The Challenge

The growing demand for physical AI systems, including robotics, autonomous platforms, and advanced machine vision, is driving the need for energy-efficient, low-latency devices that can both generate and process information at the edge. Nanophotonic devices offer a promising route toward ultra-fast and energy-efficient information processing by manipulating light at the nanoscale. However, most photonic components remain static after fabrication and cannot adapt to changing tasks, environments, or operational requirements. A major challenge is therefore the development of scalable, electrically programmable, and low-loss nanophotonic platforms that combine high optical performance with dynamic reconfigurability. While phase-change materials (PCMs) have emerged as a promising technology for photonic modulation, many existing material systems suffer from significant optical absorption or limited tunability, restricting their practical implementation in advanced photonic devices. Addressing these limitations is key to enabling a new generation of programmable nanophotonic devices for intelligent sensing in future physical AI systems.

What you will do

During this PhD, you will investigate material platforms and device architectures for electrically programmable nanophotonic systems. Your research will focus on low-loss PCMs and their integration into reconfigurable metasurfaces and photonic devices. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding electrically driven phase transitions and developing scalable nanofabrication strategies for programmable optical functionality. In addition, you will explore the integration of these devices with thin-film imaging technologies, such as colloidal quantum dots, to demonstrate adaptive photonic functionality at the system level. Ultimately, your work will contribute to the development of reconfigurable photonic hardware for intelligent sensing in physical AI systems.

You will:

• Develop and characterize low-loss PCM platforms.
• Design and fabricate reconfigurable metasurfaces and nanophotonic devices.
• Experimentally study the electrical switching mechanisms and model the underlying physical effects.
• Demonstrate adaptive and reconfigurable nanophotonic functionality at the device and system level

What you should bring along

You are naturally curious, enjoy solving challenging problems, and thrive in an interdisciplinary research environment. You have a strong interest in materials science, nanofabrication, photonics, optoelectronics, and semiconductor devices, and are eager to gain hands-on experience in cutting-edge experimental research. Familiarity with laboratory work, data analysis, scientific programming, or numerical simulations is highly valued. Strong communication skills and proficiency in English are essential for collaborating effectively in an international research environment.