The specificity of Foton is to gather around shared programs two teams and three platforms covering a wide field of telecommunications optical layer from the atom to telecommunications systems, as well as skills in related areas of science and information technology and communications (sensors, nanosciences). The research topics are then interdisciplinary, at the intersection of Physics (Optics and Photonics) and of Information and Communication Technology (telecommunications systems, sensor networks).Addressing topics from the atom to transmission systems requires mastering several technologies that produce and characterize photonics components, before analyzing them for applications and testing them in a system environment. For this reason, Foton collaborates with many laboratories specialized in different technologies. For instance, the team Photonic Systems has developed noise measurement techniques for components (mainly used in optical telecommunications).