PhD in Hybrid FSO-RF-Fiber Channel Models and Transmission Schemes (ANCHOR)

Are you passionate about improving wireless networks and developing technologies for 6G? We foresee a future where lasers will light up the sky to enable high-bandwidth and secure communications to every corner of the Earth. This PhD will combine free-space optics and radio communications to meet capacity requirements for 6G networks and support agile networks including airborne network components.

Information
Our society is on the brink of a new age with the development of new visionary concepts such as internet of things, smart cities, autonomous driving, smart mobility, and coverage everywhere. This stimulates the use of new deployment concepts, such as hybrid networks and airborne network components, to support the wireless communication evolution. The ANCHOR project focuses on meeting demands on bandwidth, reliability, energy efficiency, and sustainability, as well as extended coverage from underwater, terrestrial, and aerial network components, and leverages on untapped potential of optical wavelengths and THz frequencies, alongside existing radio technologies.

This PhD position focuses on Hybrid FSO-RF-Fiber Channel Models and Transmission Schemes, developing hybrid FSO-RF-Fiber links for flexible front-/mid-/backhauling in terrestrial and tropospheric networking scenarios. You will analyze the combined FSO-RF-Fiber channel and develop accurate but sufficiently lightweight channel models and come up with jointly optimized schemes for such hybrid links and networks, incl. waveforms, modulation, coding and/or low-level protocols. You will further design and propose link architectures and conduct relevant experimental evaluations. The expected outcomes include channel models and architectures for hybrid FSO-RF-Fiber links, incl. theoretical, simulation and experimental analysis, supported by relevant simulation software/tools for hybrid links. Joint modulation formats, coding and low-level protocols jointly optimized for hybrid channels are further expected to be created.

Through ANCHOR you will be provided with a comprehensive training programme covering theoretical and practical skills relevant for innovation and long-term employability in a rapidly growing sector. This highly innovative training involves experts from twenty-four international partners from academia, research institutions and industry. You will be enrolled in the PhD program of TU/e and will have the chance to benefit from secondments at some of the partner institutions as well as wide-ranging networking opportunities across the consortium.

Throughout this PhD you will be embedded in the ICT Lab of Signal Processing Systems group of the Department of Electrical Engineering at TU/e. Within the ICT Lab you will work within a dynamic team of approximately thirty researchers under the esteemed leadership of prof. Alex Alvarado and prof. Frans Willems (winner of the Shannon Award 2026). At the ICT Lab, we study information processing in a broad sense. We focus on finding fundamental limits, data processing techniques and architectures that aim at approaching these limits. Main areas of interest are free space optical communications, fiber communications, source coding, channel coding, (multi-user) information theory, security, and machine learning. You will have the opportunity to work with and in the extensive laboratory facilities of the TU/e’s Centre for Wireless Technology (CWTe). You will work closely with the second ANCHOR PhD at TU/e within the Quantum & Terahertz Systems (QTS) team in the Electro-Optical Communications (ECO) group.

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 assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment.
• 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 P (min. € 3,059 - max. € 3,881).
• 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.

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager ...

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact Wim Korevaar, associate researcher, c.w.korevaar@tue.nl or +31 615392218.

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