In this project you will study the deeply-subwavelength temporal dynamics of nanostructured materials using cathodoluminescence (CL).

The past decade has seen enormous progress in the design and fabrication of nanostructured materials with unique optical properties. These tiny physical structures allow geometrical control over the electromagnetic structure of light well below its own wavelength. Applications for subwavelength optics ('nanophotonics') have already begun to emerge across diverse fields of study, including solar photovoltaics, chemical sensing, quantum cryptography, and LED lighting. However, many fundamental optical interactions are hidden beneath the diffraction limit, which makes retrieval of subwavelength optical behavior impossible with standard microscopy. An alternative approach is to probe nanostructures with an electron beam, which excites optical resonances and transitions, and then collect the emitted light. This process is called cathodoluminescence (CL). At AMOLF, this technique has already been shown to allow direct probing of many key dimensions of light – including intensity, polarization, and frequency - with ~10 nm resolution 1]2].

You hold (or will receive in the near future) a master’s degree in experimental physics or materials science, or equivalent.

Fixed-term contract: four years.

Conditions of employment
When fulfilling a PhD position at the NWO Institutes Organisation (formerly FOM), you will get the status of junior scientist. You will have an employee status and can participate in all the employee benefits the NWO Institutes Organisation (NWO-I) offers. You will get a contract for four years. Your salary will be up to a maximum of 2,834 euro gross per month. The salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance of 8 percent and an end-of-year bonus of 8.33 percent. 
You are supposed to have a thesis finished at the end of your four year term with NWO-I. 
A training programme is part of the agreement. You and your supervisor will make up a plan for the additional education and supervising that you specifically need. This plan also defines which teaching activities you will be responsible (up to a maximum of ten percent of your time). The conditions of employment of NWO-I are laid down in the Collective Labour Agreement for Research Centres (Cao-Onderzoekinstellingen), more exclusive information is available at this website under Personeelsinformatie (in Dutch) or under Personnel (in English). General information about working at NWO-I can be found in the English part of this website under Personnel. The 'Job interview code' applies to this position.

AMOLF

AMOLF performs leading fundamental research on physics of Biomolecular Systems and Nanophotonics; two areas with key potential for technological innovations. The Institute contributes to knowledge transfer to industry and society and trains talented young researchers. AMOLF is located at Science Park Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and engages approximately 140 scientists and 70 support staff. See also http://www.amolf.nl