High-Speed Photonics Device Specialist

Together, we shape the Si-Photonics technology that will define tomorrow’s society.

Imec is a global pioneer in developing integrated silicon photonics technology through its renowned iSiPP platform and PDK and Optical I / O R&D program. This technology is successfully offered via wafer-level prototype fabrication services to customers in telecom, datacom, computing, bio-medical, and sensing applications. By leveraging the mature Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) processes used in electronics, high-volume and high-yield Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) can be fabricated at relatively low cost. Among the major building blocks within a PIC, the high-speed photonic devices such as modulator (EO conversion) and detector (OE conversion) devices are critical in defining the maximum data rate, footprint and the overall link power budget.

Within the COnnectivity Pathfinding (COP) department of imec, we have multiple position openings with emphasis on high-speed photonic devices. We are looking for skilled and passionate photonic engineers with different levels of expertise to work on different classes of devices according to your background, capability and interest. You will collaboratively contribute to our COP device mission :

• We drive photonics innovation through exploration of novel device build-up flows, new materials (such as Ge, GeSi, III-V, BTO, LNO, organic chromophores / polymers), and wafer-level processes.
• We deliver early-stage process specifications and device models. We validate device concepts towards novel library components that become part of imec’s PDK, available to internal and external partners.
• We identify trade-offs in emerging integration flows and establish device-process correlations.

Your goal is to research manufacturable solutions for novel high-speed opto-electronic devices to either achieve ultra-low power (

What you will do

In your team, together with other high-speed device specialists you contribute with your world-class expertise, your strive for innovation and eye for engineering details. You take the ownership over a component class and take the lead in a particular cross-component skill you further excel in. You act as the central point between collaborating teams of system design, electrical IC design, layout and optical testing support, integration team, process development (e.g. epitaxial growth and etch) and use their feedback to improve your class of devices.

Your main duties include :

What we do for you

We offer you the opportunity to join one of the world’s premier research centers in nanotechnology at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. With your talent, passion and expertise, you’ll become part of a team that makes the impossible possible. Together, we shape the technology that will define the society of tomorrow.

We are and proud of our open, multicultural, and informal working environment with ample possibilities to take initiative and show responsibility. We commit to supporting and guiding you in this process; not only with words but also with tangible actions. Through imec.academy, 'our corporate university', we actively invest in your development to further your technical and personal growth.

We are aware that your valuable contribution makes imec a top player in its field. Your energy and commitment are therefore appreciated by means of a market appropriate salary with many fringe benefits.

Who you are

30GHz) electro-optical devices. Simulation (e.g., Ansys, TCAD, HFSS, Agilent ADS) and characterization (S-parameters, TDR, eye diagram, BER measurements) is a plus.