PhD Studentship: Hollow Core Fibre Photonics

Location: Highfield Campus

Closing Date:  Monday 31 July 2017

Reference: 865117EH

Project title: Hollow Core Fibre Photonics

Supervisor:Prof. Francesco Poletti

Co-supervisor(s):(project dependent) Prof David Richardson, Dr John Hayes, Dr Eric Numkam, Dr Greg Jasion, Dr Natalie Wheeler.

Hollow core fibres (HCFs) are a novel optical fibre in which light is trapped and guided with low loss in an air core, as opposed to in glass in a conventional optical fibre; these fibres have the potential to revolutionise many application areas including telecommunications, laser power delivery, gas sensing and metrology. The Microstructured Optical Fibres group, in the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton, is a world-leading research group which specialises in the modelling, fabrication and applications of HCFs. We have recently been awarded an EPSRC Programme Grant, worth £6 million over the next 6 years, with a core aim of developing the next generation of ultrahigh performance HCFs for deployment in real world applications. Towards this goal we will explore the performance limits of HCFs in silica, soft glass and polymer structures, investigate innovative means of manufacture, develop reliable means to interconnect HCFs and integrate these fibres in a wide range of applications.

We have several PhD projects available in the areas of:

• Novel fibre fabrication and development in silica, soft glass and polymer materials
• Fibre reliability and interconnection
• Application development in areas including telecoms, datacoms, amplifiers, gas sensing, high power laser delivery, and metrology.

PhD students will have the opportunity to develop a wide range of highly employable skills, including fibre fabrication and characterization expertise, advanced numerical modelling skills, and photonics related material science know-how, while acquiring application-specific knowledge and interacting with a wide network of world-leading experts.

Fully funded places are available on this project for UK applicants. Students from overseas who have secured external funding are also welcome to apply. In addition to experiments, computational modelling and data-analysis will be key aspects. A visit to meet us is recommended and phone / Skype interviews are also possible.

Please contact Prof. Francesco Poletti (frap@orc.soton.ac.uk) and visit our group page: http://www.orc.soton.ac.uk/mof.htmlfor more information.

The PhD programme

The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) is a world-leading research institution based at the University of Southampton. We have state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities for specialty fibre fabrication and an international reputation for outstanding research; the microstructured optical fibre group has several programmes running to develop hollow core fibre technology. A PhD here has enabled our past graduates to make successful careers in academia, in national scientific laboratories, and as scientists or business leaders in industry. Our research papers, patents, spin-off companies and these successful alumni taken together place Southampton amongst the top institutes worldwide.

The ORC PhD comprises a solid education for a career in photonics industry or academia. You will attend training courses, perform cutting edge research, attend international conferences, and write papers in leading academic journals. You will emerge from the PhD with skills at the forefront of future photonics research that sets you up for a successful career.

Key facts

Entry requirements: first or upper second-class degree or equivalent in a related discipline, such as physics or engineering.

Closing date: 31 July 2017

Duration: typically three years (full-time)

Funding: full tuition plus, for UK students, an enhanced stipend of £18,000 tax-free per annum for up to 3.5 years. www.orc.southampton.ac.uk/phdprogram.html

Assessment: eight-and 16-month reports and viva voce; thesis examination.

Start date: typically October