One PhD Position: Photonic integrated switches on a membrane for next generation optical datacenter interconnections

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has the following PhD student vacancy for research on high-speed and compact photonic integrated switches for datacenters, within the research group Electro-optical Communication systems (ECO) of the department of Electrical Engineering.

Rapidly growing cloud applications, big data, Internet-of-Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are the main drivers for the explosion of datacenter traffic which is foreseen to reach 19.5 ZB per year by 2021 ramping up from 6 ZB in 2016. The increasing traffic demands impose a huge challenge for datacenter operators since they have to keep pace with the increasing speeds dictated by modern datacenter applications. The data switch modules need to evolve to higher operation speed, more parallel channels, and higher compactness in order to meet the datacenter network demands.

PhD Position: High speed high connectivity photonic integrated switches on InP membranes

We offer one PhD position within a large EU-funded project TWILIGHT. In this project, TU/e has a central role in the development of optoelectronic engines for next-generation datacenter transceivers and switch matrices optical interconnects. The optoelectronic engines will be powered by the InP photonic membrane technology, which will be further co-designed and co-integrated with partner's high performance InP-HBT electronics ICs to realize advanced system-in-package (SiP).

Within this position, the PhD student will simulate, design and characterize the most compact and high speed photonic integrated space switching circuitry on an InP membrane process developed from colleagues at TU/e working within the same project. He will develop the control plane to operate the chip and interface them for field-trial demonstrations in close collaboration with Mellanox.

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 within the research group Electro-optical COmmunication systems (ECO) which has about 30 members, 20 of which are PhD students. The IPI (previously COBRA) is internationally leading on advanced InP-based photonic integrated circuits technology and optical system and sub-system demonstration.

• Master degree in Applied Physics, Optical Science, Electrical Engineering or Telecommunications
• Affinity for photonic and electronic devices and circuits
• Background in semiconductor devices and general knowledge about semiconductor physics, modelling and component design.
• Independency in thinking and problem solving attitude
• Ability to work with experts from a broad range of scientific and technology backgrounds
• Fluent spoken and written English
  The candidates will collaborate with the TWILIGHT consortium, which includes experts on HBT electronics, high-speed laser modulation, electronic and photonic circuit design, photonic-electronic assembly and packaging, system-level architecture, etc.

We offer you:

• An exciting job in a dynamic work environment
• The possibility to present your work at international conferences.
• A full time appointment for four years at Eindhoven University of Technology (www.tue.nl/en)
• The salary is in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2,325 per month initially, to € 2,972 in the fourth year.
• An attractive package of fringe benefits, including end-of-year bonus (8,3% in December), an extra holiday allowance (8% in May), moving expenses and excellent sports facilities.

We are searching for suitable candidates in anticipation of a grant agreement to be signed. When official approval is received, we can definitively commit to hire the candidates.