PhD position in the area of Quantitative in situ electron microscopy of metal halide perovskite nanocrystals

Job title:

PhD position in the area of Quantitative in situ electron microscopy of metal halide perovskite nanocrystals

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Job description

Offer DescriptionLet’s shape the future – University of AntwerpThe is a dynamic, forward-thinking, European university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pioneering scientific research and play an important service-providing role in society. We are one of the largest, most international and most innovative employers in the region. With more than 6000 employees from 100 different countries, we are helping to build tomorrow’s world every day. Through top scientific research, we push back boundaries and set a course for the future – a future that you can help to shape.The EMAT research group at the Faculty of Science (University of Antwerp) is seeking to fill a PhD position in the area of Quantitative in situ electron microscopy of metal halide perovskite nanocrystals under the supervision of Prof Sara Bals and Prof Sandra Van Aert.Light detection and emission are crucial for displays, medical and security scanners. Given the societal relevance, there is an emerging need for novel opto-electronic materials with higher conversion efficiency and lower production cost. Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are promising high-performance semiconductors due to their strong absorption and emission in a broad spectral range and their ease of manufacturing. When developing novel (lead-free) NCs with optimized properties and stability, characterization of the atomic structure and composition is crucial. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an ideal tool, but imaging metal halide NCs by TEM is extremely difficult because of their sensitivity to the electron beam. The goal of this project, which is a unique collaboration between EMAT, the electron microscopy group at the University of Antwerp, and the group of Professor Liberato Manna at IIT (Genova) is therefore to develop innovative TEM methods that will enable us to link the structure and composition of metal halide NCs to their properties and stability. The role of the PhD student is to develop and apply novel low-dose electron microscopy techniques such as 4D scanning TEM, combined with in-situ TEM holders and perform a quantitative analysis of the obtained data. The specific job description can be found below.Research groupEMAT is one of the leading electron microscopy centers in the world and has a vast expertise in both fundamental and applied electron microscopy. EMAT has several state of the art electron microscopes including two aberration corrected, high end FEI-Titan instruments, a dual beam FIB, an environmental SEM,… More about us at .PhD position

• You will develop and apply low-dose TEM techniques to investigate metal halide perovskite nanocrystals films without electron beam damage.
• You will expand these techniques to 3 dimensions using electron tomography approaches.
• You will combine all of the novel methodologies with in situ investigation using different dedicated holders (eg strain, bias, gas, heating).
• You will develop quantitative methods to analyse and correctly interpret low-dose TEM data. Because of the low electron dose that is required to image the MHPs without beam damage, the resulting images will exhibit very low signal-to-noise ratio and extremely weak contrast, which makes this research very challenging.
• You will use statistics-based methods to measure unknown structure parameters, including atom positions, atom types, and number of atoms along the viewing direction. These measurements need to be done as accurately and precisely as possible.
• You will investigate the possibilities of applying the concept of deep learning. By training a convolutional neural network, in which detailed image simulations are used as an input, we expect to be able to reliably locate even the lightest atomic elements.
• You will introduce and apply new quantitative analysis tools to track changes in the atomic structure over time under operando conditions.

General

• The PhD candidate will prepare a doctoral thesis in the field of sciences.
• You publish scientific articles related to the research project of the assignment.
• You present your work at national and international workshops and conferences.

Profile

• You hold a Master’s degree with background in e.g. physics, applied physics, or materials science.
• You can demonstrate excellent study results.
• Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and

. * You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.

• You are enthusiastic and greatly interested in electron microscopy.
• You can submit outstanding academic results.
• You are highly motivated, quality-oriented, conscientious, creative and cooperative.
• You have affinity with experimental work and show good practical skills
• You are greatly interested in the quantitative analysis of electron microscopy data

What we offer

• A doctoral scholarship for a period of 1 year. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed for another 3 years.
• An exciting project in which we will aim to go significantly beyond the state-of-the-art.
• The preferred start date is as soon as possible but will be adapted to the selected candidate’s availability.
• Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the

for doctoral scholarship holders on the pay scales for contract research staff (Dutch: Bijzonder Academisch Personeel, BAP). * You will do most of your work at campus groenenborger, where you will have the opportunity to be immersed in a world-class, dynamic and stimulating work environment with state-of-the-art instrumentation and computing facilities (see also
). * Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp
.Want to apply?

• You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform until Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Click on the ‘Apply’ button, complete the online application form and be sure to include the following attachments:

• a motivation letter (please state for which of the 3 positions you are applying),
• your academic CV (including followed courses, honours, previous work, programming skills, publications, …)
• a weblink to a short video introducing yourself,
• a list and grades of the courses from that you took during your studies (Bachelor and Master)
• contact info of 2 professional referees.
• The selection committee will review all of the applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision has been made, we will inform you about the next steps in the selection procedure.
• If you have any questions about the online application form, please check the

or send an email to . Additional information about job itself can be obtained from: Prof. Sara Bals,The University of Antwerp received the European Commission’s for its HR policy. We are a sustainable, family-friendly organisation which invests in its employees’ growth. We encourage and attach great importance to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunities, regardless of gender identity, disability, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse characteristics to apply.Where to apply WebsiteRequirementsResearch Field Engineering Years of Research Experience 1 – 4Research Field Physics Years of Research Experience 1 – 4Research Field Physics Years of Research Experience 1 – 4Research Field Physics Years of Research Experience 1 – 4Additional InformationWebsite for additional job detailsWork Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute University of Antwerp Country Belgium City Antwerp Postal Code 2000 Street Prinsstraat 13 GeofieldContact CityAntwerp WebsitePostal Code2000STATUS: EXPIREDShare this page

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Anvers

Job date

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 23:32:35 GMT

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