A PhD position is available at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. The position is in the Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements. The applicant is expected to join the group at the EPFL. The group’s work is situated in the area of chip-based optical micro-cavities. These structures can trap light in micro-scale volumes for extended amounts of time, and find application in a variety of fundamental and applied studies, ranging from nonlinear optics, cavity Quantum Electrodynamics to microscale Laser sources and biochemical sensors.
The candidate has the possibility to join either of three ongoing projects, which offer both experimental and theoretical research opportunities.
cavity optomechanics Recent work in our group has demonstrated a new laser cooling technique for mechanical oscillators using radiation pressure ([1, 2]). The successful candidate will join a team of students to continue this project in a quest to reach previously inaccessible temperature regimes – with the long term goal of cooling a macroscopic object down to its quantum ground state.
The second project pertains to continuing research on monolithic frequency comb generators that we have recently discovered (3. Aspects range from understanding the nonlinear dynamics, characterizing the optical pulses, controlling dispersion to achieving comb generation in novel types of microresonators. Furthermore, opportunities exist to work on related projects, such as the on-chip generation and characterization of squeezed states of light.
The third possible project of the group pertains to developing highly sensitive optical sensors capable of tracking single molecules. To date, only a few widely applied techniques in Biophysics are available for label free detection of ligand-receptor binding, which lack single to resolve single molecule binding events. Building on recent advances of the applicant’s team at the MPQ and in collaboration with the Munich based University LMU (Professor Joachim Readler), we have developed a novel methodology in which we use membrane functionalized monolithic micro-resonators in aqueous solution as novel technique to resolve single binding events. A succesful prestudy has been completed and we are now searching for a Postdoc who wished to engage in interdisciplinary research at the interface of Physics and Biophysics. By developing a methodology by which label free single molecule sensitivity in biomolecular recognition can be attained, this research could enable to open new frontiers to Biophysicists. The project at present requires in particular skills related to frequency stabilization techniques which are key to achieving highly sensitive sensors.
Requirements are a degree in Physics or related field, as well as an excellent track record as witnessed by academic accomplishments. The positions are funded by the EU. Interested students send their complete application package (including CV, letter of motivation, and complete record of university grades) to Dr. Tobias Kippenberg (tobias.kippenberg@epfl.ch). More information can be found under k-lab.epfl.ch.