PhD in Advanced Epitaxial Growth for InP-Based Photonic Integrated Circuits

Job description
Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are used more and more used to overcome data bottlenecks, offering massive improvements in energy efficiency and bandwidth and opening up new applications. They are critical to the scaling of modern data centers, telecommunications networks, and advanced sensing applications in healthcare, mobility, and agrifood. This PhD position is focusing on the foundation of the PIC: the epitaxial growth of the functional materials. These can be engineered to e.g. emit or amplify light, transport light on the chip of efficiently modulate the phase of the light. The project will encompass:
Explore the limits of epitaxial growth for InP-based materials (InGaAsP and InAlGaAs) using a newest-generation Aixtron epi reactor
Correlate epitaxial growth parameters to the electro-optical performance and reliability of active components such as lasers and amplifiers
Investigate the science behind yield and manufacturability by developing predictive models to connect the physics and chemistry of Metal Organic Vapour Phase Epitaxy to successful large-scale integration of PICs
Information
Photonic integrated circuits - or optical chips - have evolved into a mature technology with a broad spectrum of use cases and a diversity of building blocks. For Indium Phosphide (InP) platforms, active components like lasers and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) are the engines of these circuits. The foundation of the performance of these devices lies in the precision of the underlying material. As the industry pushes towards large-scale integration, mastering the material growth, understanding the limits of the process, and understanding the science underpinning yield learning and manufacturability becomes of crucial importance.
We are seeking a PhD researcher to develop a deep understanding of the epitaxial growth of InP and its related compounds, specifically InGaAsP and InAlGaAs. Utilizing our state-of-the-art, newest-generation Aixtron epi reactor, you will explore the fundamental limits of the growth process. Your research will focus on optimizing material uniformity and directly correlating these foundational epitaxial properties to the final performance of (active and passive) photonic components. By mastering the growth phase, you will lay the groundwork for next-generation optical generation and amplification.
Furthermore, a significant pillar of this project is the science behind yield. You will conduct rigorous data analysis to gain insights into device yield, developing a deep understanding of failure mechanisms and sources of defects to improve long-term reliability. By establishing predictive models and novel process methods, you will aim to increase the accuracy and repeatability of manufacturing. To achieve this, you will collaborate closely with commercial foundry partners, leveraging real-life fab data to support and validate your models.
The position builds on the pioneering work in the foundry production of complex photonic integrated circuits in the JePPIX Pilot Line. The appointed person will work closely with a team of InP PIC technology experts inside the Photonic Integration Group and externally with integrated photonics researchers at our foundry partners.

Requirements
Masters degree in materials science, applied physics, electrical engineering, or similar
Knowledge and understanding of semiconductor physics, crystallography, and material characterization techniques
Knowledge of epitaxial growth processes (such as MOCVD/MOVPE) and compound semiconductor materials
Ability to analyze large datasets to identify failure mechanisms, sources of defects, and gain insights into device yield
Skills in statistical data analysis and models to correlate material properties to device performance
Ability to understand complex manufacturing challenges and formulate novel process methods to solve them
Fluent in spoken and written English (C1 level).

Conditions of employment
Fixed-term
contract
: 4 years.
A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station.
In addition, we offer you:
Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment.
Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the
Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities
, scale P (min. € 3,204 - max. € 4,051 gross base salary per month (full-time)).
In addition to your base salary, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus, both calculated based on your annual gross base salary.
Generous leave options: a standard 29 days (based on a 38 hour working week) per year that you can increase to 41 days by working two hours more per week (flexible working hours). This is prorated if you work part-time.
As a TU/e employee, you participate in the ABP pension scheme, providing retirement pension and pension benefits for surviving dependents and occupational disability. TU/e pays 70% of the pension premium, while employees contribute the remaining 30%.
High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own
learning process
.
An excellent technical infrastructure, and on-campus children's day care.
Unlimited access to the modern on‑campus
TU/e Student Sports Center
at an exceptionally affordable rate.
We support your wellbeing with free 24/7 access to OpenUp, providing you and your family with mental health support, expert guidance, and online training.
An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
A
Staff Immigration Team
and a tax compensation scheme (the
Expat Scheme
) for international candidates.
On our website you can discover even more information about our

conditions of employment
. Build on your career at TU/e!

Employer
TU/e
We are a leading international university where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community. Discover what
Light Up
means to TU/e in our short
company video
.
Our university is located in Brainport Eindhoven — a world‑leading tech region with more than 7,000 high‑tech companies and strong R&D activity. Known for breakthroughs in AI, photonics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, Brainport is a place where technology serves people and society. Learn more about the Brainport region
here
.