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ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Move2THz is supported by the Chips Joint Undertaking and its members, including the top-up funding by National Authorities of France, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium, under Grant Agreement n° 101139842.

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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Photos © Christophe LEPETIT

Exploring the Future: Interviews with Move2THz PhD Students #3

In this interview, Mr. Yilmaz Ucar, a PhD researcher at Microwave Photonics Gmbh, shares insights into his research on low-phase noise signal generation and fiber-optic transmission across frequencies up to the THz range. His work supports Move2THz’s focus on Indium Phosphide (InP)-based photonics technologies. The interview highlights his technical development and collaborative role, as well as the project’s broader goal of building a sustainable, fully European InP supply chain through the Move2THz project.

𝑸: π‘ͺ𝒂𝒏 π’šπ’π’– π’…π’†π’”π’„π’“π’Šπ’ƒπ’† π’šπ’π’–π’“ 𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 π’•π’π’‘π’Šπ’„/𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‰π’π’˜ π’Šπ’• 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒗𝒆2𝑻𝑯𝒛 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕?
A: My research topic is developing new optical methods and systems for low-phase noise signal generation and their fiber-optic transmission to remote sites. Since Move2THz supports innovative InP-based photonics technologies up to the THz range, there is a good correlation with my research focus.

𝑸: 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’‘π’†π’“π’”π’π’π’‚π’π’π’š π’Šπ’π’”π’‘π’Šπ’“π’†π’… π’šπ’π’– 𝒕𝒐 π’•π’‚π’Œπ’† 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 π’˜π’π’“π’Œ 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 π’•π’†π’„π’‰π’π’π’π’π’ˆπ’Šπ’†π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’” 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕?
A: I studied for my master’s degree in Telecommunication Engineering, and recent advancements in THz technologies inspired me to follow this path. THz systems are quite intriguing in that they can offer solutions in a wide range of applications, including communication, imaging and sensing. I believe that Move2THz project will play an important role in THz technology development in Europe.

𝑸: π‘Ύπ’‰π’Šπ’„π’‰ π’π’“π’ˆπ’‚π’π’Šπ’”π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’šπ’π’– π’˜π’π’“π’Œπ’Šπ’π’ˆ π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒗𝒆2𝑻𝑯𝒛 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕? π‘ͺ𝒂𝒏 π’šπ’π’– π’…π’†π’”π’„π’“π’Šπ’ƒπ’† π’šπ’π’–π’“ 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’•π’†π’‚π’Ž 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’šπ’π’–π’“ π’‘π’“π’Šπ’Žπ’‚π’“π’š π’“π’†π’”π’‘π’π’π’”π’Šπ’ƒπ’Šπ’π’Šπ’•π’Šπ’†π’”?
A: I work for Microwave Photonics (MWP) GmbH which is a start-up company from Germany, and I pursue my doctoral degree at University of Duisburg-Essen. In the company, I work as a Researcher, and I am mainly responsible for optical system design and performing laboratory experiments.

𝑸: 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐 π’šπ’π’– 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π’Žπ’π’”π’• 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’„π’π’π’π’‚π’ƒπ’π’“π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’π’π’π’Œ π’π’Šπ’Œπ’†?
A: I collaborate with other researchers in the company. We jointly design photonic/electronic systems and perform laboratory measurements. Depending on the task, either independent or collaborative work style is preferred.

𝑸: 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’”π’‘π’†π’„π’Šπ’‡π’Šπ’„ π’•π’†π’„π’‰π’π’Šπ’„π’‚π’ 𝒐𝒓 π’‘π’“π’π’‡π’†π’”π’”π’Šπ’π’π’‚π’ π’”π’Œπ’Šπ’π’π’” 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 π’šπ’π’– 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅 π’•π’‰π’“π’π’–π’ˆπ’‰ π’•π’‰π’Šπ’” 𝒋𝒐𝒃?
A: On the technical aspect, I have already gained insights on developing a demo starting from the material level. Additionally, I improved my project management skills.

𝑸: 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ƒπ’Šπ’ˆπ’ˆπ’†π’”π’• π’„π’‰π’‚π’π’π’†π’π’ˆπ’† π’Šπ’ π’šπ’π’–π’“ 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‰π’π’˜ π’…π’Šπ’… π’šπ’π’– 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 π’Šπ’•?
A: Meeting the deadlines in case of an unpredictable delay is the biggest challenge for my role. To mitigate this, I acquire support from my colleagues.

𝑸: π‘Ίπ’†π’Žπ’Šπ’„π’π’π’…π’–π’„π’•π’π’“ π’•π’†π’„π’‰π’π’π’π’π’ˆπ’Šπ’†π’” 𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 π’“π’‚π’‘π’Šπ’…π’π’š. π‘―π’π’˜ 𝒅𝒐 π’šπ’π’– π’”π’•π’‚π’š 𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π’π’†π’˜ π’‚π’…π’—π’‚π’π’„π’†π’Žπ’†π’π’•π’”?
A: I try to stay updated with the state-of-the-art by following the latest publications and attending conferences and workshops. I already had knowledge of Indium Phosphide technologies. However, to see the full scope of the project, I had to quickly learn the Indium Phosphide on Silicon (InPoSi) concept.

𝑸: 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 π’šπ’π’– 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’π’”π’• π’”π’Šπ’ˆπ’π’Šπ’‡π’Šπ’„π’‚π’π’• π’„π’‰π’‚π’π’π’†π’π’ˆπ’†π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’π’‘π’‘π’π’“π’•π’–π’π’Šπ’•π’Šπ’†π’” π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’”π’†π’Žπ’Šπ’„π’π’π’…π’–π’„π’•π’π’“ π’Šπ’π’…π’–π’”π’•π’“π’š 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆?
A: Key challenges for semiconductor industry over the next decade are costs due to shortage of raw materials and geopolitical volatility while the most significant opportunities are investing in sustainable manufacturing and reshoring to avoid any supply chain disruption.

𝑸: 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 π’šπ’π’– π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ - π’˜π’‰π’š 𝑴𝒐𝒗𝒆2𝑻𝑯𝒛 π’‡π’Šπ’π’…π’Šπ’π’ˆπ’” 𝒂𝒓𝒆/π’˜π’Šπ’π’ 𝒃𝒆 π’Šπ’Žπ’‘π’π’“π’•π’‚π’π’• 𝒕𝒐 𝑬𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆?
A: Move2THz aims to build a mature ecosystem that can provide a fully European InP supply chain. To achieve this in a sustainable way, Move2THz addresses all aspects, such as technological advancement, infrastructure, and education.

Many thanks for your valuable insights, Mr. Yilmaz Ucar. Best of luck as you move forward with your research!

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