My research activities focus on the optical properties of nano-objects, which I study by combining experimental, instrumental and theoretical approaches. More specifically, I am interested in the study of nano-optical materials e.g. quantum wells, point defects in diamond or boron nitride, plasmonic and semiconductor nanostructures. The guiding thread of my research is based on understanding and exploiting the interaction of electrons (or light) with matter using light (or electrons). To do so, I have studied the optical properties of materials with cathodoluminescence (CL), using different types of scanning electron microscopes, with various characteristics ranging from nanometer spatial resolution to picosecond temporal resolution. My main contribution to this research field is the discovery of photon bunching by CL: under irradiation of an electron beam, semiconductors emit light by packets of photons. This phenomenon provides a unique tool for understanding electron-matter interactions, measuring the lifetimes associated with excited states at the nanoscale, and measuring the efficiency of electron excitation.
As an independent researcher at CEMES, I am developing new time-resolved electron-based spectroscopy techniques for nano-optics using the unique electron microscope already available and in operation on site.