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 and is a public-private partnership between the Dutch Research Council (NWO), the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and the semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML.

The Institute of Physics (IoP) – part of the UvA’s Faculty of Science – and the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL) are expanding ARCNL’s Materials Department with research on solid state theory and modelling in the form of a new research group. Our ambition is to attract top talent in the form of an ambitious and motivated scientist to a tenure track group leader position in a stimulating environment with excellent conditions for research, tightly connected to challenging educational programmes. Our goal is to have a maximal impact on science and society.

What are you going to do?

We have a tenure track position (assistant professor) in Theory & Modelling of Materials for Nanolithography available. The successful applicant will set up a novel, independent research program with topics related to the theoretical description and modelling of the physical, chemical and mechanical behavioor of high-performance materials in the context of nanolithography. The focus of this position is on realistic simulations of materials and on materials design for nanolithography, based on density functional theory (DFT), molecular dynamics (MD), and other theoretical and numerical methods.

The new group will be based in ARCNL’s new, made-to-measure laboratories, which neighbour the Faculty of Science’s new building in Amsterdam Science Park. The group leader is a staff member of ARCNL, and at the same time a full member of the Institute of Physics of the University of Amsterdam, establishing and maintaining active collaborations with research groups at ARCNL, UvA and ASML Research, with other research groups in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and abroad; the nanolithography mission of ARCNL puts emphasis on the interaction and collaboration with ASML Research. Contribution to the materials theme throughout the Amsterdam BSc and MSc curricula is also part of the job description.

Within ARCNL, the new group will be embedded in the Materials Department, where it will have ample opportunities to collaborate with the Contact Dynamics group on contact and friction mechanisms at the atomic scale (e.g. involving adhesion, tribochemistry and boundary lubrication) and with the Nanolayers group and the Materials and Surface Science for EUV Lithography group (e.g. on the surface chemical processes and plasma-surface interaction that occurs in the challenging environments of nanolithography). The design of novel thin-film materials, light-matter interaction, and surface processes occurring in reactive atmospheres, under high local mechanical forces, or under high-intensity ionizing radiation are further examples of materials research interests at ARCNL.

Amsterdam houses two global universities and the largest concentration of national research institutes in the country. Consequently, there is great potential for collaboration. For example, with:

• UvA’s strong theory activities in condensed matter physics and computational chemistry;
• UvA’s materials-oriented experimental research into soft matter and quantum materials;
• related groups in chemistry and physics at the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam;
• researchers working on functional complex matter at AMOLF.

What do we require?

The successful candidate should have:

• a relevant PhD degree in Theoretical physics, Chemistry or Materials science;
• a strong Physics, Materials science and/or Chemistry background related to one or more of the following fields:
  • theoretical and computational techniques, such as density functional theory (DFT)
  • physics and chemistry of surfaces and interfaces of materials
  • condensed matter theory and materials science
• excellent research skills, evidenced by a track record of publications in renowned international journals, and talks at international conferences/workshops;
• demonstrable didactic abilities; an affinity for teaching at Bachelor and Master level;
• preferably experience with the (co-)supervision of BSc, MSc and/or PhD students;
• (the ability to develop) the management skills required for general academic administration, organisation and coordination tasks;
• ability to attract external funding;
• well developed communication and social skills;
• good command of English and willingness to learn the Dutch language.

International research experience is preferred as is a highly collaborative and enthusiastic approach.

Our offer

We offer you a tenure track agreement for the duration of five years (which is part of a six-year temporary contract) at the rank of Assistant Professor. At the start, we will draw up an agreement with you, specifying the tenure track requirements for research, teaching and management tasks that need to be fulfilled in order to assess progress after three years and after five years. The requirements in this agreement are negotiable and depend on your experience and scientific profile. Following a positive assessment after five years the appointment will become permanent, at the level of Associate Professor.

We offer an attractive start-up package, including budget for two junior researchers, and access to state-of-the-art computational facilities.

Start dates are negotiable. The starting salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel and depending on experience and qualifications. It will range from a minimum of €3,746 gross per month up to a maximum of €5,826 gross per month (salary scale 11-12) based on full-time employment. This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

The UvA and ARCNL put emphasis on diversity in their recruitment and hiring policies. For talented female candidates there is an additional possibility to acquire the tenure track position through the prestigious WISE (Women in Science Excel) program of NWO-I.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science – Institute of Physics

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Institute of Physics (IoP) is to carry out excellent research in the field of experimental and theoretical physics, to provide inspiring teaching within the physics and other curricula and to transfer our knowledge of and enthusiasm for physics to society. The IoP has over 50 faculty and 180 researchers in total. The combination with the NWO Institutes at Amsterdam Science Park constitutes the largest physics hub in the Netherlands and is an international centre of excellence.

Research at the IoP is organized in three research divisions: the Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute for Experimental Physics (WZI), the Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam (ITFA) and the Institute for High-Energy Physics (IHEF), the latter embedded within the Nikhef collaboration, the national NWO Institute for subatomic physics. Theoretical embedding of this position is also provided in physics by the ITFA, which focuses on research in the (partly overlapping) themes Soft Condensed Matter, Quantum Condensed Matter, String Theory, Theoretical Particle Physics, Astroparticle Physics, Cosmology, Mathematical Physics, and History of Physics. On the chemistry side, the UvA’s van ‘t Hoff Institute of Molecular Sciences and in particular the Computational Chemistry groups offer additional opportunities for interaction and collaboration.

The primary location for the new research group is the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL), which 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 Dutch Research Council (NWO), the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and the semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML, and has a size of approximately 100 scientists, technicians and other support staff. ARCNL is located in the Amsterdam Science Park, The Netherlands. Within ARCNL, the universities are the main employers for the senior academic staff.