Post by Iliana Tsoni

🌟 Wrapping up my first year of the QUARMEN Erasmus Mundus Master! 🌟 After an exciting year split between a semester in Rome and another in Paris, I had the chance to conclude my first year of master studies with a poster session presenting my work from a 10-week internship at Thales. Under the guidance of Alfredo De Rossi and Sylvain Combrié, I worked on a project titled "Ultra Efficient Generation of Entangled Photon Pairs with an InGaP Photonic Crystal Cavity." My focus was on Indium Gallium Phosphide (InGaP) photonic crystal (PhC) cavities, optimizing entangled photon pair generation using spontaneous Four-Wave Mixing (FWM). Some of the most interesting parts of my research involved: - Using the thermo-refractive effect to fine-tune resonances, - Exploring bistability in the system, - Measuring time-correlated photon pairs to boost efficiency. This internship was an enriching experience, letting me apply both theory and practical skills in quantum science and technology. I’m incredibly grateful to the entire Thales team for their guidance and support throughout this journey. A special thanks to LuMIn Lumière Matière and Interfaces and the Paris-Saclay Quantum Initiative for funding this research project.