Photonics is widely regarded as the key enabling technology of the 21st century and its applications and use in many scientific and industrial fields is accelerated though Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), which combine many optical components into a miniaturized chip format. Similar as electronic ICs, PICs are revolutionizing areas such as healthcare, communication and sensing and have the potential to be disruptive to the whole society. We at the Institute for Photonic Integration are at the center of photonics; working from material science, device integration technologies to systems and applications .

The Project

The recently granted EU project - Photonic Wafer-Level IntEgration PAckaging and Test Processes (PhotonicLEAP) aims to reduce the cost of PIC packaging, test and module integration by over 10 times, opening many new markets, overcoming the prohibitively expensive packaging solutions used today. This will result in significant market disruption, enable the launch of new and affordable products powered by photonics, including; high-speed communication devices for future optical networks; biosensors for point-of-care patient monitoring - which are especially important given the global challenges we face with COVID-19; compact medical devices such as minimally invasive surgical and imaging systems; sensors for rapid and precise food safety and quality monitoring and in-line process control; miniaturized energy-efficient sensors for 5G, the Internet-of-Things and autonomous vehicles; high-speed quantum computing devices and augmented and virtual reality systems. Key to the development of PIC for these application areas is the development of scalable, reliable and high throughput test processes and systems.

Academic Environment

The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), one of Europe's top technical universities, is positioned in the heart of one of Europe's largest high­tech innovation ecosystems. Research at TU/e is characterized by a combination of academic excellence and a strong real­world impact which is often obtained via close collaboration with high­tech industries. At TU/e, we are developing the center of test and characterization of photonic integrated circuits. The development of test processes, strategy is in close collaboration with industrial partners for the development of the test processes and equipment.

Your Match

We are looking for a candidate to fill the position for 2 years with a possible extension within the TU/e.

• You will be engaged in applied research and electronic-photonic test development activities in the PhotonicLEAP European consortium consisting of industry and research institutes in the field of packaging and test processes for photonic integrated circuits.
• You should have at least a Master's degree in applied physics, electrical engineering or in an equivalent field with a strong background in photonics, programming and process automation.
• Experience in semiconductor measurements and manufacturing, photonic laboratory would be of an advantage.

Your Responsibilities

You will be expected to:

• define optical and electrical test specifications
• define design specifications for wafer-level optical and electrical test probes
• characterize and validate the performance of test probes using validation demonstrators.
• collect all test design and process parameters to develop packaging process design kit (PDK)
• prepare electronic-photonic test protocols for next generation manufacturing of photonic integrated circuits
• develop, maintain and extend test data management systems
• develop, operate and maintain electronic-photonic test-beds
• contribute to the development of IEEE standards for photonics on PIC-Testing
• contribute with Principal Investigators in running other projects and in submitted proposals.

Your Team

You will find yourself within a young and dynamic multi-disciplinary team of experts (electro-optical communication, photonic integration, software programmers, signal processing and process engineers that all have the aim of making photonic integrated circuits a mainstream technology. We believe in a flat hierarchy with focus on a getting-things-done attitude and practicality.

We offer

• a challenging job within a dynamic setting, where you can develop both your technical skill set and communication competences.
• a unique mix between academic and industrial environment due to our close collaboration with research groups at the university and also our industrial partners.
• a competitive salary scheme in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities, in scale 9 or 10, depending on your education, knowledge and experience.
• an attractive package of fringe benefits, including excellent technical infrastructure, childcare on campus, excellent sports facilities, savings schemes, extra annual holiday allowance (8% in May) and end­of­year allowance (8.3% in December) and 41 days of holiday. Foreign experts may benefit from the 30% tax facility in order to get a higher net salary, when granted.