Materials exposed to light inevitably suffer from optical damage when the light fluence keeps increasing. When using lasers as light sources, damage can take different forms, ranging from a reasonably gentle separation of layers of different materials (delamination), to violent and explosive removal of material, crater formation and even the formation of a plasma.  In this project you will study the fundamental phyiscs behind light-induced damage within the context of optical metrology in nanolithography. You will learn to work with high power (tunable) femtosecond laser systems, and acquire a deep understanding of nonlinear optics and light-matter interaction at high optical fluences. You will also learn techniques to fabricate nanolayers and nanostructures using nanolithography, and to study pristine and damaged structures on the nanoscale with techniques such as scanning-electron microscopy (SEM), atomic-force microscopy (AFM) and others. Part of your project is to use your experimental results to understand optical damage and to turn the knowledge into (numerical) models that may help predict and mitigate optical damage.

You will need to meet the requirements for an MSc-degree (in Chemistry or Physics and, preferably, experience with (femtosecond) lasers and optics), to ensure eligibility for a Dutch PhD examination. Good communication skills (in English) and a willingness to collaborate with others are an advantage.

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, with a starting salary of gross € 2,441 per month and a range of employment benefits. After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at University of Amsterdam. Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students. ARCNL assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses.

Light-Matter Interaction

The Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL) focuses on the fundamental physics involved in current and future key technologies in nano-lithography, primarily for the semiconductor industry. ARCNL is a public-private partnership between the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), 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 has a size of approximately 100 scientists and support staff. See also www.arcnl.nl.

The goal of the research group Light-Matter Interaction (LMI) is to study the interaction of light with matter within the context of current, and potential future optical metrology applications, such as  laser-induced ultrasonics.  This requires a deeper understanding of the fundamental processes that play a role in the interaction of high power laser light with metals and other materials relevant in semiconductor device manufacturing, We study these processes on time scales ranging from femtoseconds to seconds.