Photonics is regarded as a key enabling technology by the European Commission and its application and use in many scientific and industrial fields is accelerated through Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). The photonic integration research group (PhI) at TU/e has pioneered the concept of generic photonic integration platforms and continues to engage in research and development activities to extend the capabilities of such platforms based on the InP material system. It coordinates JePPIX, the Joint European Platform for Photonic Integration of Components and Circuits, and works together with Europe's main players in the photonic integration industry to provide access to this technology and enhance existing platforms.

Together with our partners, we aim to extend the InP platform capabilities with components for integrated optical phased arrays (OPAs) for LiDARs as well as integrated transceivers for coherent communications. The activities are supported by two recently granted projects: Globalstar CONDENSE and H2020 PICaboo. The two projects share the same goal of developing novel InP building blocks which are essential to support the targeted applications. High speed and high efficiency modulators will be developed for OPAs and polarization handling components, widely tunable lasers and high-speed detectors will be researched for coherent receivers.

The CONDENSE project is a Dutch-Taiwanese joint project together with industrial partners SMART Photonics (NL) and Landmark Optoelectronics (TW). The project aims to develop quantum-well (QW) based optical modulators with enhanced efficiency, which will act as a key building block for the next stage development of fully integrated OPAs.

The PICaboo project is a Horizon 2020 ICT project funded by the European Commission which will develop novel building blocks compatible with the generic foundry model, and application-specific photonic integrated circuits (PICs) that will transform optical communication networks in terms of key performance parameters like speed, power consumption and cost.

The two projects will jointly open two 3-year postdoctoral positions. We are looking for candidates that are eager to take this opportunity and perform innovative research and development on novel devices and circuits. The candidates will both work in the two projects  and are expected to work in close collaboration with project partners involving well-known knowledge institutes and companies within the PIC industry. In terms of the tasks, one candidate can focus more on device physics and design, while the other candidate can focus more on technology development.

The team
The Institute for Photonic Integration (IPI) has five dynamic and ambitious research groups, which are closely cooperating: a systems group, a photonic integration technology group and three materials research groups. You will work in the Photonic Integration group (PhI) which has about 35 members, 20 of which are PhD students. The IPI (previously COBRA) is internationally leading on advanced InP-based Photonic Integrated Circuits technology. See http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0268-1242/29/8/083001. The technology development and device realization will be supported by experienced technicians in our world-class cleanroom facilities at Nanolab@TU/e (www.tue.nl/nanolab).

• PhD degree in Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering or similar.
• Strong background in integrated photonics, semiconductor devices and physics (preferably with experience in active devices such as semiconductor optical amplifiers).
• Good knowledge in (numerical) modelling and component optical/electrical/thermal design.
• Experience in experimental work, of which cleanroom microfabrication and chip characterization are an advantage.
• Ability to work with experts from a broad range of scientific and technology backgrounds.
• Good writing and documentation skills, excellent analytical skills and communication ability.
• Ability to organize his/her own work independently to pursue the project-oriented goals.

We offer two

• 3-year fixed-term positions, with possibilities for extension, in a research group with an excellent reputation and strong collaboration with industry.
• A gross monthly salary and benefits in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities (scale 10).
• Additionally, 8% holiday and 8.3% end-of-year annual supplements.
• Additional benefits, including excellent technical infrastructure, child care, holiday savings schemes, and sports facilities.
• Assistance for finding accommodation can be offered for foreigners.

The University supports the employees with diverse courses for professional development.