Postdoctoral Fellow in Integrated Photonic Quantum Technologies

Project description

The position is part of a research programme on integrated photonic quantum technologies. The project rests on two complementary fabrication routes: femtosecond laser direct writing, which makes it possible to inscribe optical waveguides and photonic circuits in three dimensions inside transparent materials such as glasses and crystals, and cleanroom lithographic nanofabrication of planar, high-index-contrast photonic integrated circuits. Together they give access both to circuit geometries that planar platforms cannot realise and to the density and functionality that lithography offers, as well as to hybrid devices combining the two.

The aim of the project is to develop photonic circuits – laser-written, lithographically fabricated and hybrid for the generation, manipulation and detection of quantum states of light, and to use them as building blocks for quantum communication, quantum sensing and photonic quantum information processing.

Depending on the background and interests of the candidate, the work may include three-dimensional waveguide circuits and programmable interferometers, lithographically defined waveguides, resonators and grating couplers, low-loss coupling between photonic circuits and optical fibres or single-photon detectors, the integration of quantum emitters and non-linear elements, and the characterisation of quantum states on chip. The project is carried out in a collaborative environment with a femtosecond laser writing facility, access to cleanroom nanofabrication and well-equipped quantum optics laboratories, together with national and international partners.

Main responsibilities

The position involves independent and collaborative research within the project, including:

• design and numerical modelling of photonic integrated circuits and waveguide devices, in two and three dimensions
• fabrication of photonic structures by femtosecond laser direct writing, including the development and optimisation of writing parameters, beam shaping and sample preparation
• nanofabrication of planar photonic structures in a cleanroom environment (e.g. electron-beam lithography, thin-film deposition, dry etching and materials characterisation)
• optical characterisation of the fabricated structures (propagation and coupling loss, mode profiles, birefringence, dispersion) and the associated post-processing such as annealing, polishing and fibre pigtailing
• analysis and interpretation of experimental data, and development of instrument control and data analysis software
• publication of results in leading international journals and presentations at conferences.

Ref. No. SU FV-2796-26

Closing date: 10 September 2026

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