Missions

Characterization of rare-gas plasma (He, Ar) created inside PDMS catheter tubes commonly used for urinary catheterization, with the addition of oxygen and/or water vapor.
Parametric study as a function of molecular concentration and internal tube diameter: effect of added molecules on the spatio-temporal dynamics and propagation length of the ionization wave, production of O and OH radicals, and the plasma's effect on the material.
Understanding the underlying physical phenomena with a view to optimizing the internal surface of the tube for antibacterial anti-biofilm functionality.

Activities

Experimental work.
Design and construction of the experimental setup. Implementation of a range of experimental diagnostics: intensified fast imaging (ICCD), optical emission and absorption spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry.
Data processing. Analysis of results. Writing of reports and communications. Writing of scientific articles.

Skills

Essential strong background: physics of pulsed electrical discharges, kinetics and reactivity of cold plasmas, time-resolved electrical and optical measurements, intensified fast imaging, optical spectroscopy (emission, laser absorption).
Additional appreciated knowledge: CI-FTICR mass spectrometry.
Ability to work in a team, good written and oral communication skills in English.

Work Context

This work will be an integral part of a collaborative research program between various CNRS and university laboratories, funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). The work will take place at the Laboratoire de Physique des Gaz et des Plasmas (LPGP), within the DIREBIO team, in a sector subject to scientific and technical protection (PPST), and therefore requires, in accordance with regulations, hiring authorization from the competent authority of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR).
The Laboratoire de Physique des Gaz et des Plasmas (LPGP) in Orsay, created in 1965, is a Joint Research Unit (UMR 8578) under the dual supervision of the CNRS and the University of Paris-Saclay. Located within the Faculty of Science of the University of Paris-Saclay in Orsay, LPGP is the oldest university plasma physics laboratory in France. It is also one of the largest, with around 60 members. A generalist laboratory, LPGP's activities cover both high-temperature plasmas, with a major focus on laser-plasma interactions at very high intensity and laser-plasma acceleration, and low-temperature non-equilibrium plasmas.
The DIREBIO team mainly works on non-equilibrium (cold) electrical discharges at atmospheric or near-atmospheric pressure (0.1 – 10 bar) and their applications. The team develops new cold plasma sources (micro-discharges and plasma jets for biomedicine and organic molecule conversion, diffuse nanosecond corona discharges for depollution and combustion triggering, etc.) and collaborates with researchers from other disciplines, in France and abroad (Biology: interaction of reactive species with living matter, oncology; Physical Chemistry: characterization of complex gas mixtures by mass spectrometry; Process Engineering: treatment of gaseous pollutants; Solid-state Physics: new materials for electronics). DIREBIO includes experimentalists working with homogeneous discharge models and developing numerical tools to aid in the interpretation of experiments. The team collaborates with modeling groups to elucidate the most complex physico-chemical phenomena.
This position falls within a sector covered by the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore, according to regulations, your appointment must be authorized by the competent MESR authority.

The position is located in a sector under the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore requires, in accordance with the regulations, that your arrival is authorized by the competent authority of the MESR.

Constraints and risks

Confidentiality is required.
This position falls within a sector covered by the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore, according to regulations, your appointment must be authorized by the competent MESR authority.