The Faculty of Applied Sciences is the largest faculty of TU Delft, with around 550 scientists, a support staff of 250 and 1,400 students. The faculty conducts fundamental, application-oriented research and offers scientific education at the bachelor, master and doctoral levels. The faculty is active in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Applied Physics.

The Advanced Dutch Energy Materials Innovation Lab (ADEM) programme focuses on fundamental and applied materials research for sustainable energy technologies. The ADEM programme aims to a) accelerate energy research in the Netherlands, b) strengthen the Dutch knowledge and research facilities infrastructure and c) enhance the Dutch (industrial) innovation in new, sustainable energy technologies. The programme is an initiative of the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) and the three Universities of Technology, TU Delft, TU Eindhoven and Universiteit Twente.

Job description

Solar cells have a limited efficiency because the energy of absorbed photons in excess of the bandgap of the solar cell is lost by thermalisation. This well recognised color mismatch problem is the number one loss mechanism in solar cells. An attractive way to solve this problem is to use ‘quantum cutting’ (QC) or conventional spectral conversion materials. Such luminescent materials are able to convert UV and blue photons into two IR photons that are in addition used more efficiently by the solar cell. It has been calculated that by using QC spectral conversion materials, an efficiency gain of 1.25 is possible. The focus will partly be on silicon nitride materials of type M-Si-N and Ln-Si-N (with M=Ca, Sr, Ba and Ln=Y, La, Gd) that will be prepared as powders by solid state synthesis methods and as thin films by AC and DC magnetron sputtering. Deposition of efficient luminescent thin films is an important goal of this project. A series of time- and temperature-resolved optical and luminescence spectroscopy techniques, like a femtosecond laser and a streak camera system, are available to study the dynamical processes in the targeted materials. The project will be carried out at Delft University of Technology in the Faculty of Applied Sciences, in collaboration with the University of Eindhoven.

Requirements

We are looking for an enthusiastic person with a real interest in optical materials and their application in photovoltaics. Above all we seek a skillful experimentalist. Applicants should preferably be experimental physicists or (inorganic) chemists with a background in solid-state physics and/or photonics. Experience with magnetron sputtering techniques is preferred, as is experience with optical or luminescent materials characterisation. Delft University of Technology is a bilingual organisation; a good command of English (written and spoken) is essential.

Conditions of employment

The successful candidate will be employed full-time by TU Delft for a fixed period of four years within which he or she is expected to write a dissertation leading to a doctoral degree (PhD thesis). The starting salary for a PhD is €2042 gross per month increasing to a maximum of €2612 gross per month in the fourth year. 
TU Delft offers an attractive benefits package, including a flexible work week, free high-speed Internet access from home, and the option of assembling a customised compensation and benefits package. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Delft University of Technology strives to increase the number of women in higher academic positions; women are therefore especially encouraged to apply.

Information and application

For more information about this position, please contact Erik van der Kolk, phone: +31 (0)15-2783464, e-mail: e.vanderkolk@tudelft.nl. To apply, please submit a detailed CV, any scientific papers and MSc report if possible, along with a letter of application, by 15 December 2010 via Taleo: https://tbe.taleo.net/NA9/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=FOAS&cws=7&rid=66.
When applying for this position, make sure to mention vacancy number TNWRRR10-028.

Apply Now

Application Deadline : 15 December 2010

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