Design and development of low noise digital boards for metrology and optical fiber links
Profile : Senior Research Engineer (5 years or + professional experience)
Context
The outstanding improvements of atomic clocks over the last two decades impose the research of new means of comparisons, as satellite based comparisons are, by far, not enough resolved nor accurate. Optical fibre links for time and frequency transfer is the most promising technique. Several techniques for frequency transfer are well established now, but highly accurate time transfer just started recently. The SYRTE (Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC, LNE, http://syrte.obspm.fr/) wants to promote its abilities to transfer and compare time through optical fibre. The scientific aims are highlights relativistic effects, time scale comparison, and legal time dissemination at a national scale.
The research program needs high performance instruments, low noise, reliables, automatic, and remote. The scientific goal is the time transfer with ps stability and total uncertainty calibration of about hundred ps.
The project is funded by several research programs.
Profile
Expert in digital electronics with at least 5 years experience, the research engineer will be responsible for the developments of the scientific instruments dedicated for time transfer over fibre, using FPGA and micro-controllers on proprietary boards. He or She has to understand the scientific goals, investigate ad-hoc technical solutions to match the specifications, expertise the choice of components and methods. He or She will lead the developments of digital boards in consultation with the electronic workshop of the laboratory. He or She will write FPGAs code, software, and firmware. He or She will propose and test innovative and performant measurement methods. High skills in phase-frequency loop and frequency synthesis are mandatory. Skills in high speed DAC/ADC or in low-noise electronic will be appreciated.
The engineer will join the «Optical Frequency» team at SYRTE. Under the authority of a research engineer, He or She will work together with a post-doc researcher and a PhD full time on the project. He or She will work in close collaboration with the electronic workshop -that will validate some technological choices, with the Service des Références Nationales de Temps (Time Service), and the team «Time».
The research engineer could also collaborate with national and international partners. He or She must be fluent in English and with basic skills in French. Willingness to learn french would be highly appreciated.
Work place is LNE-SYRTE, at Observatoire de Paris.
Activities
- design, realisation, and benchmark of a proprietary digital board for ultra-high resolution time transfer,
- Writing codes for FPGA and micro controllers; circuit simulation; drivers; automated measurements; Digital Signal Processing;
- Low-noise signal synthesis; analog signal processing;
- Calibration techniques,
- Telecom protocols optimisation,
- Hardware optimisation for low noise, stable, and accurate time transfer on long-haul fibre links.
The research engineer takes part to the training of PhD and internship. He or She is aware of emerging technologies. He or She give advices for the other digital development of the research team. He or She takes takes part in writing articles in peer-reviewed journal and present his/her work in international conferences.
Skills
Main skills :
- Expert in FPGA (Xilinx family : Virtex 6, Spartan 6, Zynq…) Expert in micro controller, processors ARM, ATMEL…
- Code VHDL, C/C++, python, LabView, Matlab
- Implementation of physic measurements, interpret the results of measurements. Team work. Highly motivated.
Secondary skills :
- Fast acquisition, DDS, DCO, DPLL , modulation / demodulation, correlations. Scientific English
- Basics in French highly recommendable
Global skills :
- Physics engineering (thermic, instrumentation)
- Metrology (Physic measurements, delays, noise spectra, signal processing)
- RF (amplifiers, filters, analog designs, VCO, quartz)
- Telecommunication protocol and low-noise electronics
Duration : CDD 24 months, + 18 months extension
Income : 2300 euros netto/ month or more according to experience
Available immediately
Contact
Paul-Eric Pottie
SYRTE – Observatoire de Paris
61, avenue de lʼObservatoire 75014 Paris – France
Tél : 33 (0)1 40 51 22 22 Fax : 33 (0)1 43 25 55 42
Courriel : paul-eric.pottie<στο>obspm.fr