PhD student position in "Flash-lamp annealing of Li-containing oxides"

Materials science and technology are our passion. With our cutting-edge research, Empa's around 1,100 employees make essential contributions to the well-being of society for a future worth living. Empa is a research institution of the ETH Domain.

The Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics is internationally known for innovative research in the field of thin-film solar calls and thin-film solid-state batteries. One of research topics is the method of flash-lamp annealing ( FLA, also called intense pulsed light or photonic curing ), which is used for thermal processing of thin films with xenon flash lamp. Over the last years, we have successfully applied FLA to crystallize thin films of TCOs (In2O3, In-Zn-Ga-O), refractory ceramics (Al2O3), and Li-based cathodes (LCO, LMO). Within the project funded by the Swiss National Foundation , we would like to unveil the mechanism of FLA for sintering wide-band gap ceramics, with a particular focus on Li-containing oxides that can be used as cathodes in solid-state thin-film batteries.

Your tasks

We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate, who is eager to pursue hands-on, exploratory PhD research. This includes deposition of the precursor layers, thorough FLA processing, and extensive materials characteri-zation using XRD, electron microscopies, TOF-SIMS, electrochemical methods, etc. Modeling and simulations should help us to explain experimental findings and to identify the optimum FLA parameters for a given material with minimum iterations. The promising materials will be integrated into thin-film battery devices.

Your profile

Our offer

The work will be carried out at Empa - Dübendorf, located near Zurich, and should lead to a PhD degree from EPF Lausanne. Expected starting date is Fall 2025 or upon mutual agreement.

We live a culture of inclusion and respect. We welcome all people who are interested in innovative, sustainable and meaningful activities - that's what counts.

We look forward to receiving your complete online application including a letter of motivation, CV, certificates, diplomas and contact details of two reference persons. Please submit these exclusively via our job portal. Applications by e-mail and by post will not be considered.

Cristina Marinoni , Bereichspersonalleiterin / HR Partner