Postdoc Improved Electron Microscopy of Increasingly Small Semiconductors

Challenge: Nanoscale imaging of next-gen semiconductor chips.

Impact: Faster and more reliable electron imaging for the semicon industry.

Semiconductor chips store and process information in everything from pacemakers and cars to the electronic device you are reading this on right now. As these chips evolve, they’ve shrunk to the point that makes them hard to see and measure. Controlled manufacturing of increasingly small chips is one of the biggest challenges faced by the semicon industry today. To solve this problem, TU Delft joined forces with ARCNL and ASML to push current boundaries in applying electron imaging instead of light imaging to inspect and measure chips in the production process. Together with experts from academia and industry including 7 dedicated PhD students and 3 Postdocs you will address the fundamental limitations, encompassing both the design of electron microscopes and how images are made, in one of three directions:

Instrumentation, focused on

• Using your applied physics or engineering background to create a microscope optimized for semicon inspection at low electron energies.
• Working on novel designs of the source that generates the beam.
• Improving electron lenses and correctors to create low-energy beams containing higher current.

Electron target interaction, focused on

• Taking a more experimental approach to study the interaction of low energy electrons in materials by applying your background in (fundamental) physics or chemistry.
• Looking at the physics/chemistry in the sample that leads to signal generation and figuring out how to create more signal and/or prevent charging and damage.

Signal generation and detection, focused on

• Applying your background in physics, electrical engineering, or signal processing to implement novel detection schemes that improve signal collection.
• Creating better images by detecting and preventing artefacts due to charging or damage.

Being one of our postdocs, we count on your creativity, vision and people skills to level with senior experts and support PhD and Master’s students. This is an exciting opportunity to further your academic career and make a societal impact by enabling the production of smaller, more powerful and semiconductors.

You get a kick out of using applied science to solve complex problems. With your pioneering mindset, you can handle the uncertainties of the unknown.

You also have:

• A PhD in Engineering, Science, (Applied) Physics, (Applied) Chemistry or a related subject.
• Affinity with research related to electron microscopy and metrology on the nanoscale.
• Good organisational skills to drive the practical aspects of the project.
• A good command of English, because you will be working with a wide range of stakeholders in an international environment.
• The ability to flourish in a diverse team and switch between the scientific and industrial perspective.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service . This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

With more than 1,100 employees, including 150 pioneering principal investigators, as well as a population of about 3,600 passionate students, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is an inspiring scientific ecosystem. Focusing on key enabling technologies, such as quantum- and nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology, synthetic biology and materials for energy storage and conversion, our faculty aims to provide solutions to important problems of the 21st century. To that end, we educate innovative students in broad Bachelor's and specialist Master's programmes with a strong research component. Our scientists conduct ground-breaking fundamental and applied research in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Engineering Physics. We are also training the next generation of high school teachers.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

If you would like more information about this role, please contact Jacob Hoogenboom, [email protected] . 

Are you our new Postdoc on Electron Optics for Semiconductors/Postdoc on Electron Imaging Science for Semiconductors?  Please apply no later than 17 April2024. Upload your motivation letter and CV using the application button.

Please note:

• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• Applying for an exemption for specific research and educational areas is an obligatory part of the selection procedure for this vacancy. This exemption must be obtained from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) before an employment contract is agreed upon. Click here for more information.
• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.