PhD position in the field of electromagnetic metasurfaces

Organisation/Company

INSA Rennes

Department

IETR

Research Field

Engineering » Electronic engineering

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

France

Application Deadline

1 Apr 2024 – 12:00 (Europe/Paris)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

1 Oct 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The PhD offer is focused on the study/design/experiment of electromagnetic MetaSurfaces (MS) for RADAR cross-section reduction. More precisely, the research program is centered on reconfigurable MS to implement spatiotemporal modulation. It will include theoretical analysis, design, fabrication and testing of prototypes.

Context

RADAR systems find numerous applications in both civil and military fields. Reducing the RADAR Cross-Section (RCS) of objects is an important issue in different contexts. For example, air or maritime navigation surveillance RADAR can be disrupted by the presence of high structures in their surveillance zone (typically wind turbines). The effectiveness of driving assistance RADAR can be compromised by the presence of objects with high RCS in their field of vision (advertising or traffic signs, bus shelters, etc.). Finally, satellites (civilian or military) can now be subject to unfriendly activities (anti-satellite fire for instance) made possible using RADAR for detection, localization or guidance.

RCS reduction is traditionally considered by adapting the shape of objects or partially or completely covering them with absorbing materials. In recent years, a new solution has been the subject of lots of research works: the use of metasurfaces (MS) [1].

In this context, three academic laboratories (IEMN, IETR and Lab-STICC) jointly obtained funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR) to work on techniques for reducing the RCS of satellites using MS. As part of two PhD, the CHORUS project will focus on the study of MS integrating absorbing materials and/or spatiotemporal modulation techniques.

Research axes and planned progress of the PhD

The proposed PhD will firstly focus on the spatiotemporal modulation of MS [2], the integration of absorbing materials within the MS will be considered in a second step.

MS are artificial surfaces made of diffracting and potentially absorbing cells distributed over the surface with a periodicity below the wavelength.

In the case of a passive MS, by judiciously choosing the cells of the MS, it is possible to control the electromagnetic reflection at any point on the surface and thus to achieve the desired properties: focusing of the reflected field, redirection of the field, field diffusion in multiple directions, absorption, depolarization, etc.

Another track, more complex technologically, consists of using identical cells throughout the MS but cells which can be reconfigured independently of each other. These cells integrate active elements such as switches and make it possible to dynamically modify the reflection properties of the MS. This concept of reconfigurable MS also opens a new dimension: the possibility of modifying the spectral content of the backscattered field. Indeed, the switches can be controlled with temporally varying signals based on binary modulation by pseudo-random sequences. In the aim of reducing SER, this spatiotemporal modulation offers promising possibilities by dispersing the backscattered signal both angularly and in frequency.

The PhD will focus on the exploration of this spatiotemporal modulation technique and will follow the steps:

• State of the art on spatiotemporal modulation of MS.
• Simulation study of the approach for RCS reduction.
• Design, fabrication and measurement of a prototype (sizing, design of a reconfigurable cell, digital signals routing, digital electronics conception, measurement campaign definition, measurements, results analysis).
• Simulation study of the combination of the spatiotemporal modulation technique and the use of absorbing materials within the MS for RCS reduction.

Dates, locations and PhD supervision

• Starting date: October 2024.
• Duration: 36 months.
• Full 3 years scholarship provided (gross salary of at least 2100 Euros / month).
• Locations: IETR Rennes (2 years) and Lab-STICC Brest (1 year), the duration of the two periods will be adjusted according to the work progress and the wishes of the candidate.
• PhD directors: Renaud LOISON (IETR) and Vincent LAUR (Lab-STICC).
• Co-supervision: PhD directors + Raphaël GILLARD (IETR).

Profile and application

• Profile: student in last year of master’s degree or final year of engineering training in electronics and/or telecommunications.
• Apply by email to:
  • [email protected]
  • [email protected]
  • [email protected]
• Send: resume + motivation letter + transcripts (bachelor, first year of master’s degree) + reference letter(s) if possible (pdf format for all documents).

Bibliography

[1] Elineau, M., “Techniques de contrôle de la SER à l’aide de métasurfaces – Application à des surfaces à réflexion anormale ou à transition de propriétés en réflexion”, thèse IETR INSA Rennes.

[2] Zhang, L., Chen, X.Q., Liu, S. et al., “Space-time-coding digital metasurfaces”, Nat Commun 9, 4334 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06802-0 .

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering » Electrical engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Engineering » Electronic engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Electronics

Microwaves

Antennas

Telecommunications

RADAR

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Good

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

IETR

Country

France

City

Rennes

Postal Code

35000

Street

20 Avenue des buttes de Coësmes

Geofield

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Lab-STICC

Country

France

City

Brest

Postal Code

29238

Street

Technopole Brest-Iroise

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

State/Province

Brittany

City

Rennes

Website

https://www.ietr.fr
https://labsticc.fr/fr
https://www.insa-rennes.fr

Street

20 avenue des buttes de Coësmes

Postal Code

35000

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED