Engineer/Postdoctoral Researcher in Stretchable Electronics & Optics for Artificial Skin

Joining Mines Saint-Étienne means committing to an institution where science and innovation build a more sustainable future. It is a school of excellence where everyone has the opportunity to unlock their full potential and contribute to tackling the challenges of tomorrow.

Ranked among the top engineering schools in France and recognized worldwide, our school, a member of the Institut Mines-Télécom, educates the talents of tomorrow while actively addressing major industrial, digital, and environmental challenges. By joining us, you become part of a community of 500 members of staff, 2,500 students and take part in an ambitious project: combining academic excellence, cutting-edge research, and positive societal impact.

The Institut Mines-Télécom brings together France’s leading Grandes Ecoles to tackle major industrial, digital, energy, and environmental challenges. With its eight public Grandes Écoles and two affiliated Graduate Schools, it is the leading public institute dedicated to engineers and managers. Together, we imagine and build a sustainable future by educating the leaders who will shape tomorrow’s transitions.

🎯 What we expect from you

As a Postdoctoral Researcher or Research Engineer, you will perform research and innovation activities in the field of soft electronics and optical sensing for artificial skin applications. Within the Centre of Microelectronics and the Flexible Electronics Department (FEL), you will contribute to the development of stretchable optical waveguides and their integration into artificial skin demonstrators.

The flexible electronics department develops technological and scientific knowledge in the field of soft electronics. The department has a strong knowledge in the field of material and interface electrical and mechanical characterization. The activities of the department are regrouped in the 660m2-area platform. This technological platform regroups facilities and technological equipment for R&D activities in Micropackaging, micro and nano-electronics, in a clean room of 220m² 1000-class and 400m² 10000-class.

Stretchable electronics can also be combined with optical systems such as waveguides. These devices will be developed to create artificial skin with pressure and temperature sensing capabilities.

Within this project, the work will focus on the fabrication and characterization of stretchable optical waveguides, as well as on fabrication and integration techniques for optical components (LEDs / photodiodes). A related publication is “Transparent, Optical, Pressure-Sensitive Artificial Skin for Large-Area Stretchable Electronics” (https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201200523).

The main activities will include:

·         Fabrication and characterization of elastomer waveguides for pressure and temperature sensing applications.

·         Integration of optically pressure- or temperature-sensitive materials into the elastomer waveguides.

·         Characterization and validation of complete sensing devices.

The fabrication processes and experimental setups are already available. However, good knowledge of Python is important for operating and further developing the test benches. Hands-on laboratory work is essential and will be partly performed in our clean room facility.

The expected outcome is the demonstration of radically new soft optical sensing devices with features and functions that cannot be achieved with conventional electronic approaches. This work is part of a European project involving multiple partners across Europe, including ETH Zurich (ETHZ), the University of Oxford, Johannes Kepler University Linz, EMPA…