The Paul Scherrer Institute is a centre for multi-disciplinary research and one of the world's leading user laboratories. With its 1300 employees it belongs as an autonomous institution to the Swiss ETH domain and concentrates its activities on solid-state research and materials sciences, elementary particle physics, energy and environmental research as well as biology and medicine.
There is recently a high scientific interest in multiferroic materials which have both ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties. In particular, composites or ‘artificial multiferroics' combining a magnetostrictive and a piezoelectric materials have outstanding properties. However, very little is known about the microscopic mechanisms behind the coupling of FE and FM order parameters at the nanoscale. We would like to shed light on this fascinating area using the advanced synchrotron x- ray methods and state-of-the-art nanofabrication methods.
We are seeking a:
Postdoctoral Fellow
Multiferroic nanostructures
Your tasks
• Production of multiferroic composites with pulsed laser and sputter deposition, and fabrication of multiferroic nanostructures at the Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology (http://lmn.web.psi.ch/).
• Soft x-ray absorption spectromicroscopy measurements at the Swiss Light Source, including use of x-ray dichroism effects and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) (http://sls.web.psi.ch/view.php/beamlines/sim/).
• Microstructural analysis (X-ray diffraction, XPS, AFM) at the Paul Scherrer Institut and ferroelectric characterization performed with collaborators.
• Good teamwork is required in an interdisciplinary, multinational research environment, with a proactive approach to drive forward scientific research. This should be combined with excellent communication skills.
Your profile
You have completed a PhD in experimental physics, materials science or related areas. Experience in the necessary fabrication techniques and characterization tools, and familiarity with multiferroic or ferroelectric thin film systems are desirable. |
