[1] Emeritus research director at the CNRS, he is known for his work in the field of ultra-high resolution laser spectroscopy.
He invented and developed saturation spectroscopy,[2] which he used to study many new and fundamental effects in molecular physics.
The proximity of his work to the field of metrology has led it to preside on several occasions, on behalf of the French Academy of Sciences, over the meetings of the General Conference on Weights and Measures, the executive organ of the Metre Convention.
He was one of the founding members of the French Academy of Technologies[4] and Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.
He was the grandson of engineer and aeronaut Paul-Alphonse-Barthélémy Bordé, inventor of a compass system for airships patented in 1911 and founder of the company of the same name.