Work Activities
The Hybrid Nanosystems group and the Hybrid Solar Cells group at NWO-Institute AMOLF are looking for two PhD candidates to watch, in real time and at the atomic scale, how interfaces between halide perovskites and metals change under light and electrical bias, using a unique in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM).
Halide perovskites are promising semiconductors for solar cells, LEDs, photocatalysis, and brain-inspired (neuromorphic) electronics. In almost every device they are contacted by a metal, and because the perovskite lattice is soft and its ions are mobile, these contacts are not static: defects migrate, bonds break and reform, and metal atoms can diffuse into the perovskite. These “living” interfaces can degrade a device or enable new functionality, yet how they evolve under operating conditions has never been observed directly. This project uses AMOLF’s in situ TEM, which is unique in its ability to apply light and electrical bias while imaging at atomic resolution, to watch these processes as they happen and link them to charge transfer and device performance.
PhD position 1 – Hybrid Nanosystems group (Wiebke Albrecht). You will develop low-dose, time-resolved TEM methods for beam-sensitive perovskites, including event-driven nanodiffraction with a nanosecond-resolution direct electron detector to track local electric fields and strain. You will apply these methods to gold-perovskite nanostructures, combining single-particle optical spectroscopy with in situ TEM under laser excitation to reveal how light-driven charge transfer reshapes the interface.
PhD position 2 – Hybrid Solar Cells group (Bruno Ehrler). You will design and fabricate lateral perovskite-metal devices that fit inside the TEM, measure their electrical and memristive behavior, and study in situ how bias and light drive ion migration and metal filament growth. You will extend drift-diffusion simulations to dynamically changing interfaces, connecting the observed atomic-scale changes to device function.
The project is funded by an NWO Open Competition Domain Science (M-2) grant. The two PhD candidates will work closely together, with shared samples, joint experiments on the TEM, and regular meetings across both groups. The project further benefits from international collaborations with leading groups in perovskite materials, electron microscopy, nanoparticle synthesis, and computational imaging.
Qualifications
You have a MSc degree in physics, chemistry, nanoscience, or a related field.
Work environment
You will perform this research in the Hybrid Nanosystems group headed by Wiebke Albrecht (position 1) or the Hybrid Solar Cells group headed by Bruno Ehrler (position 2) at AMOLF. Both groups are part of AMOLF’s LMPV–Sustainable Energy Materials department, where about 50 scientists work on semiconductors for solar energy conversion and photocatalysis.
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.
The Hybrid Solar Cells group focuses on perovskite materials science, both on the fundamental level and for device applications. By combining electrical and optical spectroscopy with drift-diffusion simulations, the group studies the dynamic nature of halide perovskites, from ion migration in solar cells to artificial synapses for neuromorphic computing.
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
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 positions, please contact Wiebke Albrecht (position 1): w.albrecht@amolf.nl, or Bruno Ehrler (position 2): b.ehrler@amolf.nl.
Application
You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below. Please indicate in your motivation letter whether you are applying for position 1, position 2, or both.
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).
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