PhD Studentship: Control of Terahertz Lasers With Sound

Funding

EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship offering the award of fees, together with a tax-free maintenance grant £19,237 per year for 3.5 years.  Training and support will also be provided.

Lead Supervisor’s full name and email address

Professor John Cunningham – j.e.cunningham@leeds.ac.uk

Co-supervisor name(s)

Dr Paul Dean – p.dean@leeds.ac.uk

Project summary 

Applicants are sought for a funded PhD position investigating the acoustic control of terahertz frequency quantum cascade lasers (THz QCLs). The project is an exciting opportunity to join a large and world-renowned research group active and leading in many areas of terahertz science and technology, including in the design, growth and measurement of QCLs, which are a compact semiconductor source of terahertz radiation. The semiconductor wafers from which these lasers are made are grown in our laboratories in the School, and are processed into lasers in our new nanotechnology cleanroom, which is part of the University’s Bragg Centre for Materials Research.

In this experimental PhD project, you will develop new ways to modulate terahertz sources (including THz QCLs) using acoustic waves, leading to new ultrafast communications schemes relevant to 6G and beyond. For this, you will investigate and develop novel acoustic methods to manipulate the bandstructure of THz QCLs controllably and so change their light output, with the potential for extremely fast modulation (up to 100s of GHz). We have recently shown that one can use an acoustic pulse (created by an intense laser pulse hitting one side of the QCL) to perturb the light output, and we now wish to investigate this effect in detail. Future applications of the technology developed may include fast wireless communication systems and a new type of self-modulating laser, in which phonon and optical modes are both engineered for periodic sound and light modulation. The work will mainly be performed in our world-class terahertz laboratories in the School, and Bragg Centre cleanroom, in which you would make these devices using state-of-the-art equipment. There is also strong potential for you to work with our collaborators at the University of Nottingham and with our industrial project partners.

This project would suit an applicant with a good first degree in Physics, Electronic Engineering, or an aligned subject, having a good working knowledge of physical electronics, and/or photonics. Full training will be provided in the experimental techniques.

Please ensure that you quote this research project title in full on your application: Pollard Institute: Control of terahertz lasers using sound.

Entry requirements plus any necessary or desired background

First or Upper Second Class UK Bachelor (Honours) degree or equivalent in Physics, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, or related discipline.

Subject Area

Physics, Electronic Engineering

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