Laser Absorption is an advanced sensing technique that determines the presence of a particular substance in a sample and, in many cases, is used to quantify amount fractions of probed species. Measuring and controlling nitrous oxide (N ₂ O) gas is crucial for understanding climate change. N ₂ O in the atmosphere has an extremely large global warming potential, therefore called as super climate pollutant. Although still present at trace gas quantities in the atmosphere, N ₂ O is about 300 times more potent than CO ₂ in terms of warming effect with an ever since increasing abundance in the atmosphere.

This project offers a unique opportunity to work on the development and optimization of Laser Absortption Spectroscopy instrumentation and spectroscopic analysis techniques to improve the accuracy and metrological traceability of N ₂ O concentrations. You will be involved in research and development of hardware and software for laser spectroscopy.

Scope:

Develop a laser absorption spectroscopy instrument for analyzing and evaluating N ₂ O concentrations in different gas samples. This involves the assembly of the optical components of the spectrometer and the development of spectral processing algorithms that enable online and postprocessing, analysis, and assessment of the measured specta.

Your profile:

· Enrolled in a Master’s program in Physics, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science, or a related field.

· Skilled in data processing and analysis – experience with spectral or gas sensing.

· Proficient in programming languages commonly used in spectal analysis (e.g., Python, Matlab, LabView).

· Familiar with algorithms for spectral analysis.

· Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.

· Excellent communication skills for presenting findings and collaborating with the research team.

Place of employment:

Braunschweig, Abt. 3 "Chemische Physik und Explosionsschutz"

The project will jointly be supervised by the TU Braunschweig and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). The experimental work will be carried out mostly at PTB.

Your application:

Dr. Zhechao Qu, zhechao.qu@ptb.de.