Hybrid laser-polymer chips for optical computing and smart sensing

About the Project

Neuromorphic computing - an approach to information processing inspired in basic morphology and working principles of the brain - is a rapidly growing area of research due to the availability of high-speed hardware and the need for artificial intelligence systems across a wide range of applications.

In the last decade, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have achieved the highest success in machine learning tasks and have driven leading advances in artificial intelligence. Currently, ANNs rely on monolithic electronics-based computing architectures that scale inefficiently with the system size in terms of energy consumption and heat generation. Photonics presents fundamental advantages for large-scale hardware neural networks. For example, a simple photonic link can simultaneously transmit hundreds of independent signals at very high bandwidths, with low attenuation and no heat generation. Thus, photonic integrated circuits are strong candidates to overcome important bottlenecks to ANN hardware scalability, by enabling the required large-scale parallel connectivity at considerably higher energy efficiencies and operation bandwidths.

Crucially, when the photonic circuit operates in the linear regime, other elements are needed to nonlinearly mix the photonic signals in order to perform ANN computing. In the last decade, semiconductor lasers have demonstrated to be successful sources of nonlinear dynamics in photonics-based neuromorphic computing. State-of-the-art implementations leverage the multi-GHz nonlinear response of laser diodes when perturbed from a coherent phase locking state. Depending on the additional optoelectronic hardware completing the ANN infrastructure, present approaches focus either on temporal multiplexing the neural network with ultra-fast hardware or on spatially multiplexing the network with spatial light modulators. Notably, only broad-area multimode lasers can perform spatially multiplexed computing approaches that combine high output power with parallel operation leveraging their multi-spatial and multi-spectral modal emission.

The main goal of this project is to leverage complex spatiotemporal dynamics of optically coupled broad-area lasers to boost the computing performance of photonic integrated linear networks. This will be done by developing strategies to optically couple multimode lasers with large-scale linear photonic integrated circuits. In this project, the student will first gain expertise in design and fabrication of linear photonic circuits in the TIC cleanroom facility.

After, novel strategies to hybridize those chips with multimode lasers will be developed and experimentally implemented. Finally, the resulting hybrid devices will be used to implement ultrafast and energy-efficient photonic neural networks for all-optical signal reconditioning and multi-channel chaos LiDAR.

Institute of Photonics

The Institute of Photonics (IoP), part of the Department of Physics, is a centre of excellence in applications-oriented research at the University of Strathclyde. The Institute’s key objective is to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial applications and development in the area of photonics. The IoP is located in the £100M Technology and Innovation Centre on Strathclyde’s Glasgow city centre campus, at the heart of Glasgow’s Innovation District, where it is co-located with the UK’s first Fraunhofer Research Centre. Researchers at the IoP are active in a broad range of photonics fields under the areas of Photonic Devices, Advanced Lasers and Neurophotonics. Please see our research for more information.

Strathclyde Physics is a member of SUPA, the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance.

The University of Strathclyde has been the recipient of the following awards: UK University of the Year 2026 (Daily Mail University Guide); Scottish University of the Year 2026 (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide); The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education 1996, 2019, 2021 & 2023; University of the Year 2012 & 2019 (Times Higher Education).

Student eligibility: To enter our PhD programme applicants require an upper-second or first class BSc Honours degree, or a Masters qualification of equal or higher standard, in Physics, Engineering or a related discipline. Full funding, covering fees and stipend, is available for applicants who are UK Nationals (meeting residency requirements) or have settled status (meeting residency requirements), pre-settled status or otherwise have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

How to apply:Applicants should send an up-to-date CV to iop@strath.ac.uk

Funding Notes

The funding covers the full stipend and tuition fees at the home rate (not the international rate). To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be a UK national (meeting residency requirements), or
• Have settled status, or
• Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
• Have indefinite leave to remain or enter.