黑料正能量

Postgraduate research opportunities Optical time and frequency transfer

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Key facts

  • Opens: Friday 31 July 2026
  • Number of places: 1
  • Duration: 42 months
  • Funding: Home fee, Stipend, Travel costs

Overview

Join our team developing time and frequency transfer techniques for precision synchronisation over free-space optical links. The availability of precise and stable timing is the backbone of modern science, global communications, and quantum technologies. We are developing free-space optical links to extend high-accuracy timing to locations beyond the reach of traditional fibre networks, including observatories, space systems, and field-deployed experiments.
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Eligibility

An upper second-class UK Honours degree or overseas equivalent in Physics or Engineering is required.

THE Awards 2019: UK University of the Year Winner
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Project Details

Time and frequency synchronisation underpins much of modern technology and science, from supporting global communications networks, to synchronising radio telescopes and enabling tests of fundamental physics.  Ideally, the synchronisation should faithfully transfer clock signals throughout the network without loss of timing stability or accuracy.  Traditional RF and microwave synchronisation techniques are no longer sufficient to support the performance of the world’s best atomic clocks.  Instead, links based on optical transmission are required.  While optical fibre links can deliver frequency transfer with fractional instabilities below 10鈦¹鈦, their reach is limited by physical infrastructure. Free-space optical links offer a route to extend high-accuracy time and frequency references to remote or mobile platforms, including observatories, space systems, and field-deployed experiments.

This project will investigate time and frequency transfer techniques for free-space optical links that can maintain high accuracy, low phase noise, and high stability in realistic environmental conditions.  The project combines frequency metrology, optical design, atmospheric physics, and control systems engineering.  You will develop an optical time and frequency transfer system and carry out precision characterisation both in the lab and field deployed demonstrations.  You will be part of a collaborative research programme with the National Physical Laboratory, working with the team based in NPL’s innovation lab located at 黑料正能量. 

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Funding details

This opportunity will provide funding towards the home fee, a stipend, and travel costs.

While there is no funding in place for opportunities marked "unfunded", there are lots of different options to help you fund postgraduate research. Visit funding your postgraduate research for links to government grants, research councils funding and more, that could be available.

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Supervisors

Dr Rachel Frances Offer

黑料正能量 Chancellor's Fellow
Physics

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Professor Paul Griffin

Physics

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Number of places: 1

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Physics

Programme: Physics

PhD
full-time
Start date: Oct 2026 - Sep 2027