Optical Scientist Photonic Integrated Circuits; PIC

Position: Optical Scientist Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) |
About This Position
TNO Optics ontwerpt en realiseert hoogwaardige optische systemen voor een breed scala aan toepassingen, zoals atmosferische monitoring vanuit de ruimte, optische satellietcommunicatie, medische instrumentatie, quantumtechnologieën, structural health monitoring en instrumentatie voor de halfgeleiderindustrie. Dit werk doen we voor klanten zoals Airbus, NASA en ESA, en voor projecten zoals de Sentinel 5-satelliet voor wereldwijde monitoring van luchtkwaliteit en ITER. Onze expertise op het gebied van optische technologie varieert van grootschalige geometrische optica tot glasvezeloptica, geïntegreerde fotonica en subgolflengte-meta materialen.

Met een achtergrond in toegepaste natuurkunde of engineering en een sterke interesse in geïntegreerde fotonica werk je als Optical Scientist gespecialiseerd in Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). TNO ontwikkelt PICs voor toepassingen in opto-akoestiek, quantumtechnologie, metrologie, lidar en biosensing. Onze projecten zijn doorgaans multidisciplinair en combineren PIC-expertise met substantiële kennis van de betreffende toepassingsdomeinen. Je werkt nauw samen met je directe collega’s van de Optics-groep, met andere TNO-experts uit andere domeinen en met externe stakeholders, leveranciers en klanten.

Daarnaast werk je samen met collega’s van het Holst Centre in Eindhoven en het Chip Integration Technology Centre in Nijmegen aan hybride-integratie- en packagingprocessen.

Bekijk meer over de TNO Unit High Tech Industry op de TNO-website.

What will be your role?
As an Optical Scientist specialised in integrated photonics, you will be involved in the development, validation and implementation of PIC devices, and systems including PIC components, for various markets, including medical instrumentation, opto-acoustics, optical (satellite) communication and quantum technologies. Your work relates not only to optical aspects but also to thermal, mechanical and acoustic considerations. You will reflect on manufacturability, cost and optical and electrical interconnect, and analyse power budget, transfer functions and noise performance.

You will contribute to the technology strategy, system architectures, chip designs and coordination of fabrication at selected foundries, as well as to experimental characterization and validation of PIC-based devices and systems. You will regularly and intensively discuss results, progress, deviations and possible improvements with teams of other technical specialists, project leaders and system engineers, based both at TNO and at our customers and partners.

As an optical scientist you will be responsible for:

Providing and maintaining up-to-date technical expertise on PIC technology

Contributing to developing the vision and roadmaps for PIC technology at TNO and within our collaborations

Developing and executing measurement protocols for standardized and custom tests and developing the required measurement setups

Relating PIC performance to the higher‑level architecture of the system in which the PIC is one of the components

Successful validation of PIC technology in use cases for a range of applications

Establishing collaborations and creating opportunities, including initiation of national and EU funded projects and programs

Guiding colleagues from various departments, with a range of different expertise, to enable PIC‑based systems

Delivering high‑quality work to satisfy the needs of our customers

What we expect from you
A considerable level of creativity, autonomy and initiative is expected from you. To be able to perform your role well, it is important that you recognize yourself in the following profile:

A PhD degree in physics or engineering, with knowledge relevant for the tasks described above

At least 5 years of experience working in the domain of photonics, including fiber optics, PICs, and micro- and nanophotonics

Experience in PIC modelling and device design (i.e. Lumerical, Photon Design, Synopsis, KLayout and Nazca or similar)

Experience in the use of MATLAB and/or Python for modelling and signal processing.

Knowledge of PIC material platforms, fabrication methods and technologies

Experience in PIC chip‑level…