Missions

We are seeking to hire a research engineer M/W for the 18-month duration of the ERC Proof of Concept grant AMELI (principal investigator: Aloyse Degiron). AMELI aims at developing a family of out-of-equilbrium carrier devices that operate on a metamaterial technology discovered by the PI during the course of his ERC-CoG project. This metamaterial technology does not rely on a P-N junction (or one of its many derivatives) to create electricity, giving access to a parameter space that is different from that of traditional solar cells. The research engineer that will be hired will assess the potential for disruption of this approach, maximize the performances and propose a first photovoltaic or photodetector prototype at the end of the project.

Activités

-The work will encompass electromagnetic simulations, nanofabrication and optical and electrical characterization of innovative photovoltaic devices and/or photodetectors. In more details, electromagnetic simulations will be performed with commercial code (Comsol). Nanofabrication will include fabrication steps in a cleanroom (optical and e-beam lithography, metal and dielectric deposition) and others in a glovebox. The devices will be characterized with sourcemeters (I-V curves, transfer curves in FET configuration), optical photoluminescence benches and a small solar simulator.
The general workplan is to build on the preliminary results already gathered by the team who has demonstrated an original way to generate electricity with layers of colloidal quantum dots interacting with judiciously designed metamaterials. The first weeks/months will be devoted to perfect the understanding on the first generation of devices and to assess their limitations and potential for photovoltatics and/or photosensing. Next, improvements or radical rethinking of the concept will be made, so as to choose the right set of active material, metamaterial geometry and architecture to maximize the efficiency of the devices. Finally, one or more proof-of-concept demonstrators will be fabricated and characterized. Patenting and writing scientific papers is expected along the way.

Compétences

We are looking for a highly motivated individual with both numerical and experimental skills. A previous experience in cleanroom fabrication, quantum-dot based optoelectonics and/or photovoltaics is a requisite. A strong aptitude for working autonomously would also be highly valued. Moreover, the successful candidate should possess high proficiency in effectively communicating his/her findings through patents and scientific papers.

Contexte de travail

The laboratory « Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques » (Quantum Materials and Phenomena) is a joint research unit (UMR) of University Paris Diderot and CNRS. It involves about 120 people in total with a permanent staff of about 55.
The laboratory specializes in the study of frontier quantum materials and in the development of novel quantum devices. These activities rely on a large spectrum of theoretical and experimental expertise in material physics, transport and optics, and technological platforms of clean-room fabrication, spectroscopy and high-resolution electronic microscopy.

Contraintes et risques

The successful candidate will work in a cleanroom. This platform of 150m² has all the equipment needed to perform micro- nano- devices : we have installations for e-beam and optical lithography, wet etching and dry, metal and dielectric deposition. The candidate will also work in the dark for some of the optical characterization.