The Molecular Plasmonics group together with the Photonic Integration group at Eindhoven University of Technology has an open PhD position in the field of integrated photonic biosensors. The project aims to develop a new generation of biosensors based on integrated photonic-plasmonic platforms.

About the project

In recent years the photonic integration group has develop integrated photonic circuits on an InP platform with functional building blocks that include microring resonators, light sources, and detectors. This provides unique abilities to develop fully integrated platforms for nanophotonic biosensing. In this project you will develop the first integrated photonic-plasmonic biosensor on the InP platform. You will perform numerical simulations to design the sensor and study the coupling between photonic and plasmonic modes, and subsequently fabricate the photonic chips in the cleanroom. You will integrate the designed structures with microfluidics and perform biosensing assays. This project will pave the way to highly miniaturized and fully integrated biosensors with single-molecule sensitivity.

The project is part of the PhotonDelta Growthfund program and will be supervised by Peter Zijlstra (Molecular Plasmonics group) and Yuqing Jiao (Photonic Integration group) at TU/e. You will closely collaborate with other PhD students and postdocs in both groups on the design of the sensor and the biosensing assays.

About the groups

The Molecular Plasmonics group is at the department of Applied Physics and consists of ~12-15 researchers that work on plasmonic and nanophotonic sensors. The group is part of a bigger research cluster (40-50 researchers) focusing on molecular sensing. The team is multidisciplinary and hosts physicists, chemists, and biomedical engineers that collaborate in a close-knit team. The lab hosts a range of state-of-the-art single-molecule microscopes in optical laboratories, as well as wet-chemical labs where sensors are functionalized and integrated with fluidics. The group is part of the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems and the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute.

The Photonic Integration (PhI) group performs leading edge research into indium phosphide semiconductor based technology for photonic integration and its applications. The group offers opportunities for Master and PhD students to do leading-edge research on advanced photonic ICs and technology, and to prepare for a job in a variety of high-tech companies that use photonics, semiconductor technologies, and/or photonic integrated circuits in their products. The group is part of the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute.

We welcome applications from candidates with a background in optics or nanophotonics, with experience in numerical simulations and biosensing.

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 27 (min. €2,541 max. €3,247).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.