Doctoral Researcher, Accelerator-Based Materials Physics

Helsinki Accelerator Laboratory  (HAL) is a part of Department of Physics, University of Helsinki. It specializes in experimental and computational materials physics. The current research focus is on materials of importance for nanotechnology, micro- and optoelectronics, spintronics, fusion technology and particle detectors. Their structure and properties are studied by employing various ion beam based techniques, positron annihilation spectroscopy as well as by computational means. Our present infrastructure consists consists of a 5 MV tandem accelerator, a 500 kV accelerator/ion implanter, two positron accelerators, magnetron sputtering equipment and various processing and characterization facilities.

ALD center Finland  is a national, centralized open access platform for research and education in atomic layer level materials processing techniques of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and Atomic Layer Etching (ALEt). The center also serves as a valuable resource to other fields of research that require state-of-the-art techniques for thin film characterization and resolving surface chemistry. ALD center Finland welcomes researchers also widely beyond the ALD/ALEt community. The ALD center is in the process of commissioning in situ Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS) in one of the ALD vacuum chambers.

We invite applications for a

DOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN ACCELERATOR-BASED MATERIALS PHYSICS

starting from January 2023, or as agreed. The PhD researcher will be offered up to 4-year fully funded contract.

Position description

The main task of the doctoral researcher will be the development of the MEIS (Medium Energy Ion Scattering) technique for use in the ALD center activities at Helsinki Accelerator laboratory. MEIS is used to acquire information on the composition of the near-surface region (few tens of nm) of the samples with near monolayer depth resolution. Development includes building of the measurement system and development of the analysis method to examine elemental composition, crystalline structure (damage and location of impurity atoms) and 3D structures, such as nanoparticles and nucleation sites in the samples. The doctoral researcher will also employ other ion beam analysis techniques to obtain a comparative or complementary description of the samples. With the development of MEIS, the doctoral researcher will be expected to develop multi-technique analysis, including all the information from different techniques to obtain self-consistent multi-technique characterization of the samples. Ion beam techniques considered for the analysis of the ALD samples are typically ERDA (Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis), RBS (Rutherford Back Scattering), MEIS and LEIS (Low Energy Ion Scattering), but may include also other techniques. The doctoral researcher will also actively characterize thin film samples coming from the other members of the ALD center.

Selection criteria

The Doctoral Researcher should have an MSc or equivalent in physics, materials science, or a related field. The appointee should either already have the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki by the start of the appointment, or apply for the right and obtain it within the probationary period of six months of their appointment. If the candidate does not already have the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki, it must be applied for separately (www.helsinki.fi/en/research/doctoral-education/the-application-process-in-a-nutshell ). The requirements for pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki can be found at https://www.helsinki.fi/en/research/doctoral-education/eligibility-and-educational-documents .

The University of Helsinki welcomes applicants from a variety of gender identities, linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

What we offer

The University of Helsinki offers the appointee a first-class research and teaching environment as well as the preconditions necessary for international cooperation (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki ).

The position is full-time and funded for 48 months. The salary will be based on levels 2-3 of the demands level table for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance. The starting salary will be ca. 2400-2600 euros/month, depending on the appointee’s qualifications and experience. The employment contract will include a probationary period of six months. 

The University of Helsinki provides its staff with occupational health and sports services as well as professional development opportunities (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki/staff-benefits ). The appointee is expected to reside in Finland while employed by the University of Helsinki. International staff is supported in relocating to Finland (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/welcome ).

Applications must have the following enclosures as a joint pdf document (in English):

 Please submit your application using the University of Helsinki recruitment system. The deadline for applications is 30 November 2022.

 Further information can be obtained from Professor Filip Tuomisto, filip.tuomisto(at)helsinki.fi or Dr. Kenichiro Mizohata, kenichiro.mizohata(at)helsinki.fi .