Postdoc “NanoXUV” – Nonlinear metaphotonics for UV semiconductor metrology

Work Activities
In the “NanoXUV” research program the Resonant Nanophotonics team at AMOLF (lead: Femius Koenderink) and the High-Harmonic Generation and EUV Science team at ARCNL (lead: Peter Kraus) develop nanophotonic structures that convert infrared wavelengths to light of very short wavelength, in the UV and even extreme ultraviolet. The need for such a technology comes from the the extreme miniaturisation of micro-electronics, which places extreme demands not just on nanofabrication, but also on inspection methods that visualize the manufactured devices. While optical inspection methods have the advantage of being fast and non-destructive, they typically face the challenge that features that are to be resolved are much smaller than the diffraction limit associated with the usual visible or infrared wavelengths. In this program we envision optical metasurfaces pumped by femtosecond infrared pulses that emit XUV light for metrology.

How do you design optical metasurfaces that efficiently radiate UV light by nonlinear frequency conversion through 3rd, 5th and high-harmonic generation? How do the geometry of meta-atoms and their arrangement in the metasurface translate into bright sources, and how do you generate that emit beams that are structured in amplitude, phase and polarization for super-resolution metrology? We offer a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship to tackling these questions, working in both groups and with PhD students engaged in metasurfaces, metrology, and solid-state HHG. The research targets both academic and applied breakthroughs, for which we will frequently interact with industry partners at ASML. Our team has everything required for this project available in house, including electromagnetic design and theory, the cleanroom nanofabrication facilities to realize optical metasurfaces, and ultrafast laser setups for THG and HHG generation and microscopy.

Qualifications
Mandatory:
You have (or will receive in the near future) a PhD degree in nanophotonics and /or ultrafast light-matter interaction. You enjoy performing experiments and analysis to stepwise build a deeper understanding of complex physical mechanisms. For this position, we are particularly looking for a candidate who is eager to span disciplines, combining state-of-the-art ultrafast laser optics with design, fabrication, and spectroscopy of metasurfaces. A solid background in both optics/optics engineering and condensed matter physics would be ideal.

Experience in one or more of the following topics is expected

• Nanophotonics of e.g. metasurfaces, photonic crystals, or plasmonic structures
• Ultrafast lasers and optics and /or advanced microscopy of nanophotonic systems
• Condensed matter physics & fundamental optical processes in solids

Additionally proficiency with data analysis (Python, MATLAB), an interest in electromagnetic simulation and nanofabrication, as well as very good verbal and written communication skills in English are expected.

Work environment
About the institutes:

AMOLF is a national research institute and is part of NWO-I. Its mission is to initiate and perform leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 150 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl.

ARCNL performs fundamental research, focusing on the physics and chemistry involved in current and future key technologies in nanolithography, primarily for the semiconductor industry. While the academic setting and research style are geared towards establishing scientific excellence, the topics in ARCNL’s research program are intimately connected with the interests of the industrial partner ASML. The institute is located right next to AMOLF and currently employs about 65 researchers and 35 support employees. www.arcnl.nl

About the groups:

Resonant Nanophotonics at AMOLF The research activities in the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF aim at developing nanoscale photonic structures, such as plasmonic and dielectric metasurfaces, to control scattering, emission, amplification and detection of light. The group spans the entire research cycle from developing advanced nanophotonics concepts using state of the art theory and numerical design, to nanofabrication of designed structures in the Amsterdam NanoLab cleanroom at AMOLF and the development of state of the art optical scatterometry and microscopy methods.

High Harmonic Generation and EUV Science at ARCNL The HHG & EUV Science Group investigates the high-harmonic generation (HHG) phenomenon in various media, including gases, solids such as semiconductors, and strongly correlated materials, as well as nanostructures like metasurfaces. Our objective is to understand and enhance the efficiency of the HHG process to broaden its potential applications. This involves developing new experimental configurations and novel sources in the XUV/soft-X-ray domain. Moreover, we are exploring the possible applications of XUV radiation in imaging and metrology with a nanometer resolution, specifically in holography and scatterometry. We also utilize high-harmonics in ultrafast transient XUV spectroscopy to probe the dynamics of electronic and atomic systems with femtosecond time resolution. Our recent HHG experiments conducted on solids showcase the potential for manipulating optical emission (deactivation) solely through light, which can have practical applications in high-resolution imaging and super-resolution microscopy at the nanoscale.

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of 2 years
• Salary is in scale 10 (CAO-OI) which starts at 4.552 Euro’s gross per month, and a range of employment benefits.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign Postdoc with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Femius Koenderink: f.koenderink@amolf.nl

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF and ARCNL are highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

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PhD: AI-assisted discovery of chiral perovskites in nanophotonic environments

Work Activities
AI-assisted discovery of chiral perovskite (quantum) emitters. You will leverage an AI-assisted materials optimization robot being developed at AMOLF as a route to rapid, closed-loop synthesis and characterization across large perovskite parameter spaces. You will optimize directly for figures of merit such as chirality, emission wavelength, brightness, and stability. Because optical excitation of perovskites can move atoms around, sculpting the optical field in time and space can enable programmable optical functions. By conducting approximately 1 million optical experiments in parallel using a spatial light modulator and hyperspectral camera, you will explore chemical and processing landscapes in days that would otherwise take a student a lifetime to cover systematically. Special attention will be paid to 2D and related low-dimensional perovskites, with the aim to understand if intrinsically strong material chirality is a necessary condition for reaching strong programmable chirality.

Materials discovery in non-trivial optical environments. Building on the first thrust, you will introduce a new paradigm in optoelectronic device design: to synthesize and screen perovskite emitters directly on substrates that already provide a structured optical response. In a material that can be sculpted by the optical field, this provides the opportunity for a self-optimizing response – the local optical field imprints a symmetry on the material, which then amplifies the light-matter coupling. In the conventional workflow, one first finds a material with good intrinsic properties and only then designs the surrounding cavity, resonance, or metasurface. You will reverse that order, replacing an optically inert glass slide by a substrate with a designed resonance arising from refractive-index structuring (optical metasurface). Thin perovskite films spun onto such a substrate will respond most strongly when their emission (absorption) spectrum aligns with the photonic resonance. Likewise, if the figure of merit is chirality and the substrate itself has chiral optical response, one can search for materials whose intrinsic emission (absorption) couples most effectively to that environment. In this way, the optical structure of the substrate transforms the material on top into exactly what it needs for maximal performance. Such exploration offers tantalizing opportunities to study the impact of local versus nonlocal optical resonances in the context of material optimization. How does the spatial extent of the photonic resonance affect the material symmetry? Does the optical field profile induce spatially varying chiral properties in the perovskite? Understanding the coupling between photonic environment and material crystallization poses completely new opportunities in material synthesis for advanced photonic integration and technologies.

Qualifications
You have a Msc degree in physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering or another scientific discipline. You have an analytical mind with the ability to think about a problem and come up with logical and creative solutions. You can work independently and also enjoy collaborating in a team. You enjoy actively engaging others to learn new concepts and experimental methods. You are eager to give and receive feedback and see it as an opportunity for personal and professional growth. You have excellent communication skills in English. You are responsible, reliable and dedicated while caring about the well-being of yourself and your colleagues. You value and cherish diversity of background, opinion and ability and see a team as more than the sum of its parts.

Work environment
This is a collaborative project between AMOLF and the University of Amsterdam. Your contract and host group will be the Nanoscale Solar Cells group led by Erik Garnett at AMOLF amolf.nl/research-groups/nanoscale-solar-cells but you will also work part time at the Van der Waals-Zeeman institute of the University of Amsterdam iop.uva.nl/wzi/wzi.html with professors Sander Mann mannlab.nl and Jorik van de Groep vandegroeplab.com in the department of physics. These institutes are located next to each other in the Amsterdam Science Park. This collaborative position opens up many experimental and theoretical tools and facilities needed for the project including the AI-assisted automated synthesis and characterization robot, the AMOLF nanolab www.amolf.nl/nanolab, ultrafast, chiral and single photon microscopes and full-wave numerical simulations and analytical models. We share a vibrant, inclusive and collaborative work culture that welcomes scientists and engineers with diverse backgrounds and skills. There is a very active staff association organizing regular social activities throughout the year to enrich the work experience and community. There is excellent support staff to help with the more technical and administrative parts of the project.

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years
• The starting salary is 3.115 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position or specific questions, please contact Erik Garnett: e.garnett@amolf.nl

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below. Please apply by submitting a CV and cover letter explaining why you want this specific PhD position, what you can contribute and what you would like to learn. We will start evaluating applications on June 15th and will continue until the position is filled.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

PhD: Lensless 3D optical imaging

Work Activities
Computational optical imaging is a powerful tool to recover object structure from diffraction patterns without relying on conventional high-quality optics and microscope objectives. While many lensless approaches already work well for 2D imaging, achieving high-resolution volumetric reconstruction of complex structures in compact fiber-based format remains a major challenge.

In this project you will push the boundaries of optical microscopy and develop new approaches for 3D lensless imaging based on ptychography, structured illumination, fiber-based detection and physics-informed computational reconstruction. The work will combine optical experiments with algorithm development. On the experimental side, you will build and optimize ptychography setups using visible light, spatial light modulators, and multimode fibers. You will investigate optimized illumination and detection schemes that maximize information content and imaging performance. On the computational side, you will develop reconstruction algorithms based on compressive sensing and data-driven machine learning approaches for depth-resolved 3D imaging. You will exploit the diversity provided by structured speckle illumination together with sparsity priors to reconstruct complex optical fields and depth-dependent sample structure from a limited set of measurements.

The project includes the development of a compact all-fiber 3D imaging demonstrator aimed at applications in semiconductor metrology. You will therefore collaborate with ASML research on wafer metrology.

Qualifications
You have a MSc degree in physics, optics, photonics or a related field.

Work environment
ARCNL performs fundamental research, focusing on the physics and chemistry involved in current and future key technologies in nanolithography, primarily for the semiconductor industry. While the academic setting and research style are geared towards establishing scientific excellence, the topics in ARCNL’s research program are intimately connected with the interests of the industrial partner ASML. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 100 persons of which 65 are ambitious (young) researchers from all over the globe. www.arcnl.nl

Working conditions
The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years, with a starting salary of gross € 3.115 per month and a range of employment benefits. After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University. Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students. ARCNL assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Lyuba Amitonova: l.amitonova@arcnl.nl

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
ARCNL is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

Nanoscale Charge and Heat Transfer at Metal-Semiconductor Interfaces

Work Activities
The Hybrid Nanosystems group at NWO-Institute AMOLF is looking for a PhD candidate to unravel how the atomic-scale structure of metal-semiconductor interfaces governs charge and heat transfer, using cutting-edge correlative single-particle optical spectroscopy and in situ electron microscopy.

Metal-semiconductor interfaces are central to technologies ranging from computer chips to photocatalytic devices. These atomically thin interfaces are decisive for device performance, as they control how efficiently charge and heat are transported, yet the fundamental connections between atomic-scale interface structure and these transport properties remain poorly understood. This project investigates model metal-semiconductor nanosystems using single-particle optical spectroscopy correlated with transmission electron microscopy on the same individual nanoparticle, providing direct insight into how interface chemistry and structure govern charge transfer. Pioneering in situ TEM experiments with pulsed laser excitation will give access to heat transfer across the same class of interfaces under controlled conditions.

The project is a collaboration between AMOLF and ARCNL with ASML as an industry partner, with regular meetings across all partners to connect fundamental findings to broader technological challenges.

Qualifications
You have a MSc degree in physics, nanoscience, or a related field.

Work environment
You will perform this research in the Hybrid Nanosystems research group headed by Wiebke Albrecht at AMOLF. The Hybrid Nanosystems group uses light as a tool to probe, program, and reshape nanomaterials. By combining advanced electron microscopy, single-particle optical spectroscopy, and electromagnetic simulations, we uncover how the atomic-scale structure of nanoparticles governs their response to light, and how light can drive these structures to transform.

AMOLF is a national institute that is part of NWO-I. Its mission is to initiate and perform fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years
• The starting salary is 3.115 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at a Dutch University.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
For further information about the position, please contact Wiebke Albrecht: w.albrecht@amolf.nl.

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.

PhD student: Single-molecule biophysics of ribosome cooperation

Work Activities
Summary - In this project, you will perform innovative (bio)physics experiments to elucidate the dynamic action of individual ribosomes. The key methodologies are optical tweezers, single-molecule fluorescence, as well as selective ribosome profiling – an exciting new RNA sequencing method. Working in the Tans biophysics lab @ AMOLF Amsterdam, you will visualize the real-time translation activity of ribosomes, how multiple ribosomes work together, detect the folding of individual polypeptide chains, and show how chaperones guide this process. You will work in an international team, with other groups specialized in ribosome profiling and cryo-EM techniques. The aim is to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms that underlie the correct and erroneous production of new proteins.

Questions - According to textbooks, ribosomes work individually to produce proteins. However, recent insights from our lab and others show multiple ribosomes cooperate as they translate mRNA. This cooperation may well be essential to produce multi-protein complexes faithfully. In our group, we aim to elucidate the highly diverse and broad implications. Questions we are interested in include: Do ribosomes synchronize their translation activity in real-time, like a sequence of cars in traffic? Are mRNA secondary structures and/or direct interactions between ribosomes involved? How do the two (or more) protein chains synthesized by these multiple ribosomes fold together to form protein complexes? How many ribosomes cooperate together? Can we see cooperation between ribosomes that translate different RNA messages? Given the novelty of these fundamental questions in this rapidly expanding field, you will have a unique chance to address them first.

Approach - You will directly follow the unknown dynamics of ribosome translation, protein folding and assembly, and chaperone guidance. This is enabled using optical tweezers combined with single-molecule fluorescence, which detect changes in individual molecules at nanometer and millisecond resolution. In collaboration with our partners, you will also use selective ribosome profiling – an RNA sequencing method that provides high-level data across the genome an in-vivo. This first look may reveal a host of unexpected phenomena. You will develop new experimental schemes, Use cutting-edge single-molecule fluorescence and manipulation methods, Adapt existing biochemical protocols, Analyze the complex temporal data, formulation of new models, And explain your findings in high-level scientific papers.

International team - You will be part of a collaboration with leading groups at Heidelberg University and the ETH in Zurich, which use novel sequencing and cryo-EM methods. By working within this motivated group of young scientists, you will obtain a unique training, understanding and skill set in this expanding field. By integrating these approaches, you will provide insights of unprecedented detail, spanning from the cellular to the atomic level, from in vivo to in vitro, from genome-wide patterns to molecular mechanisms, and from bacteria to human cells.

Image left show ribosome (blue, orange) that synthesized protein chain (yellow) by translating the RNA message (red). Image right shows dynamic ribosome interactions.

Qualifications
We have a number of positions available (PhD and PD). We are looking for outstanding experimental physicists or chemists with an interest in single-molecule techniques, ambition to make breakthrough findings, programming skills to handle complex data, and who thrive in a diverse, collaborative, and supportive environment. Excellent verbal and written English skills are essential. You meet the requirements for an MSc-degree to ensure eligibility for a Dutch PhD examination.

Work environment
AMOLF is a part of NWO-I and initiate and performs leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

Our group - We form a lively and close-knit research group of about 10 PhD students and postdocs, which work together in small teams on various projects in a highly supportive and social atmosphere that extends to the other research groups at the AMOLF institute, which is housed in a modern building in the east of Amsterdam. The Tans group at the AMOLF institute Amsterdam has been at the forefront of studying chaperone-guided protein folding using optical tweezers. This technique allows one to mechanically manipulate individual proteins, and hence follow the movements and folding steps as they fold. We have shown striking sequences of molecular events that underlie chaperone functions, which are invisible with other methods.

https://www.sandertanslab.nl

https://amolf.nl/research-groups/biophysics

Working conditions

• The working atmosphere at the institute is largely determined by young, enthusiastic, mostly foreign employees. Communication is informal and runs through short lines of communication.
• The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years
• The starting salary is 2.781 Euro’s gross per month and a range of employment benefits.
• After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at Delft University of Technology.
• Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students.
• Funding is available to attend regularly international conferences.
• AMOLF assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

More information?
https://www.sandertanslab.nl

Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Please annex your:

• Resume;
• Motivation on why you want to join the group (max. 1 page).

It is important to us to know why you want to join our team. Hence, we will only consider your application if it contains your motivation letter.

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis and as soon as an excellent match is made, the position will be filled.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code
AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Commercial activities in response to this ad are not appreciated.