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Numerical study of the self-oscillation regime in optomechanical microphones
Leuven | Just now
Explore the interactions between light and mechanical vibrations in microstructures
Cavity optomechanics investigates the coupling between light and mechanical vibrations. This interaction enables not only the extremely precise readout of the motion of nanostructures, but also allows the manipulation of the mechanical vibrational state of these systems via optical forces. These latter can be used to reduce the amplitude of a resonator’s Brownian motion, or, on the contrary, to amplify it until the self-oscillation regime is reached, in which the mechanical system oscillates in a coherent fashion.
Over the past few years, imec has developed the OMUS optomechanical platform for the fabrication of ultra-sensitive optical microphones, in the context of photoacoustic imaging applications. These devices exhibit large optomechanical coupling factors, which give rise to strong interactions between light and the system’s mechanical degree of freedom, allowing to reach the self-oscillation regime under ambient conditions. Studying these nonlinear optomechanical phenomena will pave the way for the development of various applications such as the fabrication of resonant sensors, time references, and optical frequency combs, on a mature, CMOS-compatible technology platform.
The goal of this internship will be to study theoretically and numerically the self-oscillation regime of optomechanical microphones. To this end, the student will use the simulation tools (FEM, FDTD...) available at imec to investigate the optical, mechanical and optomechanical properties of these systems and will work on improving the analytical models currently available in the team to describe these phenomena. Depending on the student profile, experimental work can also be included in the project.
Type of internship: Master internship
Duration: up to 1 year
Required educational background: Physics, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Electrotechnics/Electrical Engineering
University promotor: Jan Genoe (KU Leuven)
Supervising scientist(s): For further information or for application, please contact Fabrice-Roland Lamberti (Fabrice-Roland.Lamberti@imec.be)
The reference code for this position is 2026-INT-022. Mention this reference code in your application.
Imec allowance will be provided for students studying at a non-Belgian university.
Applications should include the following information:
- resume
- motivation
- current study
Incomplete applications will not be considered.