MSCA PhD vacancy INTELLASE

MSCA PhD vacancy INTELLASE (DC8) “Development and validation of an optical monitoring system for femtosecond laser processing”

KU Leuven seeks a highly motivated PhD candidate for a fully funded international doctoral position within the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) project INTELLASE (Doctoral Network on Intelligent Laser Precision Manufacturing; Website: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101311673 ). KU Leuven (University of Leuven) has been a centre of learning for nearly six centuries since 1425, making it one of the oldest and most renowned universities in Europe. Today, it is Belgium’s highest ranked university (QS 2025 : 60), ranked among the top 4% universities in the world and consistently ranked in the top 10 most innovative universities in Europe. The university caters to over 60,000 students from more than 140 countries. KU Leuven's three doctoral schools provide internationally oriented PhD tracks for more than 4,000 doctoral students. KU Leuven and affiliated knowledge institutes provide fertile ground for innovation and high-tech entrepreneurship in the Leuven region. This favourable climate for knowledge-driven innovation makes the Leuven region an attractive location for many high-tech companies.

This proposed PhD research will be carried out in the Laser Manufacturing Group at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of KU Leuven. KU Leuven website: www.kuleuven.be/english/kuleuven Laser Manufacturing Group LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ku-leuven-laser-micromanufacturing Laser Manufacturing Group website:

INTELLASE is an interdisciplinary European research and training network that will recruit 15 doctoral candidates to advance next-generation laser-based micro- and nanomanufacturing. The project focuses on laser-material interaction physics, photonics engineering, advanced sensing, physics-based modelling, and AI-driven intelligent process control. Through collaboration among 20 academic, research, and industrial partners across eight countries, INTELLASE will equip doctoral candidates with the interdisciplinary expertise needed to develop intelligent, adaptive, and reliable laser manufacturing systems.

In this context, DC8 PhD researcher at KU Leuven will develop an optical monitoring system for in-situ, high-resolution and high-speed monitoring of femtosecond (fs) laser processing for characterizing machined feature depth. The global objective of DC8 within INTELLASE is to realize a reliable, precise, optical process monitoring system for femtosecond laser micromachining towards achieving real-time process control.

• Develop and integrate an optical monitoring system into the current femtosecond laser micromachining system at KU Leuven.
• Develop signal processing methodologies to translate monitoring data into quantitative information.
• Establish the correlation between optical monitoring signals and machined feature geometry to enable quantitative part characterization and process control.
• Validate the monitoring system across different materials and geometries.

The research is supervised by Prof. Sylvie Castagne (www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/person/00114469), head of the Laser Manufacturing Group (www.mech.kuleuven.be/en/research/Femto).

Profile

Required profile of the PhD candidate

• You have a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Manufacturing, Materials Engineering, Photonics, Physics or related field with strong interest in technology, and performed above average in comparison to your peers. You are not in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment.
• You are proficient in written and spoken English.
• During your studies or prior professional activities, you have gathered some experience related to the basic physical principles of laser material processing and/or to the fundamental principles of photonics, sensor technology, signal processing or manufacturing or you have a profound interest in these topics.
• Ideally you have experience with laser systems, sensor integration, signal processing or dynamic control systems.
• You are highly precise and detail-oriented, consistently delivering accurate and thorough work.
• You demonstrate a strong sense of initiative and responsibility, while also being an effective and collaborative team player.
• You are willing to travel between the KU Leuven (BE), and other consortium partner locations. This includes secondments to University of West Bohemia (CZ, 3 months), AGC Glass (BE, 2 months) and University of Turku (FI, 3 months).

Eligibility requirements

• Doctoral Candidate Status: Applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment.
• MSCA Mobility Rule: Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the hiring country fo