Laboratoire d'Analyse et d'Architecture des Systèmes (LAAS)
The LAAS is a research unit of the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) whose activities deal with “Science and Technology for Information and Communication”. The LAAS supports durable local partnerships with three university institutions in Toulouse: UPS (Paul Sabatier University), INSA (National Institute of Applied Sciences) and INP (National Polytechnic Institute). The LAAS was officially set up on July 10, 1967 as the "Laboratoire d’Automatique et de ses Applications Spatiales" (Automatic Control and Space Applications) and has recently been renamed "Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes" (Analysis and Architecture of Systems). It represents 550 persons and uses 11,400 sq. m. of facilities. It has a 700-m² clean room area including mask and wafer processing equipment, device micro/nanofabrication and characterisation equipments. By the end of 2006, this area will be expanded to more than 1000m2. The LAAS has been qualified as one of the five national semiconductor processing technological centres (French RTB program). These technology fabrication facilities are completed with a high number of characterization setups for micro/nano(opto)electronic structures/devices/systems.
LAAS is organized in a matrix structure made up of thirteen groups of research
and projects. The groups coordinate their efforts and develop synergies
within 4 poles and sets of themes: Micro and Nanosystems (MINAS pole), Modelling,
Optimization and Control of the Systems (MOCOSY pole), Autonomous Robots
and Systems (ROSA pole), Critical Information Processing Systems (SINC Pole).
They benefit from the support of two engineering departments, and administrative
and logistics services. As a part of the MINAS pole, the Photonics Group
includes 10 full-time scientists and about the same number of PhD students,
postdoctoral and visiting researchers.
Its research activities on III-V semiconductors and their optoelectronic
applications are held with the technical support of the LAAS engineering
departments. GaAs-based light emitters are mainly investigated: edge-emitting
laser diodes; photonic bandgap lasers and vertical cavity surface emitting
lasers (VCSELs). The current VCSEL fabrication technology is based on the
both optical and electrical confinements realized by an AlOx layer formed
selectively in the vertical structure by oxidizing an dedicated Al(Ga)As
layer. One can then obtain by this method stable lateral single-mode behaviour,
while keeping operating currents around a few mA, meeting better the requirements
of optical sensors and systems. Our on-going research activities on microcavity
devices are focused on dual emission/detection devices, on the control of
uniform electrical injection, and on the improvement of AlOx process to
further enhance the VCSEL functionalities.
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| Key personnel: | Chantal
Fontaine contact: fontaine-at-laas.fr* |
| Contact: | LAAS-CNRS 7, avenue du Colonel Roche 31077 - Toulouse Cedex 04 FRANCE Téléphone : +335 61 33 62 00 |
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