Lithium niobate is widely used in optics and telecom because of its high nonlinearities and its transparency over a wide wavelength range. Its nanostructuring is however not an easy task due to its high resistivity towards different etching techniques. Recently, we have developed a process based on ion beam enhanced etching to produce large photonic crystals in free-standing lithium niobate membranes. These new structures are promising for a variety of applications in integrated optics.
In this project, we want to exploit specific photonic crystal properties such as slow light effect and/or strong light confinement to enhance nonlinearities in lithium niobate membranes. The PhD student will mostly be involved in modelling and design of photonic crystals and also in characterization of the fabricated nanostructures by performing optical far-field and near-field experiments. This work will be conducted in close collaboration with research groups responsible for fabrication and numerical simulation.
We seek a highly motivated student with excellent experimental skills and a strong interest in numerical simulation. The selected PhD student should hold a diploma or a master’s degree in physics, photonics or equivalent.
Please send your application to Dr. Séverine Diziain: severine.diziain@uni-jena.de