Master Thesis Student in Physics or Aerospace Engineering for investigating multi-aperture concept
Required skills
Job description
German Aerospace Center (DLR) published this listing. We've added our own working-student context below — what this role means for your weekly hours, take-home pay and student visa as a student in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
Description provided by German Aerospace Center (DLR)
What To Expect
The Institute of Communications and Navigation researches optical satellite communication and quantum key distribution (QKD) and operates optical ground stations (OGS) for these purposes. In this thesis you will investigate a scalable multi-aperture concept for optical receivers in which many small telescopes form a large effective collection area. Instead of a single large aperture with a complex adaptive-optics system, cost-efficient small apertures with simple tip/tilt tracking are combined coherently. This modular approach promises lower cost and weight as well as a system architecture that can be upgraded incrementally. You will analyse and model the optical performance of such an array (e.g. fibre coupling, impact of atmospheric turbulence) and study beam-combining techniques based on photonic integrated circuits. Your results will feed into ongoing research on QKD downlinks and coherent free-space optical communication.
Your tasks
- Literature review of multi-aperture receiver concepts and coherent beam combination
- Modelling and simulation of the optical performance, including, e.g., fibre-coupling efficiency, Fried parameter, tip/tilt correction
- Trade-off analysis of sub-aperture size, number and geometric arrangement
- Assessment of technologies for beam-combining: tip/tilt correction modules, fibre stretchers, photonic integrated circuits, closed-loop phase stabilization via reference signals
- Presentation of the results in a thesis
- Ongoing Master’s studies in physics, aerospace engineering or a related field
- Basic knowledge of optics/photonics
- Good programming skills (e.g. Python, MATLAB or other scripting languages)
- Independent analytical way of working
- Fluency in English
If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 5477) please contact:
Florian Moll
Tel.: +49 (0) 8153 28 2876
Working student essentials
What this Engineering working student role in Oberpfaffenhofen means for you — the weekly-hours rules, social-contribution perks, and what international students should check before applying.
Weekly hours
Working students may work up to 20 hours a week during the semester and full-time during the breaks. Staying within this keeps your student status and the Werkstudent benefits.
Working student rulesSocial contributions
Under the Werkstudentenprivileg you're exempt from health, care and unemployment insurance contributions — only pension insurance applies. That leaves more net pay than a regular job.
Check your insuranceInternational students
Non-EU students can work 140 full or 280 half days per year (raised from 120/240 in March 2024). A working student contract usually fits within this — confirm the exact limits printed on your residence permit.
Studying in Germany
