physics

Luc Thévenaz

Luc Thévenaz is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Luc Thévenaz rather than just read about it. In short: Luc Thévenaz (born 1958 in Geneva) is a Swiss physicist who specializes in fibre optics. He is a professor of physics at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) and the head of the Group for Fibre Optics School of Engineering.

Key takeaways

Luc Thévenaz belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Luc Thévenaz to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Luc Thévenaz from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Luc Thévenaz (born 1958 in Geneva) is a Swiss physicist who specializes in fibre optics. He is a professor of physics at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) and the head of the Group for Fibre Optics School of Engineering.

Career Thévenaz studied a Master's degree in physics at University of Geneva and in 1982 wrote his thesis in astrophysics at the Geneva Observatory under the supervision of André Maeder, in which he developed a model to predict the effect of stellar wind on the apparent radius and temperature of stars. He then joined Jean-Paul Pellaux at University of Geneva as PhD student, and graduated in 1988 with a thesis on measurement of chromatic dispersion in optical fibres. During this time, he designed a technique to make accurate time delay measurements with picosecond resolution using a halogen lamp light source. As a postdoctoral researcher he joined Philippe Robert at EPFL's Institute of Electrical Engineering in 1988, to conduct research on polarization mode dispersion and brfringence measurements in optical fibres. In 1991, he visited visiting postdoctoral researcher both PUC University in Rio de Janeiro to develop fast pulse detector using semiconductor laser dynamics, and the Ginzton Lab in the group of Herbert John Shaw at Stanford University to do research on optical gyroscopes using stimulated Brillouin scattering lasers in optical fibres. In 1992, he became a research associate EPFL's Institute of Electrical Engineering, and continued his research on stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fibres and applied it to distributed fibre sensors. As visiting scientist he joined in 1998 KAIST (Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) to work on Brillouin fibre lasers. In 1998, he was made senior lecturer at EPFL, and started working on advanced measurement techniques and signal processing in optical fibres, and on gas traces detection using laser spectroscopy and photo-acoustic detection. By using stimulated Brillouin scattering, he was able to demonstrate the generation of slow and fast light in optical fibres. Since 2007 he has been visiting professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tel Aviv University, University of Sydney, and the Technical University of Valencia. Since 2008 Thévenaz has been adjunct professor at EPFL's Institute of Electrical Engineering and head of the Group of Fibre Optics.

Research Thévenaz's research is focused on distributed fibre sensing and on slow & fast light. Among his key findings figure novel techniques to achieve centimetric spatial resolutions and increase the number of resolved points up to 1 million in distributed fibre sensing; the development on coding techniques and contributions to the determination of fundamental limits; the application of spider silk optical fibre in chemical sensing; and the achievement of massive optical amplification in hollow core fibres using stimulated Brillouin scattering in gases. Thévenaz's research was featured in several news outlet such as: Optics, ScienceDaily, Le Nouvelliste, 24 heures, and RTS.

Distinctions Among others Thévenaz is a fellow of the Optical Society of America (since 2010), and the IEEE (since 2017). He has been a co-executive editor-in-chief of the journal Nature Light (since 2018) and an editorial advisory board member of the Journal APL Photonics. He was a coordinator of the Marie-Curie Innovative Training Network "FINESSE – Fibre Nervous Sensing Systems" (2016–2020). He is a member of the SwissPhotonics (since 2013), and the SPIE (since 2015). He is the co-founder of the spin-off company Omnisens producing long-distance distributed fibre sensing systems for oil and gas, power and civil engineering infrastructures.

Selected works Thevenaz, L.; Pellaux, J.-P. (1988). "Group delay measurement in single-mode fibers with true picosecond resolution using double optical modulation". Journal of Lightwave Technology. 6 (10): 1470–1475. Bibcode:1988JLwT....6.1470T. doi:10.1109/50.7903. Nikles, M.; Thevenaz, L.; Robert, P.A. (1997). "Brillouin gain spectrum characterization in single-mode optical fibers". Journal of Lightwave Technology. 15 (10): 1842–1851. Bibcode:1997JLwT...15.1842N. doi:10.1109/50.633570. Niklès, Marc; Thévenaz, Luc; Robert, Philippe A. (1996). "Simple distributed fiber sensor based on Brillouin gain spectrum analysis" (PDF). Optics Letters. 21 (10): 758. Bibcode:1996OptL...21..758N. doi:10.1364/OL.21.000758. PMID 19876149. Soto, Marcelo A.; Thévenaz, Luc (2013). "Modeling and evaluating the performance of Brillouin distributed optical fiber sensors". Optics Express. 21 (25): 31347–66. Bibcode:2013OExpr..2131347S. doi:10.1364/OE.21.031347. PMID 24514710. González Herráez, Miguel; Thévenaz, Luc; Robert, Philippe (2003). "Distributed measurement of chromatic dispersion by four-wave mixing and Brillouin optical-time-domain analysis" (PDF). Optics Letters. 28 (22): 2210–2. Bibcode:2003OptL...28.2210G. doi:10.1364/OL.28.002210. PMID 14649944. Schilt, Stéphane; Thévenaz, Luc; Robert, Philippe (2003). "Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy: Combined Frequency and Intensity Laser Modulation". Applied Optics. 42 (33): 6728–38. Bibcode:2003ApOpt..42.6728S. doi:10.1364/AO.42.006728. PMID 14658477. Song, Kwang Yong; Herráez, Miguel González; Thévenaz, Luc (2005). "Observation of pulse delaying and advancement in optical fibers using stimulated Brillouin scattering". Optics Express. 13 (1): 82–8. Bibcode:2005OExpr..13...82S. doi:10.1364/OPEX.13.000082. PMID 19488330. Thévenaz, Luc (2008). "Slow and fast light in optical fibres". Nature Photonics. 2 (8): 474–481. Bibcode:2008NaPho...2..474T. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2008.147.

References

External links Luc Thévenaz publications indexed by Google Scholar

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Luc Thévenaz

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Luc Thévenaz claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Luc Thévenaz before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Luc Thévenaz ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Luc Thévenaz

In research: Luc Thévenaz appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Luc Thévenaz in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Luc Thévenaz is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1958 births, 20th-century Swiss physicists, 21st-century Swiss physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Luc Thévenaz outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Luc Thévenaz” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Luc Thévenaz in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Luc Thévenaz means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Luc Thévenaz out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Luc Thévenaz in simple terms?

Why does Luc Thévenaz matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Luc Thévenaz?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Luc Thévenaz.