About the project
We are looking for a PhD student to work on the design and numerical simulation of the next generation of high-power fibre lasers. This project is part of a major new initiative funded by the UK Research Council at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), University of Southampton.
As fibre lasers get more and more powerful, the fibre core size must increase to minimise optical nonlinearities and avoid material damage. This adds spatial degrees of freedom to the laser beam that must be controlled to obtain a clean, well-behaved laser output.
The aim is to exploit computer simulations to investigate the dynamics of the generation of light in such large, few-mode or multimode, optical fibres. You will combine new fibre technology with state-of-the-art control mechanisms, including machine learning, to reach unprecedented laser powers with full control over the beam shape. We will analyse the dynamics of the spatial light profile and its dependence on the gain medium, fibre losses, optical nonlinearities, chromatic dispersion, and thermal and acoustic effects. These numerical and theoretical investigations will be performed in close collaboration with corresponding high-power laser experiments in our labs and at our industrial partners.
You will benefit from our world-leading expertise in these fields and exploit state-of-the-art computer hardware for your research. This project is relevant for the future development of the next generation of fibre lasers and their applications in, for example, advanced digital manufacturing and medical surgery.
