Our group investigates new ways of generating and controlling frequency combs - laser sources that produce many precisely tuned optical lines, acting as rulers for light. Conventional combs rely on passive mode-locking, but in liquid-like lasers (fast-gain devices with quasi-constant intensity) we can go further: resonant radio-frequency (RF) modulation transforms the spectrum into a synthetic frequency lattice , enabling near-instantaneous proliferation of comb lines and new regimes of spectral control.
Project backgroundThis project will combine advanced numerical modeling with laboratory demonstrations to explore the physics of synthetic frequency lattices in fast-gain lasers.
Job description - Develop simulation frameworks for frequency lattices, mapping the interplay of RF modulation, gain recovery, and nonlinear dynamics.
- Study ballistic vs diffusive transport of light in synthetic lattices, linking the problem to quantum walk physics.
- Explore how lattice engineering (periodicity, disorder, and synthetic gauge fields) controls comb bandwidth, stability, and tunability.
- Test predictions in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers, with direct feedback between modeling and experiment.
Profile - Background in physics, photonics, or electrical engineering, with interest in both theory and experiment.
- Experience with numerical simulations (e.g. time-domain propagation, coupled-mode theory, or nonlinear ODE/PDE solvers).
- Hands-on laboratory experience with lasers, optics, or photonic devices.
- Skills in experimental data acquisition and analysis (in Python).
- Motivation to combine computational modeling with experimental validation, in close feedback with the group.
We offer - A unique environment combining theory, computation, and experiment at ETH Zürich.
- Close collaboration with experts in photonics, nonlinear dynamics, and topological physics, both within ETH and internationally.
- The chance to pioneer synthetic lattice physics in photonics, with applications in spectroscopy, communications, and LIDAR.
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