Alexey studied physics at Novosibirsk State University and École Polytechnique before completing his PhD at the University of Lille in 2018. His doctoral work focused on nonlinear waves, optical rogue waves, and ultrafast measurement techniques.

He then continued his research at the University of Lille and EPFL, where he worked on Kerr frequency combs, dissipative solitons, and coupled optical microresonators. He joined the University of Neuchâtel in 2024 and became Assistant Professor in 2026, leading the Laboratory of Integrated Photonic Systems. At UniNE, he managed a collaboration with the Stanford groups of Amir Safavi-Naeini and Martin Fejer on thin-film lithium-niobate photonics. His current research focuses on integrated nonlinear photonics, inverse design, and chip-scale light sources.

The Laboratory of Integrated Photonic Systems investigates how nonlinear optical states can be generated, controlled, and predictively designed in integrated devices. Its research combines fundamental nonlinear physics with photonic-device engineering.

Current research topics include:

• Integrated light sources: low-noise, tunable, and chip-scale sources based on the joint engineering of dispersion, coupling, nonlinearity, gain, and loss
• Thin-film lithium-niobate photonics: fabrication-tolerant periodically poled devices, coating-assisted dispersion engineering, and efficient second-order nonlinear frequency conversion.
• Kerr frequency combs and dissipative solitons: generation and control of coherent optical frequency combs in single and coupled microresonators.
• Coupled and non-Hermitian photonic systems: nonlinear dynamics in photonic molecules, exceptional-point systems, protected supermodes, and active–passive resonator architectures.
• Inverse design of nonlinear optical states: adjoint-based optimization of systems governed by nonlinear partial differential equations, including direct optimization of frequency-comb spectra and temporal states.
• Statistical nonlinear optics: integrable turbulence, rogue-wave formation, generalized statistical ensembles, and ultrafast single-shot field characterization.

• A. Bastianello, A. Tikan, F. Copie, S. Randoux, and P. Suret, “Observation of a generalized Gibbs ensemble in photonics,” Physical Review A 113, 013514 (2026).
• A. Tikan et al., “Protected generation of dissipative Kerr solitons in supermodes of coupled optical microresonators,” Science Advances 8, eabm6982 (2022).
• A. Tikan et al., “Emergent nonlinear phenomena in a driven dissipative photonic dimer,” Nature Physics 17, 604–610 (2021).
• A. Tikan, “Effect of local Peregrine soliton emergence on statistics of random waves in the one-dimensional focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation,” Physical Review E 101, 012209 (2020).
• A. Tikan et al., “Single-shot measurement of phase and amplitude by using a heterodyne time-lens system and ultrafast digital time-holography,” Nature Photonics 12, 228–234 (2018).
• A. Tikan et al., “Universality of the Peregrine soliton in the focusing dynamics of the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation,” Physical Review Letters 119, 033901 (2017).