1. Making simulations on supercomputers more user friendly
The student will develop a graphic user interface for an in-house software for optical simulations. This is a parallel software that runs on clusters/supercomputers. The set-up of the simulation is currently done via text input files, whereas the submission of the simulations occurs via scripting and Linux shell commands. A user-interface would make the software more user-friendly, thus improving the user experience.
2. Predicting the optical effect of fabrication imperfections
Optical devices, such as metasurfaces, are usually simulated by considering one single nanoantenna with ideal shape. The metasurface is composed by an array of nanoantennas, and fabrication imperfections make the nanoantennas all different. The student will run optical simulations and develop a stochastic model to predict how fabrication imperfections affect the optical response of the system.
3. Reprogrammable optical phased arrays
Optical phased arrays (OPAs) are used in LIDAR systems to implement optical beam steering for applications ranging from self-driving cars to inter-satellite optical links. An OPA is an array of optical sources with controllable phase and amplitude. Phases and amplitudes in practice are not ideal, and the performance is usually worse than predicted. The student will develop a stochastic model to understand how errors in the array affect the quality of the generated beam, and how to reprogram the array to compensate for these errors.
How to apply ?
To apply for one of these Master’s thesis projects, please send your CV and transcripts (B.Sc. and M.Sc.) to Prof. Dr. Antonio Cala’ Lesina:
