PhD student position in Energy-efficient optical fibre communication (S2)

Information about the research project
Several open positions as PhD students and Postdocs are announced (see other ads with the same title). The project is cross-disciplinary and involves three different departments at Chalmers; the Photonics Lab at Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, the Communication Systems Group at the Department of Signals and Systems (S2), and the VLSI group at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The project will benefit from the prolific research environment in the Fiber-Optic Communication Research Centre (FORCE).

Optical communication links and networks are essential for the Internet backbone as well as for interconnects used in data centers and high-performance computing systems. Therefore, the energy consumption in optical transmission systems is an increasingly important problem within our information society.

In a newly funded research project on Energy-efficient optical communications, we seek to develop novel power consumption models for electronics, optics, and algorithms as well as demonstrating novel energy-efficient link building blocks. This involves analyzing trade-offs required to minimize the energy consumption of a given system. We aim at experimentally and analytically verifying full links that are 10 times more power efficient than today's state-of-the-art and will verify our models in demonstrator projects, which will vertically integrate the optic, electronic and algorithmic components.

Major responsibilities
The persons filling these positions will participate in research as outlined above and will be spending time at all three departments which will be essential to help cross-fertilize our work. Therefore, working in teams is an essential aspect as is “thinking outside the box”. The appointments offer an opportunity to qualify for further research positions within academia or industry. Included in your work is also to some extent taking part in the supervision and teaching of students.

Your major responsibilities as PhD student is to pursue your own doctoral studies. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing. The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 per cent of full time.

Position summary
The role of this particular PhD student, who will be a member of the Communication Systems Group at S2, is to be the algorithm expert in the team. Together with the other team members, who will provide optics and electronics expertise, the student will investigate tradeoffs between various communication algorithms and settings in terms of energy consumption. In this context, communication algorithms and settings include coding, modulation, synchronization, filtering, A/D resolution, sampling rates, etc. Candidates for this position must therefore have a background in digital communication systems and algorithms.

The position as a PhD student is a full-time temporary employment, limited to a maximum of four years, plus teaching and other departmental duties. A monthly salary is paid. There are no tuition fees for PhD studies at Chalmers.

Qualifications
Applicant should have a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, or similar, with a strong background in digital communications and signal processing. Excellent team-working skills, presentation skills, and fluency in English are required. As merits will be considered knowledge in optimization, electronics, and optics; experience with Matlab and other simulation software; teaching experience; and publications.

Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Application deadline: 2014-05-30

Links



• Chalmers

• Department of Signals and Systems

• Fiber-Optic Communications Research Center (FORCE)

Contacts



• Professor Erik Agrell, agrell@chalmers.se

• PhD student Naga V. Irukulapati, vnaga@chalmers.se



Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.



Keywords: Algorithms, circuit design, coding, DSP, electronics, energy consumption, energy efficiency, fiber-optic communication, forward error correction (FEC), green communications, internet, long-haul optical link, modulation, optical communication system, optical fiber, optical interconnects, optimization, power efficiency, quality of service, signal processing, VLSI implementation.