PhD fellowship in Experimental Quantum Nanophotonics
KU – SCIENCE – NBI, Blegdamsvej
PhD Project in quantum and nonlinear light–matter interactions in plasmonic nanocavities
The Niels Bohr Institute
Faculty of SCIENCE
University of Copenhagen
The Niels Bohr Institute invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in experimental quantum nanophotonics. The project will be part of the newly established Mikkelsen Photonics group (Quantum, nonlinear and nanoscale light–matter interactions), funded by a Novo Nordisk Foundation RECRUIT grant.
Start date is (expected to be) 15 February 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.
The project
Plasmonic nanocavities confine light to volumes thousands of times below the diffraction limit. In such extreme gaps, emission rates are enhanced by orders of magnitude, strong field gradients appear, and the usual rules of light–matter interaction are rewritten. The project builds on a wafer-scale platform developed in the group, in which colloidal quantum emitters (quantum dots or nanoplatelets) are deterministically placed into thousands of lithographically defined nanocavities with a controlled number of emitters per cavity. The PhD student will develop this platform and use it to study one or more of the following:
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates within the fields of electrical engineering, physics, nanoscience, photonics, materials science or related areas. Applicants can have a background from optoelectronic or nanophotonic devices, semiconductor nanomaterials, optical spectroscopy, nanofabrication or electromagnetic simulation, but we will also consider candidates with different backgrounds. Hands-on experience with optical experiments and an interest in building new experimental setups is an advantage.
Our group and research – and what do we offer?
The Mikkelsen Photonics group was established at the Niels Bohr Institute in 2026, when Prof. Maiken H. Mikkelsen moved from Duke University (USA) supported by a Novo Nordisk Foundation RECRUIT grant. The group studies quantum, nonlinear and nanoscale light–matter interactions in plasmonic nanocavities and is building a new laboratory combining deeply subwavelength cavities, single-photon spectroscopy, femtosecond pump–probe spectroscopy and, in a later phase, cryogenic and high-magnetic-field operation. As one of the first members of the group, the PhD student will have a central role in shaping the experiments and the scientific direction, with close supervision. The group is part of the Quantum Optics and Photonics research area at the Niels Bohr Institute, home to the Center for Hybrid Quantum Networks (Hy-Q), and has access to the nanofabrication facilities at the Niels Bohr Institute and the DTU Nanolab cleanroom.
The group is a part of the Niels Bohr Institute, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. We are located in Copenhagen, in the new laboratory and office building of the Niels Bohr Institute.
We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and new, dedicated optics and nanofabrication facilities.
Principal supervisor is Prof. Maiken H. Mikkelsen, The Niels Bohr Institute, maiken.mikkelsen@nbi.ku.dk.
The PhD programme
Depending on your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:
Option A: A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.
Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree.
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Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Electrical Engineering, Physics, Nanoscience, Photonics or Materials Science. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.
Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.
Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
You can read more about salary levels in the state sector www.loenoverblik.dk (in Danish).
Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme
If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor’s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty’s master programmes in Physics.
Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.
The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years, and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd, “Study Structures”.
Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of 150 working hours per year.
A PhD grant portion is currently (2026) DKK 7.426 before tax.
When you have obtained the MSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes
Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.
Please include
Application deadline:
The deadline for applications is 26 November 2026, 23:59 GMT +1.
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.
The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether you will be passed for assessment.
The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.
Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held shortly after the application deadline.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor, Prof. Maiken H. Mikkelsen, maiken.mikkelsen@nbi.ku.dk.
General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.
The Niels Bohr Institute
Faculty of SCIENCE
University of Copenhagen
The Niels Bohr Institute invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in experimental quantum nanophotonics. The project will be part of the newly established Mikkelsen Photonics group (Quantum, nonlinear and nanoscale light–matter interactions), funded by a Novo Nordisk Foundation RECRUIT grant.
Start date is (expected to be) 15 February 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.
The project
Plasmonic nanocavities confine light to volumes thousands of times below the diffraction limit. In such extreme gaps, emission rates are enhanced by orders of magnitude, strong field gradients appear, and the usual rules of light–matter interaction are rewritten. The project builds on a wafer-scale platform developed in the group, in which colloidal quantum emitters (quantum dots or nanoplatelets) are deterministically placed into thousands of lithographically defined nanocavities with a controlled number of emitters per cavity. The PhD student will develop this platform and use it to study one or more of the following:
- Few-emitter quantum optics: single-photon emission, collective emission, energy transfer and strong coupling with one to a few emitters per cavity.
- Cavity-enhanced nonlinear optics: using the extreme field confinement and field gradients of the nanogap to enhance and control nonlinear processes.
- Active and electrically tunable nanocavities: integrating functional materials (e.g. ferroelectric or two-dimensional materials) into the gap to switch and tune the emitter–cavity interaction.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates within the fields of electrical engineering, physics, nanoscience, photonics, materials science or related areas. Applicants can have a background from optoelectronic or nanophotonic devices, semiconductor nanomaterials, optical spectroscopy, nanofabrication or electromagnetic simulation, but we will also consider candidates with different backgrounds. Hands-on experience with optical experiments and an interest in building new experimental setups is an advantage.
Our group and research – and what do we offer?
The Mikkelsen Photonics group was established at the Niels Bohr Institute in 2026, when Prof. Maiken H. Mikkelsen moved from Duke University (USA) supported by a Novo Nordisk Foundation RECRUIT grant. The group studies quantum, nonlinear and nanoscale light–matter interactions in plasmonic nanocavities and is building a new laboratory combining deeply subwavelength cavities, single-photon spectroscopy, femtosecond pump–probe spectroscopy and, in a later phase, cryogenic and high-magnetic-field operation. As one of the first members of the group, the PhD student will have a central role in shaping the experiments and the scientific direction, with close supervision. The group is part of the Quantum Optics and Photonics research area at the Niels Bohr Institute, home to the Center for Hybrid Quantum Networks (Hy-Q), and has access to the nanofabrication facilities at the Niels Bohr Institute and the DTU Nanolab cleanroom.
The group is a part of the Niels Bohr Institute, Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. We are located in Copenhagen, in the new laboratory and office building of the Niels Bohr Institute.
We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include modern laboratories and new, dedicated optics and nanofabrication facilities.
Principal supervisor is Prof. Maiken H. Mikkelsen, The Niels Bohr Institute, maiken.mikkelsen@nbi.ku.dk.
The PhD programme
Depending on your level of education, you can undertake the PhD programme as either:
Option A: A three year full-time study within the framework of the regular PhD programme (5+3 scheme), if you already have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree.
Option B: An up to five year full-time study programme within the framework of the integrated MSc and PhD programme (the 3+5 scheme), if you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree – but you have an education equivalent to a Danish bachelor’s degree.
************************************************************************
Option A: Getting into a position on the regular PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the regular programme
To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project, e.g. Electrical Engineering, Physics, Nanoscience, Photonics or Materials Science. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Terms of employment in the regular programme
Employment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years.
Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.
Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
You can read more about salary levels in the state sector www.loenoverblik.dk (in Danish).
Option B: Getting into a position on the integrated MSc and PhD programme
Qualifications needed for the integrated MSc and PhD programme
If you do not have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish master’s degree, you might be qualified for the integrated MSc and PhD programme, if you have an education equivalent to a relevant Danish bachelor’s degree. Here you can find out, if that is relevant for you: General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database.
Terms of the integrated programme
To be eligible for the integrated scholarship, you are (or are eligible to be) enrolled at one of the faculty’s master programmes in Physics.
Students on the integrated programme will enroll as PhD students simultaneously with completing their enrollment in this MSc degree programme.
The duration of the integrated programme is up to five years, and depends on the amount of credits that you have passed on your MSc programme. For further information about the study programme, please see: www.science.ku.dk/phd, “Study Structures”.
Until the MSc degree is obtained, (when exactly two years of the full 3+5 programme remains), the grant will be paid partly in the form of 48 state education grant portions (in Danish: “SU-klip”) plus salary for work (teaching, supervision etc.) totalling a workload of 150 working hours per year.
A PhD grant portion is currently (2026) DKK 7.426 before tax.
When you have obtained the MSc degree, you will transfer to the salary-earning part of the scholarship for a period of two years. At that point, the terms of employment and payment will be according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State (AC). The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.
Responsibilities and tasks in both PhD programmes
- Complete and pass the MSc education in accordance with the curriculum of the MSc programme (ONLY when you are attending the integrated MSc and PhD programme)
- Carry through an independent research project under supervision
- Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
- Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
- Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
- Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
- Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project
- Professional qualifications relevant to the PhD project
- Relevant publications
- Relevant work experience
- Other relevant professional activities
- Curious mind-set with a strong interest in experimental nanophotonics and quantum optics
- Good language skills
Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.
Please include
- Motivated letter of application, including your motivation for applying for this specific PhD project (max. one page)
- Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
- Original diplomas for Bachelor or Master and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
- Publication list (if possible)
- Reference letters (if available)
Application deadline:
The deadline for applications is 26 November 2026, 23:59 GMT +1.
We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.
The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified whether you will be passed for assessment.
The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two models. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.
Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held shortly after the application deadline.
Questions
For specific information about the PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor, Prof. Maiken H. Mikkelsen, maiken.mikkelsen@nbi.ku.dk.
General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/.
The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the surrounding community and invites all regardless of personal background to apply for the position.
There's 1 vacant position