Functional thin films and nanolayers play an important role in many optical and electrical devices, such as transistors, solar cells and batteries. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) can be used to prepare such films in an atomic layer by atomic layer fashion, with excellent control over the material properties and composition. This ALD technique is already an enabling technology, mainly in high-end products such as the processor and memory in your smartphone. At the same time, lab-scale successes show that many more ALD materials have potential in many more applications, especially also in commodity products such as batteries, displays and perovskite solar cells. In order for ALD to be competitive in these upcoming commodity applications it has to be sufficiently scalable, i.e. materials need to be prepared at high speed over large surface areas, at low cost. Therefore, this project revolves around spatial ALD (S-ALD), a high throughput variant of ALD. The aim is to prepare new (complex) materials for more applications. Mainly think of doped and compound oxides, to be deposited on demanding substrates such as trenches and porous foils. The project has a particular focus on gaining insights in the fundamental aspects governing S-ALD film growth.

You will perform your research within the Plasma & Materials (PMP) group at the Applied Physics department of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), within the framework of a NWO OTP (open technology program) project. The research will be conducted at the TU/e, in close collaboration with various S-ALD stakeholders that are mainly situated in the Eindhoven Brainport region.

You will work closely together with other researchers in the PMP group, under the supervision of dr. Bart Macco and prof. dr. ir. Erwin Kessels. Moreover, within this project you will work closely together with a post-doc who will focus on hardware aspects and the synthesis of compound and doped materials. You will mainly study aspects such as film nucleation, growth effects, co-dosing vs. supercycles and the deposition in e.g. 3D structures and porous substrates. You will have ample access to state-of-the-art film metrology, including TEM.

Next to the supervision of BSc and MSc students in their research projects, other assistance in education, e.g. in bachelor courses, is usually included, approximately counting for 5% of your contract time.

• A master's degree (or an equivalent university degree) in (Applied) Physics, Chemistry, Nanotechnologies or Material Science.
• Preferably experience in vapor-phase deposition technologies (ALD, or CVD, PVD) and thin film analytical techniques.
• Interest in nanotechnology, a research-oriented attitude and open to collaborating with industry.
• Ability to work in a team and communicate and present results to the industrial partners.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.

• A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university with the possibility to present your work at international conferences.
• A full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation after one year.
• To support you during your PhD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will have free access to a personal development program for PhD students (PROOF program).
• A gross monthly salary and benefits in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary.
• A broad package of fringe benefits, including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes.
• Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.