Post doctoral scholarship (two years) in design and characterization of plasmon-enhanced light-emitting electrochemical cells
The Department of Physics at Umeå University is offering a postdoctoral scholarship in the design and characterization of plasmon-enhanced light-emitting electrochemical cells. The scholarship is full-time for two years and the start date is 1 September 2024 or by agreement.
Project Description
Light extraction of thin film emissive devices, such as light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs), is an active research area because of the low efficiency of such conventional planar devices to outcouple light to the far field. Plasmonic excitations, collective oscillations of free electrons in metallic nano-objects driven by electromagnetic radiation, enable control of light scattering with extreme precision and can thus be used as a tool to improve the emission efficiency in devices such as LECs.
The main goal of this project is to show that it is possible to improve the LEC performance by recovering a large amount of the lost power by using plasmon-driven light scattering and waveguiding. Specifically, we aim to redirect at least 50% of the “lost” light emission to the far field, thus making the LEC competitive on the market and enable the development of a stable and green light source. Moreover, this project has the ambition to address other challenges in the field of light-emitting technologies, such as improving device sustainability and stability. For the latter task, we will also study how the decay rate enhancement of a plasmon-exciton system can increase device stability, while maintaining the emission efficiency, by using a diverse set of experimental techniques, including pump-probe spectroscopy and angle-resolved electroluminescence spectroscopy. The project will be implemented in strong collaboration with the group of Prof. Ludvig Edman The Organic Electronics and Photonics Group (umu.se), worldwide expert in LECs at the Department of Physics.
The scholarship is for two years and is financed by WISE-UmU via a generous research grant from Kempestiftelserna. The scholarship amounts to 350,000 SEK per year and is tax-free.
Qualifications
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirements must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the decision of the scholarship recipient.
Priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior to the decision date for the scholarship recipient. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.
Fluency in English is required. The candidate is expected to have strong experience in designing and modelling nanophotonic systems such as plasmonic antennas, metasurfaces and artificial metamaterials among others (using for instance Comsol, Lumerical or CST Studio Suite). Experience with conducting independent research and publishing articles in renowned scientific journals is a strong merit, as is experience in optical characterization of photonic devices, for instance using linear or transient absorption spectroscopy, as well as current-voltage-luminance and angle-resolved electroluminescence spectroscopy. The candidate should be highly motivated and responsible, have good social skills, and should be passionate about positive development both as an individual scientist and within the Ultrafast Nanoscience Unit Ultrafast Nanoscience (umu.se) at Umeå University.
Application
The complete application should include:
Cover letter stating your motivations for applying and summarizing your qualifications for the position, your previous research experience as well as your experience in the areas mentioned above (max. one page),
Curriculum vitae (CV, max. two pages) with publication list,
Verified copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained,
Verified copies of other diplomas, list of completed academic courses and grades,
Copy of doctoral thesis and/or up to three relevant articles,
Other documents that the applicant wishes to claim,
Contact information to two persons willing to act as references.
Submit your application as a PDF marked with the reference number FS 2.1.6-730-24, both in the file name and in the subject field of the email, to medel@diarie.umu.se. The application can be written in English (preferably) or Swedish. Application deadline is 31 May 2024.
