Postdoc in 2D Material and Heterostructure Synthesis and Colour Center Engineering for Ultrasensitive Biomagnetometry – DTU Physics

DTU Physics wish to employ a postdoctoral researcher for a period of 24 months to carry out research in the synthesis and fabrication of 2D materials and heterostructures using a combination of techniques including chemical vapour deposition, chemical vapour transport, intercalation and van der Waals assembly, and post-synthesis modification of these materials with novel magnetically sensitive colour center defects for biomagnetometry. The positions are funded by the Novo Nordisk “Smart nanomaterials for application in life-science” Challenge program BIOMAG project led by DTU Energy.

You will be responsible for building and optimizing 2D and bulk crystal synthesis equipment and structurally characterizing the resulting materials. Modification with colour centers will occur in newly developed experimental facilities including a purpose-built low power plasma system and a tip-based scanning thermal probe system, housed in protective atmospheres at the Nanomaterials and Devices (NANOMADE) section. Both the choice of materials and targets for modification as well as the biomagnetic field sensitivity of the resulting materials systems will be performed in close collaboration with the Computational Atomic-scale Materials Design (CAMD) and Quantum Physics and Information Technology (QPIT) sections at DTU Physics, in the context of a wider project that includes partners from DTU Energy and Copenhagen University.

As part of the Applied 2D Materials team of the Nanomaterials and Device Section at DTU Physics, you will enjoy a strong collaborative environment where you will be supported by and support the work of your colleagues in the group, in the section, at the Department and across our collaborative projects including the Danish National Research Foundation-funded Center for Nanostructured Graphene. You will be based at our newly renovated integrated experimental facilities, which includes custom designed spaces for the synthesis, characterisation, handling, and development of 2D materials technologies. Your co-workers have a diverse range of backgrounds and skills, which we use to our advantage in our work. In addition, you will be able to take advantage of some of the world-leading facilities available at our partner department DTU Nanolab, which hosts both the 1500m2 Danish National cleanroom facility, and the Mærsk McKinsey Møller funded Center for Electron Nanoscopy. Collaborations with international research groups will strengthen your academic network and provide future opportunities for growth for you.

Required qualifications
Candidates must hold a PhD degree or equivalent in Physics, Chemistry or another closely related field (or hold a positive preliminary assessment if they have not yet defended at the time of application).

Experience at the PhD or postdoctoral research level with one or more of the following techniques is required: chemical vapour deposition of 2D materials, chemical vapour transport synthesis of bulk layered compounds, wet or dry van der Waals heterostructure assembly techniques.

Relevant qualifications
You ideally have experience in the handling and characterisation of 2D materials and heterostructures, including for example SEM, TEM, AFM, Raman spectrometry, microfabrication techniques as applied to 2D materials (optical and electron beam lithography, metal deposition, plasma etching, etc.), glove box operation.

General qualifications

• You have demonstrated scientific output at an international level through the publication of peer-reviewed articles.
• You are self-motivated and driven by overcoming experimental challenges.
• You have broad scientific interests and background, with knowledge of multiple disciplines that you can bring to bear when solving problems.
• Your English language skills allow you both to work effectively as a team member and communicate your research clearly and effectively to an international audience.
• You have an interest in both the academic and the commercial applications of your experimental results.

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation, and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed with the relevant union. The initial period of employment is 24 months and should start no later than 1 May 2023, with the possibility of extension.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here .

Further information
May be obtained from Associate Professor Tim Booth, [email protected]  Please put “BIOMAG” in the subject.

You can read about NANOMADE on www.fysik.dtu.dk/english/research/nanomade .

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark .

Application procedure
Please submit your online application no later than midnight 10 March 2023 (Danish time). Applications must be submitted as one single PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply online", fill in the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one single PDF file. The file must include: 

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae
• MSc & PhD diploma
• List of publications

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion, or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

About DTU Physics
DTU Physics conducts cross-disciplinary research where micro- and nanotechnology is applied to a wide range of scientific disciplines (electronics, mechanics, chemistry, optics, fluidics, medical and biotechnology) as well as applications. The Nanoscale Materials and Devices section (NANOMADE) at DTU Physics is focused on basic and applied research, and with strong international collaborations. At the Applied 2D Materials group, led by Tim Booth, we leverage the competencies we have developed in the isolation, growth and characterisation of 2D materials to produce new systems for a wide variety of potential electronic, optical, energy and biomedical applications with previously impossible functionalities and performance. To achieve these goals we collaborate closely with colleagues in the Danish National Research Foundation Center of Excellence for Nanostructured Graphene, the Department of Physics, the DTU Nanolab Electron Nanoscopy and Fabrication facilities and our international collaborators.

About BIOMAG
Do you want to contribute to a future where we can measure the tiny magnetic fields created by individual neurons in the brain?  At DTU Energy and Physics, our research efforts aim at providing a better comprehension of the human brain through non-invasive measurements of neuronal currents. A detailed understanding of how neurons communicate would further enable the study of not just the functionality of the brain itself, but also that of a variety of cognitive diseases and may even serve as a diagnostic tool for early diseases detection. Today, measurements of small magnetic fields involve the use of bulky equipment some of which operate at cryogenic temperatures which greatly increases the cost and complexity of such endeavors. Research efforts into alternative methods to detect minute fields are therefore a top priority in the field of neurobiology. As a part of the six year BIO-MAG project funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge program, we aim at creating magnetic sensors with sub-picotesla sensitivity and using these to map neuronal activity at room temperature. These sensors will be fabricated from of a novel class of 2D materials as well as oxide thin films.  You will work in close collaboration with other colleagues in BIO-MAG at DTU Physics, DTU Energy and at the University of Copenhagen, which will test your materials in the lab and ultimately use the sensors to detect the activity in live neurons in real-time.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,400 students and 5,800 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.