PhD Student Position in Fabrication and Characterization of Plasmonic Crystals for Solar Energy

Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne; Schweiz; On-site; CHF 42,000 - 54,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

International research environment

PhD supervision available

Competitive doctoral stipend

Job summary

EPFL in Lausanne is seeking a PhD student to advance nanostructured materials for solar energy applications. You will lead your own dissertation within an international team, designing and conducting experiments, analyzing data and publishing results.

The position offers an international research environment, supervision of your PhD project, and long-term project funding to complete the four-year doctoral program.

Qualifications

• Assume full responsibility for your PhD dissertation.
• Perform research in close collaboration with lab members and international partners.
• Design and execute experiments.
• Analyze and interpret experimental results.
• Write scientific articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Present at international conferences.
• Contribute to teaching, coach Master students and provide basic administrative support.

Responsibilities

• Present at international conferences.
• Contribute to teaching and coach Master students and provide basic administrative support.

Job description

Organisation/Company Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne Research Field Physics Engineering » Microengineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 29 Nov 2026 - 23:27 (UTC) Country Switzerland Type of Contract Other Job Status Other Hours Per Week 42 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Research Group SCI-ENAC-AS: Nanotechnology for Solar Energy Conversion

In our research group, we develop novel micro- and nanostructured smart materials for active and passive solar energy applications being integrated into the building envelope. We focus on thin films, because these allow covering a large surface area with a small quantity of raw material - and we focus on their electronic and optical properties, because these closely interrelated properties are most important for the use of solar energy.

We are seeking a candidate with experience in preparation and experimental characterization of nanostructured materials to join our SNSF project 'Coupled oscillations in plasmonic crystals'.

In this project, we focus on the effects of coupling of plasmonic oscillations in metallic micro-/nanostructures. It might be possible to achieve plasmonic crystals featuring broad frequency bands of extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) in the UV-VIS-NIR spectral range. The insights from this project will have considerable impact on the fields of photovoltaics, flat screens and flexible displays, as well as energy efficient OLED lighting, electrochromic devices and energy-efficient insulating glazing.

Requirements

As a PhD Student, you will be expected to:

• Assume full responsibility for your PhD dissertation;
• Perform research in close collaboration with other lab members and international collaborators;
• Design and execute experiments;
• Analyze and interpret experimental results;
• Write scientific articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals;
• Present at international conferences;
• Contribute to teaching, coach Master students and provide basic administrative support.

Profile

• An excellent Master's-level degree in Micro-/Nanotechnology, Physics, Materials Science, Energy, or a related quantitative field
• A strong background in several of the following fields: reactive magnetron sputtering, electron-beam lithography, UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometry, ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and/or photoelectron spectroscopies (XPS, UPS)
• A sincere interest in micro-/nanostructures, electronic and optical material properties, plasmonics and solar energy
• Proficiency in English (French is a plus)
• Strong motivation for academic research, critical thinking, independence, good self-management skills, and excellent team spirit
• Interest in a career involving research and teaching is an asset

We offer

• A stable position for up to 4 years in order to complete your PhD;
• Term of employment: 1-year fixed-term contract (CDD), renewable for 4 years
• An international research environment
• Individual and intensive supervision of your PhD project
• Financial support in accordance with EPFL doctoral student conditions
• The opportunity to work on innovative materials in a laboratory with a cutting-edge equipment