Research Fellow in THz Communications

About us

The Photonics Group of the UCL Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering wishes to appoint a Research Fellow to work in the field of free-space optical communications as part of the Hub in All-Spectrum Connectivity (HASC), a growing consortium of UK universities led by Professor Dominic O’Brien of University of Oxford.

Understanding how best to use established and emerging frequency bands across the wireless and wired spectrum from RF to optical frequencies is a key challenge for future communications systems. HASC brings together a network of researchers and institutions with world-leading capabilities and facilities to answer this question and deliver innovation in the use and exploitation of future wired and wireless spectrum.

About the role

The UCL Photonics Group is contributing world-leading expertise and experimental facilities in photonically enabled THz communications (i.e. wireless communications at carrier frequencies between 100 GHz and 10 THz) to HASC. The postholder will carry out experiments and computer modelling into these areas in support of the wider HASC goals.

This will involve extending the existing experimental testbed for THz communications to provide new functionality, such as multiple transmitters and receivers, enabling studies of bi-directional links, MIMO, networking, interference, and multi-user scenarios.

One of the major ambitions of HASC is to develop a comprehensive modelling capability spanning all frequencies from RF to optical. The post holder will provide inputs to this activity on photonically enabled THz communications, including component characteristics (including high-speed photodiode frequency response, THz source radiation patterns), link budget calculations, and digital signal processing techniques, etc., helping to develop accurate models for THz communications.

The post holder will be expected to develop the research proposals already submitted to HASC and to devise new experiments and tasks relevant to the HASC goals. They will be encouraged to design and execute collaborative experiments with researchers working at the other HASC partner institutions.

The post is available until 31st August 2025 in the first instance. Further funding to support the post may be available.

About you

Candidates should have a PhD (or about to submit) in Photonics, Electronic / Electrical Engineering or a closely related field (e.g. Physics, Computer Science). They should have a track record of high-level research in photonics and/or physical layer wireless communication systems, and an in-depth understanding of the principles of wireless and/or optical communication systems.

Practical experience of RF, THz or optical communication systems is desirable.

Application details:

• To apply for the role, click the 'Apply' button
• Applications close on 11th July 2024 at 23:59
• A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page, as well as contact details for queries about the post

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits. Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

Our department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.

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