Postdoctoral research associate:synthesis and characterization of 2D materials

The Institute of Optical Materials and Technologies (IOMT) at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences invites applications for a full-time temporary postdoctoral research associate position (one year with possibility of an extension up to 9 months) on synthesis and characterization of 2D materials. The Postdoctoral Researcher will work on the project detailed below, under the supervision of Prof. DSc. Vera Marinova at the IOMT (Institute of Optical Materials and Technologies) (BG).

Research project: FET Proactive Project ”Dissipationless topological channels for information transfer and quantum metrology”

The goal of the Project is to develop the next generation of topological devices and architectures across which information can flow without losses. This conceptually simple yet technologically and fundamentally challenging requirement is crucial for the development of technologies in fields ranging from information processing to quantum communication and metrology. In each of these areas, the dissipation of information is a key hurdle that leads, for example, to unacceptable thermal loads or error rates. The Project will harness topological protection in novel materials and nanoscopic structures to empower electrons, phonons and photons to flow with little or no dissipation and, ultimately, crosslink them within a hybrid platform. This will entail the design of novel topological photonic/phononic waveguides and the engineering of disruptive heterostructures elaborated from the combination of topological insulators and ferromagnetic materials. In the optical domain, this will enable the creation of reflection and scattering free waveguides and, in thermal management, efficient transport and localized dissipation of heat. In electronics, the Project will develop ballistic transistors that could operate at THz cut-off frequencies and for metrology; it will establish a new paradigm for electrical resistance quantization standardization. The hybridization of three distinct quantum particles is expected to lead to novel functionalities, such as the shielding of quantum emitters from phonon-based decoherence processes, or the conversion of information from electronic to optical form and vice versa.

Main Tasks and responsibilities:

The candidate will conduct experiments on synthesis and characterization of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. Furthermore the candidate will study the routes for scalable preparation of atomically thin and uniform TMDC. Methods and technologies for the synthesis of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with ultra-high purity and the targeted crystalline structure will be investigated. The synthesis of 2D layered materials with desirable crystal structure on different substrates and with variable reaction/deposition schemes will be performed by CVD methods. Proper encapsulation will be explored to tackle the issue of these materials ambient stability. In particular, the candidate will develop and optimize the CVD synthesis of TMDCs (WTe2, magnetically doped WTe2). Different approaches for doping and precursor materials will be explored. Particularly WTe2 will be doped with V and other transition metals by CVD method. The crystal quality will be assessed by XRD, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, EDAX, TEM, etc. Using magnetic and transport characterization techniques, the magnetic properties of doped TMDCs will be investigated.