Ultrafast Optics Group

Vacancies

We welcome applications from prospective students and researchers of all backgrounds, and particularly from those who are under-represented in photonics.

Please contact Prof. Derryck Reid if you are interested in joining the group as a visiting researcher or as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow.

PhD projects

Laser Frequency Comb Technology for Astronomy Applications

We are seeking to appoint a PhD candidate to start by 1 October 2027 or earlier.

The project will focus on building and characterising astrocombs in the visible to infrared bands. The development of these technologies involves characterisations of the primary laser comb, the development and implementation of electronic comb stabilization techniques, optical design and spatial / temporal beam modelling, optical modeling / alignment of nonlinear devices and filter cavities, and the application of diagnostics such as wavemeters and spectrographs. An introduction to astrocombs can be found in our review paper here.

Who should apply?

Suitable applicants will have a first-class undergraduate masters degree (or equivalent) in physics or other relevant discipline. Applicants not meeting this formal criterion but having compensating research experience e.g. in industry, will also be considered. Candidates will join a diverse team of graduate and post-doctoral researchers. You should have a solid understanding of optics and lasers and have relevant experimental experience, for example through an undergraduate research project or research internship. While experimentally-led, both projects will also include computational components, so experience in scientific programming for data analysis and capture, e.g. using Matlab or Python, is also valuable.

Funding

Applicants meeting UK residency requirements will qualify for stipend and fees funding at the UKRI level. Self-funding overseas candidates may be considered.

Further information

For further information and application details, visit the Ultrafast Optics Group at Heriot-Watt University: www.ultrafast.hw.ac.uk/vacancies.html

Enquiries

Before submitting a formal application, candidates are recommended to email their CV to Prof. Derryck Reid (D.T.Reid@hw.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, arrange an informal follow-up call.

Advanced Dual-Comb LiDAR: Precision 3D Metrology for Advanced Sustainable Manufacturing

We are seeking to appoint a talented PhD candidate to join the Ultrafast Optics Group at Heriot-Watt, to start by 1 October 2027 or earlier.

The project aims to develop a faster and more sensitive implementation of dual-comb ranging—an optical metrology technique combining interferometry-like precision with time-of-flight accuracy. The methodology will involve applying new electronic and optical approaches to improve the original two-photon dual-comb LiDAR scheme developed at Heriot-Watt (details here) The project is hosted at Heriot-Watt University and is co-sponsored by our partner AWE Nuclear Security Technologies; it is expected to involve some short secondments to AWE's facility in Aldermaston. This project is only open to UK nationals.

Summary

The project is hosted at Heriot-Watt University but is co-sponsored by our partner AWE Nuclear Security Technologies, and is expected to involve some short secondments to their facility in Aldermaston.

Heriot-Watt has developed a LiDAR-like version of dual-comb ranging, in which each distance measurement is reduced to just one precision time-stamp. In this way, our dual-comb LiDAR approach reduces the data burden of interferometric dual-comb ranging by several orders of magnitude, opening the way to continuous data streaming, ultrafast measurements and rapid imaging.

Further details of our previous research in this area are contained in our patent and associated paper, and subsequent publications detailing multiple-target and non-cooperative-surface configurations.

AWE Nuclear Security Technologies have an interest in applying dual-comb LiDAR for measuring both static and dynamic assemblies. This experimentally-based PhD project will address limitations in the current state-of-the-art of dual-comb ranging techniques, which still lack the speed, sensitivity and versatility of conventional LiDAR, restricting their practical application.

Motivated specifically by the needs of end-users in the advanced manufacturing sector and specifically by the use-cases proposed by AWE, we aim to address these limitations by enhancing dual-comb ranging with single-photon detection, to realise sub-µm precision ranging and imaging from diffuse surfaces at 100 kHz single-point update rates.