Germanium Optical Device Designer
This position is part of imec’s Optical I/O R&D program, which aims to develop integrated silicon photonics technology for short-reach optical communications. Our team works closely with customers in telecom, datacom, computing, bio-medical and sensing applications.
We are seeking a Germanium Optical Device Designer to contribute to the development of germanium photodetectors (GePD) and germanium-silicon electro-absorption modulators (GeSi EAM) in our silicon photonics platforms. The ideal candidate will have excellent knowledge of the physics of integrated photonics Ge devices and semiconductor manufacturing process and constraints.
* Define, implement, and document design methodologies for robust Ge-based optical devices.
* Design state-of-the-art GePD and GeSi-EAM/PD building blocks in imec silicon photonics platforms, both for 200mm as for 300mm.
* Design and maintain test structures for process control and process improvement.
* Simulate, model, design, layout and characterize your devices with the tools used in the team and contribute to an improved functionality of those python-based tools.
* Own the Ge-based device characterization using imec's wafer-scale SiPho test infrastructure (test procedure, data analysis and reporting).
* Build compact models to be used by circuit designers (internal and external customers).
* Share your expertise with your colleagues in the silicon photonics group.
* Interact directly with customers.
We offer you the opportunity to join one of the world's premier research centers in nanotechnology at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. With your talent, passion and expertise, you'll become part of a team that makes the impossible possible. Together, we shape the technology that will determine the society of tomorrow.
The ideal candidate has:
* An excellent understanding of the physics of integrated photonics Ge devices and knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing process and constraints.
* Curiosity and creativity.
* Demonstrated experience with designing and characterizing high-speed >30GHz electro-optical devices. Simulation (. Ansys HFSS, Agilent ADS) and characterization (S-parameters, TDR, eye diagram & BER measurements) is a plus.
* Experience and comfort programming in Python, and with git.
* Ran large simulations to explore design spaces and evaluate device sensitivity.
* Masters simulation tools (. Lumerical, RSoft, Matlab, Tidy3D) and understands the pro and cons of each simulation method.
* Masters TCAD diode design with TCAD Sentaurus.
* Lays out designs using a scripting language (. ipkiss from Luceda Photonics or gdsfactory).
* Good communication skills in English to communicate with colleagues in our multinational team and with customers.
* A Master or PhD degree in Physics or Photonics.