Open PhD Position in Interface engineering for the next future well-performing organic devices

Job Description

When Herbert Kroemer (Nobel Prize in Physics) coined the famous phrase “the interface is the device”, he referred to the success of devices based on thin inorganic semiconductor films for photonic and electronic applications that started more than four decades ago. This statement also holds for organic semiconductors, which are predestined by deposition on large-area and flexible substrates to be the electrically and optically active layers with important applications in electronics, lighting, photovoltaics, and displays.

A good number of interfaces (organic/organic and organic/inorganic) are inherent to all organic electronic devices and, because of their relevant role in device performance, Kroemer’s phrase can be extended: “The interfaceS are the organic deviceS”. With that certainty added to the experience and of the Physical Chemistry of Surfaces and Interfaces (PCSI) group, we offer a doctoral position.

The doctoral project (*) aims to obtain structural control of organic semiconductors thin films for the near future manufacture of more reliable organic electronic devices. The proposal points to a detailed microscopic understanding of:

1. Crystallography
2. Polymorphism
3. Role of interfaces
4. Conditions for a good thermal stability of thin films prepared by various physical and chemical methodologies

Furthermore, the use of multi-component thin films (e.g., donor/acceptor organics) and proper fabrication protocols will allow obtaining co-crystalline charge transfer complexes (CTC) thin films, paving the way for applications in NIR photo-detection and photo-thermal conversion. Taking advantage of the relevant role that the PCSI group plays in the SPM platform, the doctoral thesis will include the combination of state-of-the-art methodologies for correlative and in-situ experiments.

In particular, in-situ and real-time characterization during thin film growth and/or post-growth treatments (e.g., thermal and solvent annealing) using diverse modes of scanning probe microscopy, one of the most versatile characterization tools in nanoscience, combined with powerful X-ray synchrotron techniques.

Application Process

Candidates with a good background and motivated attitude for experimental tasks must hold a Master’s degree in materials science, physics, nanoscience, nanotechnology, or related fields at the moment of the formal application. We encourage interested candidates to send a CV and motivation letter to the following researchers:

The doctoral position will be financed under project PID-NB-I00.

About ICMAB

The ICMAB is a multidisciplinary research center focused on cutting-edge research in functional advanced materials in the fields of ENERGY, ELECTRONICS, NANOMEDICINE, and application fields yet to imagine. The ICMAB is integrated within the Barcelona Nanocluster in Bellaterra (BNC-b), a research network that includes the UAB, the CSIC (ICMAB, IMB-CNM, and ICN2) and IRTA, part of the UAB Research Park of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (PRUAB) and the ALBA Synchrotron. The BNC-b aims to share advanced scientific equipment and promote and disseminate nanoscience and nanotechnology.

The ICMAB offers a complete range of scientific services, including a 10-class cleanroom (the Nanoquim Platform) that are open to interested parties, whether these are academic or from industry, and it participates in all kinds of educational and promotional activities. Many ICMAB researchers teach at the UAB Master's degree in Nanotechnology and Materials Science and also on the UAB degree on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

Further information