PhD New Luminescent Materials for Sustainable Energy Technology: towards a photovoltaic window

You will develop luminescent coatings for enabling electricity generating windows. Besides sputtering of coatings, deep insight in the physical, optical and luminescence mechanisms is essential.    

In this PhD research project, materials for a novel building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology will be developed. Your part will be to develop new strongly absorbing solar coating materials of just a few hundreds of nanometers thick, that can convert the entire UV-VIS solar spectrum into infra-red luminescence. When applied as a coating on glass, these materials can enable an durable and cost-effective electricity generating PV window following the principle of a Luminescent Solar Concentrator (LSC).

The Luminescence Materials group at Delft University of Technology has more than 10 years of experience with LSC research and collaborates with a start-up company and glass coating industry to facilitate a route to large scale application in the build environment.

In this project industrial compatibility of the new materials will be important. Therefor you will learn the ins and outs of reactive DC, RF and pulsed magnetron sputtering, the workhorse technology in glass coating industry. Targeted materials are rare earth (like Yb) and transition metal (like Mn) doped inorganic semiconducting materials, emitting in the infra-red spectral range, where silicon solar cells have high conversion efficiency.

In order to successfully develop these valuable absorber materials, it is crucial to get fundamental understanding of the physical processes underlying the luminescence mechanism of the produced films. The fundamental insights are obtained first of all by time and temperature resolved optical and luminescence spectroscopy combined with a variety of techniques to analyze the structure, (defect)composition and doping ion composition of the films. Secondly fundamental understanding involves data interpretation by modelling using solid state physics, optics and quantum mechanics. Ideally the obtained insights will be used to select materials with improved properties.

You will be working in a team, headed by your promotor, with other PhD's, technicians, a start-up company and glass coating industry. A PhD student receives a general education by the University Graduate School and can be involved in activities like teaching practicals for a small part of your time and co-supervise graduation project at the bachelor and master level. For more information about the topics of the research group see www.vanderkolklab.com

You need to show in your application that you have

It is beneficial but not mandatory to have experience with any of the topics mentioned in the job description.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, 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!

Faculty applied sciences

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.

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before 31 January 2024 via the application button and upload  the following pdf attachments: (i) cv (ii) motivation letter describing your analytical and/or modelling skills, and experience with experimental research (iii) your master thesis report, (iv ) Bachelor and Master Grade list.

• 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.