PhD Student (f/m/d) Simulations and Development of new Ultrafast Electron Diffraction Instrument

With cutting-edge research in the fields of ENERGY, HEALTH and MATTER, around 1,500 employees from more than 70 nations at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are committed to mastering the great challenges facing society today.

The Institute for Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research is dedicated to the study of materials and their nanostructures that can be considered for future applications in information technology and are based on electrical, magnetic or optical functionalities. The Institute of Radiation Physics conducts research for states of matter under extreme conditions and in very small dimensions.

In recent years, the technique of ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) has emerged as a powerful experimental tool in the studies of ultrafast phase transitions, new exotic phases of matters, and active control of non-equilibrium properties on a femtosecond timescale. Utilizing a unique UED instrument operating at MeV energies combined with the coherent narrowband THz sources of ELBE would open up a new class of experiments that will be critical to the development and control of new materials that utilize correlated and quantum phases of matter to their full potential.

To achieve this, the Institute of Radiation Physics and the Institute of Ion Beam and Materials Research have coordinated to offer a PhD project to design a novel UED instrument at HZDR, for which we are looking for a PhD Student (f/m/d).

Your tasks

• Work at a world-class international user facility on the development of methods and instrumentation for MeV-UED that will push beyond established capabilities
• Adapt existing x-ray diffraction codes for the analysis of electron diffraction images
• Perform simulations of the interaction of electrons in matter and develop detection schemes based on the outcomes
• Assist in the design and construction of a novel experimental station for MeV-UED
• Bolster and extend collaborative work with other facilities operating in the field of electron diffraction

Your profile

• Excellent university degree (Master/Diploma) in the field of physics, engineering, or material science or related field
• Knowledge and interest in electron-matter interaction or willingness to build an understanding of this field
• Basic understanding of accelerator science
• Well-developed social and communicative skills, ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team
• Programming skills in MATLAB, Python, or similar
• Good English language skills, knowledge of German is beneficial (but not necessary)

Our offer

• A vibrant research community in an open, diverse and international work environment
• Scientific excellence and extensive professional networking opportunities
• A structured PhD program with a comprehensive range of continuing education and networking opportunities - more information about the PhD program at the HZDR can be found here (https://www.hzdr.de/db/Cms?pNid=1908)
• Salary and social benefits in accordance with the collective agreement for the public sector (TVöD-Bund) including 30 days of paid holiday leave, company pension scheme (VBL)
• We support a good work-life balance with the possibility of part-time employment, mobile working and flexible working hours
• Numerous company health management offerings
• Employee discounts with well-known providers via the platform Corporate Benefits
• An employer subsidy for the "Deutschland-Ticket Jobticket"

We look forward to receiving your application documents (including cover letter, CV, diplomas/transcripts, etc.), which you can submit via our online-application-system.