FASTLITE

Their core work

Fastlite is a French technology SME based in Antibes that designs and manufactures precision instruments for ultrafast laser science — including pulse shapers, acousto-optic programmable dispersive filters, and related photonics hardware. Their EU project work positions them as an industrial technology partner in academic research consortia, contributing commercial-grade laser instrumentation and technical expertise to groups working at the frontier of nonlinear optics and time-resolved spectroscopy. In both H2020 projects they participated as an industrial node within Marie Curie training networks, providing early-career researchers with access to real-world ultrafast photonics tools and know-how. Their work sits at the intersection of precision optics manufacturing and frontier physics experimentation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (HICONO, 2015–2019), Fastlite contributed to high-intensity coherent nonlinear optics — a domain closely tied to their core laser pulse shaping products, though no detailed keywords were recorded for that period. By their second project (SMART-X, 2020–2024), their keyword fingerprint expanded significantly to include ultrafast spectroscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, and attosecond science, signalling a move toward shorter timescales and shorter wavelengths. The trajectory is a clear deepening: from generating and shaping ultrafast pulses toward using those pulses to probe matter at the attosecond and X-ray frontier.

Fastlite is moving toward attosecond-scale and soft X-ray instrumentation, suggesting future consortium opportunities will cluster around ultrafast material characterization and X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) adjacent science.

How they like to work

Fastlite has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as coordinator — across both H2020 projects, consistent with the profile of a specialist instrument company that contributes technical infrastructure and expertise rather than leading scientific programmes. Both participations were inside large MSCA Initial Training Networks, meaning they operated within multi-partner doctoral training consortia rather than tight bilateral collaborations. With 17 unique partners across 9 countries from just two projects, they demonstrate broad European engagement, suggesting an open, non-exclusive partnering model.

Fastlite has built connections with 17 unique partner organisations across 9 countries through two MSCA training consortia, a notably broad network for a company with only two EU projects. Their partnerships are European in scope with no apparent geographic concentration beyond France.

What sets them apart

Fastlite occupies a rare niche as a commercially operating ultrafast photonics SME that participates in frontier physics research consortia — not as a passive industrial partner, but as a source of precision instrumentation that enables the science itself. For a consortium builder, this means Fastlite brings both commercial product credibility and genuine scientific depth, which is unusual in hardware-focused SMEs. Any team working on ultrafast spectroscopy, attosecond physics, or X-ray pump-probe experiments gains both technical expertise and access to commercial-grade instruments by including them.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SMART-X
  Their most technically expansive project, spanning five distinct research keywords from nonlinear optics to attosecond science and soft X-ray spectroscopy, and carrying the largest individual EC contribution (EUR 274,802).
• HICONO
  Fastlite's entry into H2020 as a participant in a coherent nonlinear optics training network, establishing their pattern of industrial partnership in doctoral training programmes.