About the project
Silicon photonics are set to become a key solution for miniaturised optical sensing in the mid-infrared wavelength range. In the mid-infrared molecules have strong absorption fingerprints, enabling specific and sensitive detection of many substances. Integrating whole photonic systems onto silicon chips would enable high performance optical sensors that could be mass-manufactured, benefitting a plethora of new applications.
The successful applicant would join a world leading Silicon Photonics research group of 40 postdocs and PhD students, and would work in close cooperation with the new EPSRC funded £5.8 million programme grant “MISSION” (Mid- Infrared Silicon Photonic Sensors for Healthcare and Environmental Monitoring), which involves several UK and international academic, clinical, and industrial partners, and seeks to develop sensors for:
- Therapeutic drug monitoring in patients’ blood
- Rapid cancer diagnosis from blood samples
- Ocean monitoring (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide detection)
A crucial enabling component for these sensors will be waveguide integrated photodetectors that can convert optical signals into electronic ones. We have recently demonstrated low cost Si and Ge - based mid-IR detectors. We are looking for a candidate to build on these first demonstrations by extending their operation to new wavelengths, increase their responsivity, and to explore their use by integrating them into photonic integrated circuits for sensing.
The work would involve opto-electronic simulation and design, device fabrication in our world class academic cleanroom complex, and characterisation in our state-of-the-art photonics laboratories. Experience in electronics, photonics, physics, or materials science is desirable.
