9 PhD, Postdoctoral and Junior Group Leader positions in Nano & Quantum Optics 2026

Polarization-resolved light-matter interaction has long been a cornerstone of remote sensing, materials analysis, and biomedical diagnostics. By examining how a sample modifies the polarization state of light, one can access rich structural and functional information such as morphology, chirality, or birefringence with high precision. Advances in quantum photonic sensing are pushing these capabilities far beyond the limits of classical polarimetry [1]. Polarization-based sensing with non-classical state of light offers the potential for enhanced sensitivity, improved signal-to-noise ratio, higher accuracy, and deeper probing into complex or highly scattering media. At the same time, quantum approaches are opening entirely new sensing concepts, where non-classical states of light enable diagnostic metrics that remain inaccessible to classical techniques. This emerging field of quantum polarimetry provides a fertile research landscape for exploring the mechanisms behind the interaction of non-classical states of light with sample under study and developing novel sensing strategies.

This doctoral project will build on the studies of the group on quantum-enhanced polarization-based sensing and will aim at experimental realization of quantum-enhanced and quantum-enabled polarization-based sensing scenarios toward achieving quantum advantage in sensing real complex samples.

Polarization-resolved light–matter interaction has long been a cornerstone of remote sensing, materials analysis, and biomedical diagnostics. By examining how a sample modifies the polarization state of light, one can access rich structural and functional information such as morphology, chirality, or birefringence with high precision. Advances in quantum photonic sensing are pushing these capabilities far beyond the limits of classical polarimetry. Polarization-based sensing with non-classical state of light offers the potential for enhanced sensitivity, improved signal-to-noise ratio, higher accuracy, and deeper probing into complex or highly scattering media. One of the key directions in this emerging field lies in identifying measurement strategies that maximize the information extractable from samples, where in particular structured states of light promise advantageous sensing performance.

This doctoral project will explore the plethora of non-classical states of light combined with features of structured light – to assess their potential advantages in different sensing scenarios.

The newly established NanoPico Photonic Computing Group, funded by the BMFTR project PicPhotMat–Engineered materials for picophotonic analog computing, follows an innovative approach of utilizing the interaction between structured light and engineered materials for optical computation, with the goal of overcoming current constraints in integration density, computational throughput, and energy efficiency. Contributing to frontier research in picophotonics, the group investigates how to enable ultra-high-density analog optical processing, fundamentally new light-matter interactions, and chip-scale architectures that may serve as the basis for next-generation AI accelerators and neuromorphic hardware.

A core target is the creation of optical functional elements with a computational behavior that emerges inherently from the physics of the material itself. A crucial step toward this goal is the development of an experimental platform capable of probing light-matter interactions at picometer scales, enabling the characterization and validation of picophotonic computational elements. The objective of this doctoral project is therefore the development of a deeply subwavelength topological microscope (DSTM), an advanced optical probing system that uses structured illumination and machine learning techniques to achieve unprecedented spatial resolution in the optical characterization of nano- and pico-scale materials. From a machine learning point of view, such a DSTM probing system is conceptually equivalent to an optoelectronic ELM, where information is encoded on an optical input field, the information is processed through random projections caused by the interaction of the input field with some scattering media, to then be interpreted by a shallow, digital read-out layer. The PhD candidate will develop the DSTM system from concept to operation-designing the optical layout, integrating ultrafast laser sources and validating the system through the study of nanoscale light-matter interactions.

The newly established NanoPico Photonic Computing Group, funded by the BMFTR project PicPhotMat–Engineered materials for picophotonic analog computing, follows an innovative approach of utilizing the interaction between structured light and engineered materials for optical computation, with the goal of overcoming current constraints in integration density, computational throughput, and energy efficiency. Contributing to frontier research in picophotonics, the group investigates how to enable ultra-high-density analog optical processing, fundamentally new light-matter interactions, and chip-scale architectures that may serve as the basis for next-generation AI accelerators and neuromorphic hardware.

At the core of this study is a fast and scalable optical probing system with sub-nanometer resolution based on the deeply subwavelength topological microscopy (DSTM) probing method. From a machine learning point of view, such a DSTM probing system is conceptually equivalent to an optoelectronic ELM, where information is encoded on an optical input field, the information is processed through random projections caused by the interaction of the input field with some scattering media, to then be interpreted by a shallow, digital read-out layer. The objective of this doctoral project is the development of novel optical information processing schemes with programmable diffractive elements. By performing inference directly in the native optical domain, these elements will enable the DSTM system to include and process information that is typically lost during optoelectronic conversion steps. The PhD candidate will design programmable diffractive elements, develop optical architectures that exploit their programmability, and contribute to fabricating the structures using advanced nanolithographic methods.

Photonic metasurfaces integrated into nematic liquid crystal (LC) cells have been established as a viable route to actively control the properties of incident light fields. However, most structures realized so far are based on simple, spatially homogeneous metasurface designs, thereby strongly limiting the accessible functionalities. Building on the existing experience of LC integrated functional metasurfaces in my group, this doctoral project targets the experimental demonstration of active tuning of complex wavefront-shaping functionalities by establishing LC tunability for inversely designed spatially variant designs. For the inverse design aspects, this experimental project involves close collaboration with theoretically oriented researchers.

We invite applications for a PhD or postdoc position on integrating 2D quantum emitters with prefabricated Mie-void metasurfaces within the CZS Center QPhoton. The goal is to combine quantum light sources based on 2D semiconductors (primarily MoS₂ and related TMDs) with dielectric Mie void cavities for nanoscale emission control. This hybrid platform will enable both linear quantum light sources with Purcell-enhanced single photon emission and nonlinear sources based on χ(2) processes for entangled-photon generation at telecom wavelengths. The successful candidate will work at the interface of nanophotonics, quantum optics and 2D materials science, and will closely collaborate with QPhoton partners from the Universities of Stuttgart and Ulm. The project offers access to state-of-the-art cryogenic microscopy, ultrafast lasers, and quantum materials, and provides an excellent environment for developing an independent research profile in quantum nanophotonics.

The rapidly increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) models has exposed fundamental limitations in conventional digital information-processing hardware, prompting a paradigm shift in hardware design. Traditional computing architectures were based on general-purpose processing, in which a single central processing unit handled all computational tasks. In contrast, modern systems increasingly rely on specialized hardware, which are tailored to specific mathematical operations and significantly accelerate AI workloads. At the same time, entirely new analog computing approaches have emerged as an important research direction.

Among these new approaches to AI hardware, diffractive photonic networks are extremely promising since light as information carrier possesses fundamental advantages over electronic systems. These advantages include an extremely large bandwidth that enables ultrafast processing, high degrees of parallelization in diffractive systems, as well as low propagation losses that reduce power consumption and mitigate heat-related performance limits. Owing to these intrinsic properties, optical computing hardware holds the potential to achieve unprecedented levels of performance combined with a drastic reduction of energy consumption and minimal latency.

While major progress has been achieved in diffractive photonic networks in the last years, the scalability of the approach will depend critically on the availability of nonlinear photonic activation functions. Thus, we are seeking to hire a PhD student and a postdoctoral researcher to work on concepts for the realization of highly multimode nonlinear devices, which will allow the ultrafast processing of massively parallelized streams of information. The PhD project or postdoctoral qualification field can be shaped to the preferences of the candidates, but should incorporate the encoding of broad-bandwidth data streams onto complexly shaped light distributions by spatial light modulators, the realization of diffractive photonic elements based on metasurface, the nonlinear interaction of the diffracted light fields in different nonlinear material platforms available in the laboratory for Nano & Quantum Optics, as well as the training of the resulting nonlinear nanophotonic systems for benchmark classification tasks.

The project will offer the possibility for the candidates to achieve qualification in a modern field of photonics, connected to highly relevant applications. Thus, besides the fundamental scientific challenges there will also be opportunities to engage with industry partners on the subject. The work will be embedded in a team effort at the laboratory for Nano & Quantum Optics.

The newly established NanoPico Photonic Computing Group, funded by the BMFTR project PicPhotMat–Engineered materials for picophotonic analog computing, follows an innovative approach of utilizing the interaction between structured light and engineered materials for optical computation, with the goal of overcoming current constraints in integration density, computational throughput, and energy efficiency. Contributing to frontier research in picophotonics, the group investigates how to enable ultra-high-density analog optical processing, fundamentally new light-matter interactions, and chip-scale architectures that may serve as the basis for next-generation AI accelerators and neuromorphic hardware. Central to this vision is the development of engineered metamaterials capable of processing information through light-matter interactions that occur at extremely small length scales, far below the capabilities of conventional photonic circuits.

Within this research context, the objective of this postdoctoral project is to lead the subproject on novel metamaterials that enable near-to-far-field information transfer, including the design, fabrication, and optical characterization. These structures will form a foundational building block of the group’s picophotonic computing architecture by enabling the readout, transformation, and routing of optical information with a spatial precision unattainable in conventional optics. Moreover, the task of the successful candidate will include the implementation and coordination of scientific projects in the field of photonic computing, the supervision of Master and PhD student projects and the representation of the group at international conferences. We offer a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative research environment with excellent opportunities to develop an independent scientific profile in photonic computing, build a strong network through collaborations within the Abbe Centre of Photonics, and publish in high-impact journals.

To foster excellence and diversity in optics and photonics the ACP) of the University Jena seeks to fill the position of a Junior Research Group Leader (f/d/m) for Photonics commencing as early as possible. The appointee is expected to establish an independent research group in a modern field of optics. While this is an open topic call, connections between the new junior research group and the already existing groups in the laboratory for Nano & Quantum Optics are explicitly desired. The new junior research group will be associated to the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the University Jena and will be part of the Institute of Applied Physics.

This call is focusing on strengthening diversity in science. We are strongly committed to an increase in the number of women in leading positions in science, and therefore women are especially encouraged to apply.