PhD scholarship in Photonic Integrated Circuits on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Platform for Underwater Optical Communication – DTU Electro

If you want to establish your career as an early-stage researcher and are currently looking for the best possible foundation for your dreams and ambitions, it is right here in front of you. With this PhD position, we offer you the possibility of establishing your career as a scientist in photonic integrated circuits and underwater optical communication. You will be working at DTU Electro, in the Photonic Integrated Circuit based Systems (PICSys) group. The setting will be the cutting-edge laboratory for photonic integrated devices and advanced optical communications, and the access to one of the largest cleanroom facilities in European Universities. You will be working with a group of professionals in photonic integrated devices, optical phased array, optical communications, optical computing, and FPGA hardware programming.

We are seeking a candidate for a PhD position to research integrated blue optical phased array (OPA) on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) platform, which can enable solid-state optical beam steering and will be used for the next-generation photonic chip-based underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) system. TFLN platform is extremely promising for the UOWC application given its high transparency at blue-green light wavelength, high electro-optical coefficient, and low loss, allowing OPA-based underwater communications in a high speed.

You will participate in an international team in a European Innovation Commission (EIC) Pathfinder project called BlueArray. The project has partners from four different EU countries within the overall theme of photonic and electronic integrated circuits for next-generation UOWC technologies. This Ph.D. project will take place at DTU Electro. As a participant of the project, you will become part of a team at DTU with expertise in design, simulation, nanofabrication, characterization, and application of photonic integrated circuits (PIC). The activities within the project will benefit from synergies with other projects in the group as well as with other activities in the department. The main supervisor will be Dr. Hao Hu, DTU Electro.

Responsibilities and qualifications

An OPA is a (periodic) arrangement of optical antennas that all emit light in phase to project a collimated beam. The emission angle and shape of this beam can be tuned by adjusting the relative phases and amplitudes that feed into the individual emitters or antennas. Particularly, OPAs are compatible with cheap and high-volume manufacturing. Due to the unique features of compact size, fast scanning and low cost, the integrated OPAs are becoming a transformative technology for solid-state beam steering.

This Ph.D. project aims at developing an integrated OPA on TFLN platform at blue light (~450 nm) wavelength band for UOWC systems. You will first design an OPA on TFLN platform at blue-light wavelength. The designed blue OPA will then be fabricated using our advanced cleanroom facilities at DTU Nanolabs and characterized using our state-of-the-art lab facilities. You will closely collaborate with another PhD student working on blue-light TFLN integrated photonics platform. Candidates having a strong background in photonics and having experience with integrated photonics are preferred. The project will among others consist of the following tasks:

- Design, simulation, nanofabrication, and characterization of photonic integrated circuits (PIC) on TFLN platform.

- Design, simulation, and nanofabrication of integrated blue OPA on TFLN integrated platform.

- Collaborating with TU Eindhoven, the Netherlands, for integrating electronic integrated circuits (IC) with PIC.

- Develop controlling circuits including FPGA and/or other processors.

- Collaborating with PHIX, the Netherlands, for PIC packaging.

- Characterization of the integrated blue OPA for 2D solid-state beam steering.

- Characterization and demonstration of the blue OPA based beam steering technique in an UOWC system.

- Supervise BSc and MSc student projects.

- Data analysis, writing of scientific articles and presentations at conferences and meetings.

- Participate in outreach activities including, but not limited to, social media updates, participation in public events and campaigns, as well as dissemination to popular press.

As part of the Danish Ph.D. program, you will follow a number of Ph.D. courses and you will have an opportunity to have an external research stay at one of the partner universities including Chalmers University of Technology, École Centrale de Marseille and Eindhoven University of Technology.

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Your required qualifications and skills are:

- Excellent English communication skills both spoken and written.

- Self-motivation in research and innovation.

- A master level education in the fields of integrated photonics, silicon photonics, or nanophotonics.

As an ideal candidate, you should also have one or more competences below:

- Experience in simulation, design, and characterization of photonic integrated circuits.

- Prior experience in a cleanroom environment is a plus.

- The ability to work independently while effectively collaborating in projects with both academic and industrial partners.

- Experience with PCB and FPGA design.

Approval and Enrolment

The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education
.

Assessment

The assessment of the applicants will be made by Senior Researcher Hao Hu and Yunhong Ding.

We offer

DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms

The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The period of employment is 3 years. The starting date is flexible and preferred to be as soon as possible after 1 June 2025.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here http://www.dtu.dk/english/about/job-and-career/working-at-dtu/career-paths.

Further information

Further information may be obtained from Dr. Hao Hu, huhao@dtu.dk
.

You can read more about DTU Electro at www.electro.dtu.dk.

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark
. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar
” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure

Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 29 January 2025 (23:59 Danish time)
. Applications must be submitted as one PDF file
containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file
. The file must include:

- A letter motivating the application (cover letter)

- Curriculum vitae

- Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale

- A mandatory research statement
discussing your comprehension or achievements in photonic integrated circuits or optical phased array, including an analysis of the opportunities, challenges, obstacles, etc. You are more than welcome to include your research results and justify how the results could contribute to this research field, if any. Maximum 2 pages.

You may apply prior to obtaining your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Electro
employs more than 300 skilled researchers with competencies in electrical and photonics engineering. As a department we strive towards creating sustainable energy and a greener internet, as well as strengthening cyber security and health technology. Working with industry and public organizations is one of our top priorities to find and implement new solutions to our society. We aim to offer education, research, and innovation of the highest standard, and our focus on application-oriented research enables us to work across many engineering disciplines and research areas, such as IT and the medical and health sciences. We have a close collaboration with researchers from all over the world, just as we collaborate with industry and public authorities about the dissemination of solutions based on electrical and photonics engineering as their key enabling technologies.

Technology for people

DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.