Description du sujet de thèse

We invite applications for a fully funded PhD position at the intersection of wireless systems, organic electronics, and neurotechnology.

Project Goal
Develop a wireless, battery-free, implantable analog interface using organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) to sense neuromodulators like dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine. The readout will be performed via radio-frequency backscattering, enabling minimally invasive, real-time brain chemical monitoring in freely moving animals.

Your Mission
You will co-develop a new class of OECT-based battery-free implantable devices that combine:
• Wireless analog communication based on backscatter-modulation architecture.
• Co-design of front-end electronics and miniature RF antennas for chronic implantation.
You will prototype and characterize the wireless link (power + sensing), design and optimize sensor-resonator coupling, and participate in in vitro/ex vivo testing.

Supervision & Environment
• Denys Nikolayev (IETR Rennes): expert in wireless bioelectronics and wave control in tissues
• Simon Hemour (IMS Bordeaux): expert in RF energy harvesting and sensing
Additional collaborations with Nako Nakatsuka's group (Neuro-X, EPFL), Damien Thuau (IMS), and Clémentine Bosch-Bouju (Neurocampus, Bordeaux).

You will work in an interdisciplinary team spanning neuroscience, RF engineering, and organic electronics, and benefit from international exchanges and top-tier research facilities (e.g., IETR's M2ARS platform, IMS' Organic electronics & Nanotech platforms, and EPFL's NeuroTech labs).

Profile Sought
We welcome motivated candidates with a strong background in:
• RF circuits / analog electronics
• Electromagnetics / antenna design
• Wireless sensing / bioelectronics
• Prior exposure to implantable devices or organic electronics is a plus but not mandatory.

Contexte de travail

We are looking for a highly motivated researchers to join our team at IETR Laboratory, CNRS, Rennes, France for a fully funded PhD (3 years). The project is supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and involves close collaboration with EPFL and IMS Bordeaux. Our research focuses on developing passive implantable biosensors that use backscattering to wirelessly transmit sensing data. The researcher will work in a stimulating and highly collaborative environment, alongside experts from an ERC-funded project in wireless bioelectronics.

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.