Vacancy number: 16646
Job type: PhD positions
Contract hours min: 38
Contract hours max: 40
Location: Leiden
Applying is possible up to and including: 5 juli 2026
Role PhD candidate Photoadressable Quantum Photonics
Photonic integrated circuits are emerging as a key technology for future communication, sensing, and quantum computing systems. Current reconfigurable photonic platforms mostly rely on thermal tuning of optical waveguides, which requires continuous power consumption and limits scalability and energy efficiency. Developing low-power, stable, and programmable photonic hardware therefore represents an important challenge for next-generation photonic technologies.
In this research, you will explore a new class of photoaddressable and birefringent polymer materials that enable permanent, light-written reconfiguration of photonic circuits. By integrating these materials with low-loss silicon nitride waveguides, you will develop reconfigurable photonic devices for applications in quantum photonics, optical filtering, and photonic sensing. Particular emphasis will be placed on programmable Mach–Zehnder interferometers, reconfigurable optical filters, and low-loss quantum photonic circuits operating at telecommunications wavelengths. The project combines nanofabrication, optical experiments, materials science, and photonic circuit design to create energy-efficient and highly adaptable photonic technologies.
What you will do
You will be part of a multidisciplinary research effort at the interface of integrated photonics, quantum optics, and functional polymer materials. The project brings together expertise in nanophotonics, quantum optics, polymer chemistry, and optical design through collaborations with academic and industrial partners across the Netherlands. You will work closely with researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology who are developing the photoaddressable polymers for integration into low-loss and reconfigurable photonic circuits.
You will:
Design and characterize hybrid silicon nitride–polymer photonic circuits.
Investigate photoaddressable birefringent polymer platforms for rewritable and programmable photonic devices.
Perform optical and quantum optical experiments on integrated photonic components, including Mach–Zehnder interferometers, resonators, and programmable optical filters.
Investigate low-loss and reconfigurable photonic architectures for applications in quantum photonics and optical sensing.
Explore quantum interference phenomena such as Hong–Ou–Mandel interference to evaluate the performance of reconfigurable quantum photonic components.
Collaborate with researchers from physics, chemistry, and engineering backgrounds within a multidisciplinary academic and industrial network.
Where you will work
The Leiden Institute for Research in Physics (LION) is one of the oldest physics institutes in the Netherlands, with more than 180 staff members and approximately 30 senior scientists. Our research spans a wide range of topics, from cosmology to quantum physics and from economic networks to the physics behind DNA. There is extensive collaboration with other disciplines both within and beyond the university, as well as with industry partners. Curiosity is what unites everyone within the institute. Together, we push the boundaries of knowledge, provide inspiring education, and connect science with society.
Research within the Faculty of Science covers disciplines ranging from mathematics, computer science, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biopharmaceutical sciences to biology and environmental sciences. This research is carried out within eight institutes, which also offer eight bachelor's and fifteen master's programs. In recent years, the faculty has experienced significant growth and now has more than 2,300 staff members and approximately 5,700 students. We are located in the heart of the Bio Science Park, one of Europe’s largest science parks, where academia and industry come together. Working at our faculty means being part of a dynamic, international environment where both staff and students are driven by curiosity—not only to expand fundamental knowledge for the sake of science but also to contribute to solving the major societal challenges of tomorrow.
What we value
Promoting an inclusive community is central to Leiden University’s values and vision. We strive to be an open community in which all students and staff members feel valued and respected, and are able to fully develop themselves. We consider an inclusive academic environment, where students and staff can share their experiences and viewpoints, to be essential for the development of talent.