technologies of tomorrow!