PhD position - Electro-optically Tunable Meta Circuits Wavefront Shaping

PhD position – Electro‑optically Tunable Meta Circuits for Wavefront Shaping

Work Activities

How do you shape light extremely fast and with high precision? Can you make programmable pixels that are fed light by integrated optics, and that can be programmed to project a designer beam, focus, or wavefront into free space? The goal of the METAPIC project is to develop the technology to do this. You will build so‑called metasurface pixels, that can sit on a single chip and quickly change how they direct light.

The metasurface pixels are patches filled with 2D arrays of scatterers (‘meta‑atoms’) precisely tailored for diffractive out‑coupling and wavefront shaping at the same time. Each metasurface pixel receives light from wave guides on the chip. By using the latest advances in electro‑optic nonlinear materials, these wave guides can adjust the brightness and phase of the light at very high speed.

The METAPIC project is an academic research project funded by the Groeifonds Photon Delta, and led by expert in integrated optics, Imran Avci at Free University Amsterdam (VU). We will combine this expertise with state‑of‑the‑art metasurface design, nanofabrication and characterization techniques that have their home base  will work together with industry partners, notably including Rapid Photonics and PlanOPSim. Together we aim to develop the technology to create a low‑loss and scalable system for dynamic control of light.

This technology could have an impact on fields such as measurement science, LiDAR, adaptive optics and VR/AR.

In this project you will develop a design and fabrication strategy for integrated optics and metasurfaces on electro‑optic nonlinear materials, and you will have access to the AMOLF nanolab cleanroom to realise these designs. You will use state‑of‑the‑art microscopy methods to map the performance of your structures, moving to progressively more advanced prototypes. This project is ideal if you like to be involved in a PhD that covers the full cycle of numerical design, nanofabrication, and optics characterisation, and if you have a keen interest in working towards real‑world impact by working with Dutch industry partners in the Photon Delta ecosystem.

Qualifications

You have a MSc degree in physics, optics, photonics, nanoscience, or a related field.

Work Environment

The project will be a collaboration between the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF and the team of Dr. Imran Avci at the VU (Free University, Amsterdam). You will be employed at AMOLF and be embedded in the AMOLF team. The project will involve work discussions and collaboration with the VU team, as well as interaction with the industry partners.

AMOLF is a national institute that is part of NWO‑I. Its mission is to initiate and perform fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees.(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..nl

The research activities in the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF (PI Femius Koenderink) aim at developing nanoscale photonic structures, such as metasurface optics, optical nano‑antennas and resonators to control scattering, emission, amplification and detection of light. Our work has applications in the domains of nanophotonic light sources, optical metrology, microscopy, and wave‑based information processing.

Working Conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full‑time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO‑I) for the duration of four years.
• The starting salary is 3.115 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD‑students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD‑student with…