PhD Studentship: Microfluidic-enabled Reconfigurable Reflective Metasurfaces

Metamaterials, which are artificially engineered materials with properties not (commonly) available in nature, have shown the potential for effective control and manipulation of waves. In particular, their two-dimensional equivalents, metasurfaces, which are subwavelength-patterned surfaces that allow for the creation of arbitrarily structured light fields by modifying the phase of an incident light wave at the sub-wavelength scale, hold promise for unlocking applications operating in the Terahertz frequency range (i.e., the spectral window between microwaves and infrared) such as 6G communications and high-resolution security body scanners.

The PhD project will focus on designing, fabricating, and testing a set of microfluidic-enabled reconfigurable reflective metasurfaces for beam manipulation. The concept has become just viable by the emergence of two-photopolymerization. additive manufacturing and the development in liquid metal microfluidics.

The School of Physics and Astronomy is an Institute of Physics Juno Champion since 2014 and holder of the Athena SWAN Silver Award. Both initiatives recognise the School’s commitment to promote diversity and equality, and to encourage better practice for all members of the community, whilst also working towards developing an equitable working culture in which all students and staff can achieve their full potential. We welcome applications from all qualified applicants, and encourage applications from traditionally under-represented groups in physics and astronomy including, but not limited to, women and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic.

The research programme will take place in the an interdisciplinary environment of the Metamaterials and Nanophotonics group (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/physics/quantum/metamaterials/index.aspx) and the Communication and Sensing group (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/eese/communications-sensing/communications-sensing.aspx), which will substantially favour collaboration opportunities within University of Birmingham and afield.

You can apply through https://sits.bham.ac.uk/lpages/EPS005.htm, clearly stating the title of the project and the name of the supervisor (Dr. Miguel Navarro-Cía; m.navarro-cia@bham.ac.uk).

Funding notes:
Applications are sought from highly motivated UK students graduating with first degree (2:1 or higher) in physics or engineering (and preferably a MSci/MEng degree).
Funding is awarded on a competitive basis, depending on the strength of the applicant. The funding is only available to UK or EU nationals with (pre-)settled status, and it will cover tuition fees and provide a stipend for 3.5 years.

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