Three PhD vacancies in TU/e Perspective Programme Optical Wireless Superhighways

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e, https://www.tue.nl/en/ ) is one of Europe's top technological universities, situated at the heart of a most innovative high-tech region. Thanks to a wealth of collaborations with industry and academic institutes, TU/e's research has real-world impact. In 2015, TU/e was ranked 106th in the Times Higher Educational World University ranking and 49th in the Shanghai ARWU ranking (engineering). TU/e has around 3,000 employees and 2,300 PhD students (half of which international, representing about 70 nationalities).

The candidates will work in the Electro-Optical Communication Systems (ECO) group and Signal Processing Systems group (SPS) of the Department of Electrical Engineering (https://www.tue.nl/en/our-university/departments/electrical-engineering/ ). Within the EE department, research and education is done in the domains of Telecommunication, Care and Cure, and Smart energy systems.

The interfaculty Institute for Photonic Integration (IPI; previously known as COBRA) performs research in the area of broadband telecommunication, by investigating the potential of optical technologies. As a key member of IPI, the Electro-Optical Communication Systems (ECO) group focuses its research on optical communication system techniques, ranging from systems for ultra-high capacity long reach transmission (encompassing single-mode, multi-mode and multi-core fiber systems), ultra-fast (all-) optical packet switching nodes, high-density intra-data center networks, to multi-service flexible access and in-building networks (including radio-over-fiber and optical wireless communication).  ECO participates in a range of national and international projects.

The Signal Processing Systems (SPS) group has a strong track record not only in signal processing for digital communication, but also for medical applications and for intelligent lighting systems. The impact of the work of the group is evident from a very close cooperation with industrial partners and research institutes and from international recognition and awards of the team. The group is strong in creating novel information and communication theoretical principles in new fields by exploring the underlying physical mechanisms.

Project description

In the Perspective program Optical Wireless Superhighways recently granted by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), new perspectives can be opened for wireless communication by optical beams which will offer unprecedented capacity, connection density, privacy, and energy efficiency. Five universities and a variety of industries are joining forces to explore these opportunities at all length scales: ranging from ultra-long links between satellites, to short links within indoor rooms. We are looking for enthusiastic PhD students to join our program and have 3 vacancies as listed below.

1) PhD student for Robust signal coding for optical wireless channels (in ECO group)

The performance of free-space optical communication links is significantly influenced by atmospheric turbulence, multi-path effects and diffuse reflections. These effects occur in short, medium and long-range communication links, such as indoor, horizontal terrestrial links of a few km-s up to links between Earth and a Geo-stationary satellite (up to 4 104 km). Fading and beam distortions may severely degrade the link's performance. The research will address novel diversity techniques (in space, wavelength, time) and signal coding techniques to adaptively improve the optical wireless system's performance.

2) PhD student for Optical wireless beam steered transmission (in ECO group)

Communication by means of narrow optical beams requires accurate and fast steering of such beams, depending on the application area. In short (indoor) links the accuracy needed will be moderate, but steering angle and speed high, whereas in long (inter-satellite) links accuracy needs to be high, and steering angle and speed relatively small. The research will address non-mechanical beam steering techniques, tailored to the foreseen application domain, which are robust and deploy adaptive efficient control mechanisms.

3) PhD student for Localization and tracking in optical wireless systems (in SPS group)

Keeping an optical communication beam on track despite motion of the client device demands a control feedback loop that effectively operates upon error signals that measure beam directionality offsets, in a bi-directional optical system. Effective design of such a control tracking system combines the use of optical and electrical properties to ensure an adequate lock-in range, accelerating acquisition modes and fine-grain control in the center of the beam, irrespective of mechanical and thermal tolerances or inevitable imbalances in the electro-optical circuits.  

Tasks

In the task-specific research outlined above, the PhD students will have to design, engineer, implement and validate their concepts. He/she should cooperate with the other researchers in the program, amongst others by integrating his/her results in the joint system demonstrators. They should regularly report about his/her work in the program's consortium, both orally in progress meetings as well as in writing deliverable reports. They should disseminate his/her work in prominent media, amongst others through publications in scientific journals and conferences.