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back to vacancy list Vacancy: Chiral sensing with silicon metasurfaces (Open)Posted on 10/9/2026Context
Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a key analytical technique in biochemistry and pharmacy.There are barriers to its use for low molecular concentrations and small volumes. Nanophotonic structures can enhance chiral sensing but must be tailored to this purpose: high-refractive-index materials like silicon or germanium offer strong resonances to maximize circular dichroism.
Our laboratory aims at increasing the sensitivity of electronic CD in the visible and vibrational CD (VCD) in the mid-infrared with silicon metasurfaces. The postdoctoral researcher in this project will design and demonstrate enhanced CD with different metasurface designs in collaboration with two PhD students.
Thanks to the combination of our theoretical understanding, fabrication methods, and matching optical instrumentation, our laboratory is uniquely positioned to fulfill the need for more sensitive chiral molecular detection.
Job Description
The position will involve both theory and experiments. Our laboratory has recently developed a highly sensitive optical microscope for chiral molecular sensing in the visible. In this project, we will leverage this experience to develop a similar setup for vibrational circular dichroism of microscopic samples in the mid-infrared.
The position involves both advancing the theory and design of tailored metasurfaces for chiral sensing and experimentally demonstrating enhanced polarization contrast of chiral analytes deposited on silicon metasurfaces, building upon the recent developments in our group.
Candidate Profile
- PhD in Photonics, Engineering Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, or similar subjects related to Photonics and Nanotechnology.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Dynamic attitude for finding solutions and attention to detail for methodical work in instrumentation.
- Capacity to work both independently and as part of a team.
- A publication track record in topics related to the project.
- Experience in polarization microscopy for circular polarization measurements.
- Experimental and theoretical familiarity with dielectric metasurfaces.
- Command of analytical and numerical methods for the simulation of chiral sensing problems.
- Experience with programming languages like Python and Matlab is a plus.
About Us
You will work in the Photonics Research Group, part of the Department of Information Technology (INTEC) at Ghent University and also an associated of IMEC.
The project will be supervised by Prof. dr. Alberto Curto, with national and international collaborators.
PRG hosts about 100 researchers and has been active in photonics device research for many years. Professors in the group include Roel Baets (emeritus), Dries van Thourhout, Peter Bienstman, Wim Bogaerts, Stephane Clemmen, Bart Kuyken, Nicolas Le Thomas, Yanlu Li, Geert Morthier, Gunther Roelkens, Kasper Van Gasse, and Alberto Curto. The main research directions include silicon nanophotonics, photonic (bio)sensors, heterogeneous integration, programmable photonics, and neuromorphic computing.
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