Are you inspired by complex wave phenomena and large-scale full-wave computational methods? This project concerns modeling for the challenging environment of a reverberation chamber, which is large in terms of wavelengths and highly resonant, making it very sensitive to intentional disturbances and variations in time.

Job Description

Reverberation chambers (or in short 'reverb') are nowadays used as test platforms for all kinds of radio-frequency devices, to study and test their behavior under extreme conditions in a time-effective manner. The idea behind a reverberation chamber is to create a time-varying electromagnetic field that guarantees that the device encounters all possible fields, see also Electromagnetic reverberation chamber - Wikipedia. Reverberation chambers are important for testing all kinds of new wireless electronic devices for next-generation wireless communications (6G and beyond) and for the Internet of Things.

Reverberation chambers consist of a large (in terms of the wavelength) high-Q-factor metallic cavity and have one or more stirrers inside that cause the modes of the cavity to change in amplitude and phase distribution. Because of the combination of large dimensions and high-Q-factor resonant behavior, it is very challenging to properly model the behavior of reverberation chambers. This is why most modeling for reverberation chambers is rooted in stochastics and statistics, yet the disadvantage of such an approach is that the underlying assumptions are only weakly underpinned by a physical model.

The challenge of this PhD position is to properly modeling the full-wave behavior of a reverberation chamber as a deterministic process and to use this model to study modifications in the chamber and measurement protocol to make the field in the chamber more uniform and the measurement protocol more efficient and effective. To enable that, state-of-the-art computational electromagnetic modeling techniques are required and deep theoretical insight into electromagnetic fields and computational methods will be the key ingredients of this PhD research. The project will be caried out in close collaboration with ANTENNEX, with access to their facilities for validation, and is part of the large European project SOIL, which is related to the European Chips Joint Undertaking. If you're up for the challenge, let us know by applying at the bottom of this page.

The PhD candidate will become a member of the Electromagnetic and Electromagnetic and Multi-Physics Modeling and Computation lab (EMPMC lab), embedded in the Electromagnetics group of Eindhoven University of Technology.

Job location: department and Electromagnetics Group description

The Department Electrical Engineering (EE) of the TU/e, The Department of Electrical Engineering is one of the nine departments of the Eindhoven University of Technology and provides BSc and MSc programs in Electrical Engineering. The department has nine research groups and three centers. The department has approximately 450 employees and 1.200 BSc and MSc students.

The Electromagnetics (EM) group investigates the behavior of electromagnetic fields by computational, analytical and experimental techniques. The knowledge thus obtained is used in a wide range of applications from all areas of Electrical Engineering, with particular attention for antennas and propagation, wireless communication, non-destructive testing and sensing, optical interconnects, and (bio)-medical electromagnetics. The EM group has collaborations with other academic institutions and industry via national and European funded projects in a diverse range of application areas.

The PhD will join the group and interact with the other members of the EM group (around 60 researchers). Furthermore, the project is part of a larger research consortium where he/she will interact with a mix of academic and industrial research partners. Research within the EM group is characterized by personal supervision. The PhD will have access to courses offered by Eindhoven University of Technology, and will be able to attend national and international scientific conferences.

For more detailed information on the activities of the group please check http://tue.nl/em/

• A master's degree (or an equivalent university degree) in electrical engineering, applied physics or applied mathematics, with proven prior experience in numerical modeling, e.g., computational EM or computational physics.
• A research-oriented attitude.
• Ability to work in collaboration with industrial partners.
• Fluent in spoken and written English (C1 level).

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. €2,770 max. €3,539).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.