PhD: High-Harmonic Generation and spectroscopy of Liquids and Few-layer solids

Work Activities
This fully funded PhD position lies at the interface of fundamental physics and advanced spectroscopy. The research focuses on developing and applying high-harmonic generation (HHG) techniques to study ultrafast dynamics in liquids and few-layer solids. You will design and build beamlines for HHG sources, perform experiments using state-of-the-art ultrafast laser systems, develop spectroscopic and interferometric methods, and analyze large datasets to uncover the mechanisms governing light emission and structural dynamics at femtosecond to attosecond timescales.

You will join the new Short Wavelength Light Sources for EUV Metrology group in the Metrology Department at ARCNL, working in a collaborative environment alongside other PhD students and postdocs. You will contribute to publications in leading journals and present your results at international conferences.

Background:
The Short Wavelength Light Sources for EUV Metrology group explores how liquid-phase high-harmonic generation (HHG) and ultrafast spectroscopy can be harnessed to create designable coherent EUV and soft X-ray sources. Traditionally, HHG-based EUV sources are generated in gases, which can reach high photon energies (~500 eV) but suffer from low brilliance due to the dilute nature of the medium. In contrast, HHG from crystalline solids offers higher flux but is limited to lower photon energies (~10–50 eV) and has a low damage threshold, restricting operation to low intensities.

This group, led by Dr. Angana Mondal, focuses on novel materials such as liquids and 2D solids to overcome the limitations of traditional HHG sources. Dr. Mondal’s research spans liquid HHG, attosecond science, and ultrafast light–matter interactions. Her work established the fundamental principles of HHG in liquids, including scaling laws such as cutoff independence from laser wavelength and pulse duration [Mondal et al., Nature Physics 19, 1813–1820 (2023); Optics Express 31, 34348 (2023)], and recently demonstrated multi-plateau HHG driven by off-site recombination [Mondal et al., Nature Photonics (2025)]. By leveraging the intermediate properties of condensed, disordered systems, the group aims to design to design sources that combine the best features of both approaches.

Project Goal:
To develop designable coherent sources of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) or soft X-rays via high-harmonic generation from liquids and confined solids. The aim is to uncover the underlying ultrafast mechanisms of light–matter interaction, and to develop new control strategies—geometry, composition, field parameters, and phase-retrieval techniques—for tailored EUV/soft X-ray emission. The long-term vision is to implement these sources in imaging and metrology for semiconductor materials and interfaces, combining ultrafast temporal resolution with nanoscale spatial sensitivity.

Qualifications
Mandatory:
Applicants must hold, or be nearing completion of, a Master’s degree in Physics, Physical Chemistry, Materials Science, or a closely related discipline, in accordance with Dutch university requirements for enrollment in a PhD program. Candidates should demonstrate a strong interest in nonlinear optics, materials science, and chemistry, coupled with excellent critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills. Proficiency in both written and spoken English is required. While prior experience with femtosecond lasers is not a prerequisite, it will be considered a distinct advantage.

Preferred:
Additional skills that will be considered an asset include familiarity with programming and large data handling for data analysis (Python, MATLAB), experience with vacuum systems and EUV/X-ray instrumentation, and knowledge of high-harmonic generation or laser-matter interaction.

Work environment
ARCNL performs fundamental research, focusing on the physics and chemistry involved in current and future key technologies in nanolithography, primarily for the semiconductor industry. While the academic setting and research style are geared towards establishing scientific excellence, the topics in ARCNL’s research program are intimately connected with the interests of the industrial partner ASML. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 100 persons of which 65 are ambitious (young) researchers from all over the globe. www.arcnl.nl

Working conditions
The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years, with a starting salary of gross € 3.115 per month and a range of employment benefits. After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University. Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students. ARCNL assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact:

Dr. Angana Mondal (Head of Short-Wavelength Light Sources for EUV Metrology group)

Email: a.mondal@arcnl.nl

Tel.: 020-8517100

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
ARCNL is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

PhD position Chiral Light Emitting Metasurfaces

Work Activities
How do you make a light source that is directional, has a controlled wavefront, and a controlled polarization out of an intrinsically incoherent and disordered set of emitters, like fluorophores in an LED phosphor? This is a defining question in the field of light-emitting metasurfaces, with applications in LEDs, incandescent lighting and VR/AR display pixels. While it is understood how to shape intensity, e.g. making LEDs directional with nanostructures, a completely open question is how to shape polarization of emission at will. This touches on an emerging field in nanophotonics: chirality, which in the light field expresses as circular polarization. Circularly polarized fluorescent light sources are for instance pursued for pixels in 3D display technology. You will work on realizing chiral light emitting devices combining both intrinsically chiral emitters, and nanophotonic engineering through optical metasurfaces.

Metasurfaces, i.e., nanostructured 2D scattering surfaces can impact chirality in two ways. On one hand, there is interest in using the geometry of metasurfaces to ‘spoof’ chirality: imparting chiral emission and absorption properties on light-emitting matter that is not itself microscopically chiral, On the other hand, matter such as light emitting molecules may itself be chiral. While molecular chirality is intrinsically weak, there are claims that on the nanoscale optical resonances can be ‘superchiral’, and will boost the enantioselective properties of molecularly chiral absorber and emitter materials.

In this project you will work with novel world-record strength chiral emitter systems derived from OLED (organic light emitting polymer LED) materials developed by M. Fuchter and J. Wade (Oxford Univ. and Imperial College). We aim to address two main questions. First, we aim to uncover the microscopic origin of the record-strength chiral nature of fluorescence from these materials. It is well known in nanophotonics that you can unravel the properties of fluorescent transitions by placing matter in controlled environments (cavities, multilayers), that exert known cavity QED effects. You will extend this toolbox to chiral/polarimetrically resolved versions to elucidate the transition dipole moments, radiative lifetimes and handed far field angular emission properties. Second, we aim to address the question how you can manipulate and enhance microscopic chirality by metasurface resonances.

This project will involve fluorescence microscopy, polarimetry, fluorescence lifetime measurements, transient absorption spectroscopy, metasurface design and nanofabrication, and will build on already available strengths in these techniques as well as numerical and analytical theoretical descriptions. The work is under joint supervision of F. Koenderink at AMOLF and S. Mann at UvA, and benefits for collaboration on the materials aspects with M. Fuchter and J. Wade.

Qualifications
You have a MSc degree in physics, optics, photonics, physical chemistry, nanoscience, or a related field.

Work environment
The project will be a collaboration between the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF and the team of Dr. Sander Mann at the nearby Institute of Physics at University of Amsterdam. You will be employed at AMOLF and be embedded in the AMOLF team, but will also participate in work discussions and events at the UvA team.

AMOLF is a national research institute and is part of NWO-I. Its mission is to initiate and perform leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

The research activities in the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF (PI Femius Koenderink) aim at developing nanoscale photonic structures, such as metasurface optics, optical nanoantennas and resonators to control scattering, emission, amplification and detection of light. Our work has applications in the domains of nanophotonic light sources, optical metrology, microscopy, and wavebased information processing.

The LightMatters group at the University of Amsterdam (PI Sander Mann) focuses on incoherent emission of thermal origin, both for nanophotonic control of thermal radiation and thermal transport inside materials.

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years
• The starting salary is 3.115 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Femius Koenderink: f.koenderink@amolf.nl

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

PhD position - Electro-optically Tunable Meta Circuits for Wavefront Shaping

Work Activities
How do you shape light extremely fast and with high precision? Can you make programmable pixels that are fed light by integrated optics, and that can be programmed to project a designer beam, focus, or wavefront into free space? The goal of the METAPIC project is to develop the technology to do this. You will build so-called metasurface pixels, that can sit on a single chip and quickly change how they direct light. The metasurface pixels are patches filled with 2D arrays of scatterers (‘meta-atoms’) precisely tailored for diffractive outcoupling and wavefront shaping at the same time. Each metasurface pixel receives light from waveguides on the chip. By using the latest advances in electrooptic nonlinear materials, these waveguides can adjust the brightness and phase of the light at very high speed.

The METAPIC project is an academic research project funded by the Groeifonds Photon Delta, and led by expert in integrated optics, Imran Avci at Free University Amsterdam (VU). We will combine this expertise with state of the art metasurface design, nanofabrication and characterization techniques that have their home base at AMOLF. We will work together with industry partners, notably including Rapid Photonics and PlanOPSim. Together we aim to develop the technology to create a low-loss and scalable system for dynamic control of light. This technology could have an impact on fields such as measurement science, LiDAR, adaptive optics and VR/AR.

In this project you will develop a design and fabrication strategy for integrated optics and metasurfaces on electrooptic nonlinear materials, and you will have access to the AMOLF nanolab cleanroom to realize these designs. You will use state of the art microscopy methods to map the performance of your structures, moving to progressively more advanced prototypes. This project is ideal if you like to be involved in a PhD that covers the full cycle of numerical design, nanofabrication, and optics characterization, and if you have a keen interest in working towards real-world impact by working with dutch industry partners in the Photon Delta ecosystem.

Qualifications
You have a MSc degree in physics, optics, photonics, nanoscience, or a related field.

Work environment
The project will be a collaboration between the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF and the team of Dr. Imran Avci at the VU (Free University, Amsterdam). You will be employed at AMOLF and be embedded in the AMOLF team. The project will involve work discussions and collaboration with the VU team, as well as interaction with the industry partners.

AMOLF is a national institute that is part of NWO-I. Its mission is to initiate and perform fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

The research activities in the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF (PI Femius Koenderink) aim at developing nanoscale photonic structures, such as metasurface optics, optical nanoantennas and resonators to control scattering, emission, amplification and detection of light. Our work has applications in the domains of nanophotonic light sources, optical metrology, microscopy, and wavebased information processing.

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years
• The starting salary is 3.115 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Femius Koenderink: f.koenderink@amolf.nl and .

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

Reconstructing nanophotonic scattering geometries from their radiation pattern

Work Activities
Lensless imaging and computational imaging are techniques to reconstruct the shape of an object by measuring its diffraction pattern for a diversity of illuminations, as opposed to using imaging optics as one does in a microscope to create a real space image. While it is well understood how to do this for weakly scattering objects, reconstruction becomes very hard for strongly scattering objects, such as encountered in semiconductor metrology. While strong scattering is problematic for general object reconstruction, at the same time you can also use it as a resource: for instance we showed in a recent paper that you can engineer metasurface resonances to boost sensitivity of diffraction patterns to certain geometrical changes [Nat Commun. 16, 11388].

In this project you will push the boundaries of algorithm based reconstruction of nanoscale strongly scattering geometries from their radiation pattern. We seek to develop a physics-based rational approach to optimal parameter reconstruction from diffraction data from designer multiple scattering structures, designed for, e.g., measuring lithography performance in semiconductor manufacturing. The main idea is that you don’t need an algorithm to reconstruct a geometry from scratch, but that you need the algorithm to reconstruct geometry differences relative to a nominal geometry, making full use of physics-based insight, such as the resonant mode structure of the nominal geometry.

In this project you will perform measurements and computational reconstruction hand in hand. On the measurement side, you will use a Fourier microscope where you can measure radiation patterns while cycling through a diversity of illuminating wavefronts that you can generate using a spatial light modulator. On the reconstruction side, you will focus on physics-informed algorithms that use the eigenmode structure of the scattering system for reconstruction (collaboration with JCMwave, Berlin).

Qualifications
You have a MSc degree in physics, optics, photonics, nanoscience, or a related field.

Work environment
AMOLF is a national institute that is part of NWO-I. Its mission is to initiate and perform fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

The research activities in the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF (PI Femius Koenderink) aim at developing nanoscale photonic structures, such as metasurface optics, optical nanoantennas and resonators to control scattering, emission, amplification and detection of light. Our work has applications in the domains of nanophotonic light sources, optical metrology, microscopy, and wavebased information processing.

This project is part of the CHAIN consortium. CHAIN (Coherent Algorith-based Imaging of Nanostructures) brings together experts in optical lensless imaging, electron diffraction, and reconstruction algorithms, and works with industry partners to realize impact in semiconductor metrology, and electron microscopy. The project will involve work discussions and collaboration with the larger team, as well as interaction with industry partners of CHAIN. This project requires a candidate who enjoys working on an industry-relevant topic, and who is eager to learn from other disciplines present in the consortium.

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years
• The starting salary is 3.115 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Femius Koenderink: f.koenderink@amolf.nl and .

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

Postdoc on High-Harmonic Metrology of Solids and Liquids

Work Activities
The new Short Wavelength Light Sources for EUV Metrology group at ARCNL, Amsterdam, has an opening for a postdoctoral researcher (2-year contract).

Project Overview:
You will develop new ultrafast femtosecond-to-attosecond spectroscopy techniques in the EUV/soft-X-ray spectral range using a laboratory-based high-harmonic generation (HHG) setup. This includes:

• Developing HHG-based spectroscopic and interferometric techniques to measure interface and layer properties in multilayer solids and liquids.
• Designing methods to actively tune the EUV spectrum based on interlayer geometry and composition.
• Investigating dynamical evolution at interfaces and contributing to bridging attosecond science with industrial applications.

You will design and perform experiments, analyze data, and collaborate with other researchers within ARCNL and the ultrafast science community. The position also involves publishing results in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at international conferences.

Qualifications
Mandatory:
You have (or will receive in the near future) a PhD degree in ultrafast light-matter interaction. You enjoy performing experiments and analysis to stepwise build a deeper understanding of complex physical mechanisms. For this position, we are particularly looking for a candidate who can combine state-of-the-art ultrafast laser optics with instrument development and building. A solid background in both optics/optics engineering and condensed matter physics would be ideal.

Experience in one or more of the following topics is required:

• High-harmonic generation in gas, solids, liquids or 2D materials.
• Ultrafast lasers and optics
• Condensed matter physics
• Fundamental optical processes in solids
• Attosecond and femtosecond science
• EUV and X-ray spectroscopy and interferometry
• Vacuum instrumentation

Additionally, programming and large data handling for data analysis (Python, MATLAB) and very good verbal and written communication skills in English are required.

Preferred:
Preference will be given to candidates with:

• Familiarity with ML-based phase-retrieval algorithms
• Experience with facility-based experimental expertise (Free-electron laser/Synchrotron) on solids/liquids

Work environment
ARCNL performs fundamental research, focusing on the physics and chemistry involved in current and future key technologies in nanolithography, primarily for the semiconductor industry. While the academic setting and research style are geared towards establishing scientific excellence, the topics in ARCNL’s research program are intimately connected with the interests of the industrial partner ASML. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 100 persons of which 65 are ambitious (young) researchers from all over the globe. www.arcnl.nl

Working conditions
The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of 2 years, with a salary in scale 10 (CAO-OI) and a range of employment benefits. ARCNL assists any new foreign Postdoc with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Angana Mondal: a.mondal@arcnl.nl

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
ARCNL is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.