This two-year postdoc project is at the interface between science and applications and is part of a larger European effort, joined in the ECSEL JU IT2 consortium, which aims to develop 2 nm node technology for nanolithography. The European IT2 consortium consists of some 30+ companies and scientific/technological institutes and universities. In this project you will use state-of-the-art high-power femtosecond laser pulses to generate and detect extremely-high-frequency (up to 1THz) sound wave packets. The sound-wave packets have wavelengths even smaller than those of visible light. You will perform fundamental research on the generation and detection of these sound waves, and study their application potential for the detection of nano-structures, such as gratings, buried below opaque layers.  The work combines ultrafast laser physics and materials science and has the added bonus of possibly seeing the results used in real applications.

You have a PhD in (applied) physics and experience in the fields of optical physics or laser physics and solid-state physics. Experience with photo-acoustics is not required but advantageous. Good verbal and written communication skills (in English) are required.

You need to meet the requirements for a doctors-degree and must have research experience in a non-Dutch academic environment.

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 two years. ARCNL assists any new foreign postdoc with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

EUV Targets

The Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL) focuses on the fundamental physics and chemistry involved in current and future key technologies in nanolithography, primarily for the semiconductor industry. ARCNL is a public-private partnership between the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the VU University Amsterdam (VU) and the semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML. ARCNL is located at the Science Park Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and is currently building up towards a size of approximately 100 scientists and support staff.

You will be embedded in the Light-Matter Interaction group at ARCNL, which frequently interacts with our industrial partner ASML. The research activities of the Light-Matter Interaction group mainly take place in the general area of “metrology” and cover both fundamental research and real-life applications of that research.