Physics LOA. Applied optics laboratory A joint research unit CNRS, École Polytechnique, ENSTA, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France. Research areas Ultra-intense lasers Plasmas created by laser-matter interaction Particle acceleration Ultrafast sources of particles and X-rays Ultrafast quantum dynamics Filamentation Key figures 33 permanent researchers 10 postdoctoral students 20 PhD students 54 publications in 2024 discover LOA website > discover LOA website > LOA has been conducting groundbreaking research on laser-matter interaction and plasma physics for over thirty years. > Read more > Read more Take a video tour of the lab The lab’s research activity covers a broad spectrum of topics in ultrafast laser science, including the development of ultra-intense femtosecond laser systems, the physics of laser filamentation in the air and the realization of compact sources of energetic radiation and particlesfor societal, academic and industrial applications. The laboratory also has unique instruments, with pulse durations as short as an optical cycle with a high rep rate, multi-beams synchronized at the femtosecond time-scale and mobile ultrafast terawatt lasers.