Postdoctoral scholarship (2 years) in hollow-core fiber design for next-generation communication

Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 37,000 students and about 4,700 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields.

The Department of Applied Physics and Electronics at Umeå University is offering a postdoctoral scholarship for a project that aims to develop hollow-core optical fibers for next-generation communication (including 6G). The postdoctoral scholarship is full-time for 2 years starting December 1, 2025, or by agreement. The deadline for submitting an application is September 25, 2025.

Project description
The Internet is enabled by a network of silica fibers with a step-index profile. During the last 10 years, it has been discovered that a new class of hollow-core fibers (HCFs) can provide several key advantages over conventional fibers, including lower propagation loss, lower latency, lower nonlinearity and dispersion, and the liberty of choosing light wavelengths in a wider spectral range.

As a postdoctoral fellow in this project, you will have the opportunity to primarily carry out: electromagnetic analyses, including finite-element simulation and topological optimization of light guidance in HCFs, and numerical simulation of thermo- and fluid dynamics under fiber-drawing processes.

Apart from the main tasks above, the postdoc can be involved in: characterization of fabricated HCFs, and experimental investigations of material properties of ultra-thin silica membranes.

The scholarship is for two (2) years and is funded by the Kempe Foundations. The tax-free scholarship amounts to 720 000 SEK in total (360 000 SEK annual average).

Qualifications
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the candidate is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree.

Priority will be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree no later than three years prior. The doctoral degree should be in a subject relevant to the project, such as physics. Fluency in English is mandatory. The candidate should have a strong interest in physics, numerical methods, and basic knowledge of material science.

It is meriting to have experience in theoretical/numerical methods for simulating optical phenomena or experience in fabrication and/or characterization of micro- or nanostructures.

We are looking for candidates who are highly motivated, goal-oriented, capable of critical thinking, and willing to collaborate with other members in a team.

Application
A complete application should include: a cover letter, curriculum vitae (CV) with publication list, copy of doctoral degree certificate, copy of doctoral thesis, copies of other diplomas, a list of university courses with grades, contact information of at least two reference persons, and other documents.

The application must be written in English or Swedish and submitted through the electronic recruitment system Varbi. Application closing date is 25 September 2025.

Further information
For more information, please contact Max Yan (max.yan@umu.se), or head of department Britt Andersson (britt.andersson@umu.se).