PhD Scholarship in Electronic-Photonic Integration: Merging Photonic and CMOS Chips for Scalable Information Processing - DTU Electro

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence has made data movement a key bottleneck in computing hardware. Integrated photonics is therefore increasingly used to interconnect electronic processors at a far lower energy per bit than electrical links. Scaling up photonic circuits themselves also requires integrated electronics for large-scale control and stabilization of many optical components in applications, such as biomedical imaging and control of atom-based quantum computers. We offer a PhD scholarship at DTU Electro, where you will develop the 3D integration of photonic and CMOS chips forming the foundation for future technologies.

Our photonic circuits are made in thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN), which is transparent from the visible to the mid-infrared. Its electro-optic effect allows fast modulation of light without adding optical loss. Our team has recently shown that photonic crystal cavities in TFLN can serve as ultracompact modulators [1] with electrically controllable coupling to waveguides [2], and they can route light between many ports [3]. Small cavities need little energy to drive, but their resonances drift with temperature and fabrication variations. Scaling up circuits therefore requires alignment and stabilization of all resonators via local electronic feedback in addition to high-speed modulation. We work closely with our collaborators at Harvard University, whose research has shaped the TFLN field [4].

In the project EPIC, funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark, you will contribute to the design, fabrication, and characterization of devices that join TFLN photonic circuits to custom CMOS chips from our microelectronics team by flip-chip bonding. The aim is to keep many resonator-based modulators, driven at gigahertz speeds, stable at visible and near-infrared wavelengths across a chip. This calls for careful co-design of the photonics with integrated photodetectors, feedback circuits, and drive electronics.

Responsibilities and qualifications
You will help drive the experimental work in EPIC from co-design to demonstration. You will work closely with Professor Per Lynggaard's CMOS design team, other PhD students, postdocs, and senior researchers at DTU, and our collaborators at Harvard University. Depending on your interests, you will have the opportunity to:

• Co-design photonic cavities, couplers, and electronic interfaces using optical, thermal, and circuit simulations.
• Fabricate photonic circuits in DTU Nanolab’s state-of-the-art cleanroom.
• Develop flip-chip bonding of photonic and CMOS chips.
• Explore feedback schemes that stabilize many cavities across a chip.
• Characterize assembled devices using high-speed electro-optic measurements.
• Present your results at international conferences and in leading journals.

You enjoy hands-on laboratory work and learning across disciplines, and you take ownership of the progress and quality of your work.

Required qualifications:

• A strong background in photonics, optics, or electronics.
• Experimental experience in photonics, optics, or electronics, e.g., from your master’s project.
• Programming experience in Python.

Desired qualifications:

• Nanofabrication or integrated photonics.
• Analog circuit design or high-speed electronics.
• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education.

Assessment
Assessment of the candidates will be carried out by Associate Professor Mikkel Heuck and Professor Per Lynggaard.

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Please see DTU’s salary structure for scientific staff: www.inside.dtu.dk/en/human-resources/during-employment/salary/salary-structures

The period of employment is 3 years.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor Mikkel Heuck (mheu@dtu.dk).

You can read more about our department at www.electro.dtu.dk.

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 30 November 2026 (23:59 Danish time). Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Electro
DTU Electro employs more than 300 skilled researchers with competencies in electrical and photonics engineering. As a department, we strive towards creating sustainable energy and a greener internet, as well as strengthening cyber security and health technology. Working with industry and public organizations is one of our top priorities to find and implement new solutions to our society. We aim to offer education, research, and innovation of the highest standard, and our focus on application-oriented research enables us to work across many engineering disciplines and research areas, such as IT and the medical and health sciences. We have a close collaboration with researchers from all over the world, just as we collaborate with industry and public authorities about the dissemination of solutions based on electrical and photonics engineering as their key enabling technologies.

DTU – For the benefit of society since 1829
DTU is one of Europe's leading elite technical universities. Through research and education at an international top level, we create solutions to the major societal challenges of our time and help secure Europe's global leadership in sustainable technological development. Since Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU almost 200 years ago, our mission has remained the same: We develop and create value through the natural and technical sciences for the benefit of society. DTU has 13,800 students, 1,600 PhD students, and 6,500 employees. We work in an international environment and have an inclusive, stimulating, and informal work culture. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland and collaborates with the best universities around the world.

References

[1] H. Larocque et al., ACS Photonics 11, 3860 (2024).

[2] M. Rasmussen et al., Optica Quantum 2.0, QM4B.4 (2025).

[3] A. Buzzi et al., arXiv:2610.31757 (2026).

[4] D. Zhu et al., Adv. Opt. Photon. 13, 242 (2021).