PhD Position in Cryo-CMOS Circuit Design for Quantum Sensors

Are you ready to shape the future of quantum technology? Join our vibrant team in designing and demonstrating cryo-CMOS integrated circuits to interface quantum computers and quantum sensors!

Job desrciption

Quantum computers promise to solve problems intractable by classical digital computers, while quantum sensors can offer unprecedented accuracy and sensitivity in detecting very small quantities. However, quantum devices typically operate at cryogenic temperatures, thus requiring long, bulky, and unreliable wires to connect to their room-temperature control electronics. This wiring bottleneck hinders the system's scalability and performance. As a PhD student in Electrical Engineering at TU Delft, you will overcome this bottleneck by building the cryogenic interface for future quantum systems.

In our group, we have pioneered the use of CMOS integrated circuits operating at cryogenic temperatures (cryo-CMOS). We adopt standard CMOS technologies to exploit their large-scale integration, as required in future large-scale quantum computers and cryogenic sensors, and their performance. CMOS devices are functional at temperatures as low as 4 K and below, but their behavior is very different than at room temperature, including an increased threshold voltage, a higher driving current, and a lower thermal noise. The challenges lie in exploiting the advantages of cryogenic operation, such as the lower thermal noise, while circumventing device non-idealities by inventing innovative circuit architectures and systems that can outperform the state-of-the-art. Although we have demonstrated several high-performance cryo-CMOS circuits and systems in the last decade, your challenge will be demonstrating new functionalities and pushing the boundary of circuit performance and knowledge.

In this project, you will develop the cryogenic interface for a very sensitive cryogenic magnetic sensor implemented using the SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices) sensors developed by our partner QuantaMap. Those sensors are crucial components in a very advanced microscope able to accurately map the currents on the surface of next-generation quantum chips. In the current setup, the magnetic sensors are read out by room-temperature electronics, but the long wires from the cryogenic sensor to the room-temperature electronics are prone to the coupling of noise and interferers, thus degrading the excellent performance of the sensors. To circumvent this limitation, your research will target the invention and development of a fully integrated sensor readout operating at cryogenic temperatures as low as 1 K so that they can be operated very close to the quantum sensor. You will design the full read-out chain, comprising ultra-low-noise amplifiers exceeding state-of-the-art performance and analog-to-digital converters, all within a very strict power budget. Over the course of your PhD, you will design several prototypes of cryo-CMOS readout circuits, tape them out in advanced CMOS technologies, and characterize the resulting prototypes in our advanced cryogenic electrical characterization laboratory.

Your results will advance the state-of-the-art in cryo-CMOS circuit design and will result in presentations at top conferences for the advances of integrated circuits and publications in high-impact scientific journals. Your cryo-CMOS readout will be integrated into the magnetic-sensing system and the microscope developed by TU Delft and our industrial partners, thus achieving a real impact in the field of quantum technologies.

Job requirements

• A MSc degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• Strong interest and strong background in analog circuit design; any practical experiences in circuit design, either in academia or industry, is a plus, but not a necessity.
• Good analytical, creativity and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and oral.
• Ability and eagerness to work in an international collaborative environment.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2872 per month in the first year to € 3670 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.