Missions

Unconventional superconductivity in strongly correlated electron systems is one of the major issues of the century with obvious energy saving applications through enabling lossless electrical conduction. Understanding the mechanism of high temperature superconductivity in cuprates has in particular been the holy grail for now more than thirty-five years. An approach to solve this enigma has been to examine neighbouring compounds for similarities and differences, and infer which characteristic plays a crucial role in facilitating superconductivity. The recent observation of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates thin films [1] has finally given a happy outcome to this more than twenty years of sustained experimental efforts devoted to mimicking the hallmarks of cuprates superconductivity. Superconducting 20% at. Sr-doped NdNiO2 (NSNO2) infinite layer nickelates have been obtained through a topotactic reduction of perovskite R0.8Sr0.2NiO3 (RSNO3) thin films by calcium hydride (CaH2)[1]. This reduction reaction, despite considerable efforts from the community, is still not fully understood and mastered. The objective of this project is to shed light of both the geometry, the electronic structure and magnetic properties of these films at different levels of oxygen doping (different levels of reduction).

Activities

- Study of the geometry, the electronic structure and the magnetism of Nickelates as a function of the doping level, using DFT.
- Study of the effect of the substrate and the capping layer.
- Study of the effect of an electric field.
- Strudy of the magnetic structure at different doping levels.

Skills

The candidate will have a PhD in theoretical condensed matter Physics or in material quantum chemistry.
He must have a solid knowledge of density functional theory.
Kowkedge of the strongly correlated systems will also be required.
Knowledge in crystallographie, superconductivity and/or magnetism will be apreciated.

Work Context

The candidate will work within a interlaboratory project in close collaboration with experimentalists. He will be under the supervision of Marie-Bernadette Lepetit.
The researcher will be integrated in the Condensed Matter Theory group (26 members, including permanent and non-permanent staff) of the Condensed Matter – Low Temperatures (MCBT) department.

The Institut NÉEL is a CNRS unit (UPR 2940) under agreement with the University Grenoble Alpes. The laboratory is related to the CNRS Physique. It is located in Grenoble, in the heart of a unique scientific, industrial and cultural environment. It is one of the largest French national research institutes for fundamental research in condensed matter physics enriched by interdisciplinary activities at the interfaces with chemistry, engineering and biology. It consists of 450 employees, including 175 researchers.

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.