Junior Researcher for ERC Starting Grant for Lightsails

Join a Multi-Million Euro Project on Ultra-Thin Photonic Crystal Sails for Next-Generation Space Travel

Job Description

As a Junior Researcher, you will lead a multi-million euro project focused on developing ultra-thin photonic crystal sails for next-generation space travel. This project is in collaboration with the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and Limitless Space Institute. Our lab is at the forefront of nanotechnology, nanophotonics, applied physics, and space travel, developing ultra-light sails (mirrors) that are unlike any material found in nature or made in science to date.

In 2016, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced a $100 million initiative to realize microchip satellites for unmanned interstellar travel. By attaching these microchips to low-mass sails that are meters large and only nanometers thick, these satellites could be accelerated to ultra-fast speeds with lasers. This type of sail material could reduce travel time to Alpha Centauri, our nearest star, from 10,000 years to only 20 years, fundamentally changing humanity’s reach within the universe. While these novel sail materials offer unique capabilities, the greatest challenge recognized by leading experts is developing the lightsail itself. Unlike microchips, which require miniaturization, lightsails are the only nanoscale components that must be expanded to meter scales. Our lab has pioneered metamaterials with extreme aspect ratios, positioning us uniquely to advance this technology.

At TU Delft, Netherlands, we can design and produce these suspended reflective structures at the centimeter scale for the first time. The EARS project will push the limits of nanotechnology further with a world-class experimental system, overcoming conventional obstacles and opening a new regime of light-matter interaction. While optical levitation won the 2018 Nobel Prize for revolutionizing physics and engineering, it has so far been limited to nanoscale objects. The lightsail materials proposed in EARS will enable the first optical levitation of microstructures that are 100,000 times more massive than anything previously levitated with coherent light. Photonic crystal mirrors will make this possible, pushing the boundaries of material science, nanophotonic design, and structural engineering.

Job Requirements

• MSc in Optics, Physics, Engineering, or Material Science (strongly required)
• Experience with optical measurements

About TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is a top international university combining science, engineering, and design. It delivers world-class results in education, research, and innovation to address challenges in energy, climate, mobility, health, and digital society. Our engineers are entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Research and education at the ME faculty focus on fundamental understanding, design, production, application and product improvement, materials, processes, and (mechanical) systems. ME is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and the development of prosperity and well-being. This unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education, and (inter)national cooperation.

Conditions of Employment

• Duration of contract is 2 years (Temporary)
• A salary based on Scale 10 of the CAO for Dutch Universities with a salary between €3546 - €5538 gross per month based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training, and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave.
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

Additional Information

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Richard Norte, via R.A.Norte@tudelft.nl.