1 PhD position on Strain Analysis in Germany | Technische Universität Dresden

The Research Training Group 1621 (Graduiertenkolleg GRK 1621) "itinerant magnetism and superconductivity in intermetallic compounds", at TU Dresden, founded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), invites applications for a

PhD position (E 13 TV-L)

in the field of strain analysis

which entails 75 % of the fulltime weekly hours. Employment is expected to begin at the earliest on June 1, 2014. The position will be offered first until September 30, 2015, with the possibility of extension to a total of up to 36 months (subject to granted funds). The period of employment is governed by the Fixed Term Research Contracts Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz – WissZeitVG).

Place of work will be the Department of Physics, Institute of Structural Physics, group of Prof. Dr. Werner Skrotzki.

Within the DFG Research Training Group (Graduiertenkolleg) GRK 1621, many researchers from TU Dresden, the Max Planck Institutes for Chemical Physics of Solids and for the Physics of Complex Systems, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW Dresden) and the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory (HLD) at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) cooperate in a coordinated research initiative.

Tasks: The application of tensile strain by thin film production using pulsed laser deposition can play a major role in suppressing the spin-density wave state and achieving superconductivity in BaFe2As2. The aim of this PhD project is to find ways to manipulate the strain and to analyse the influence of strain in FeSe0.5T0.5 and other iron pnictide systems in thin films produced by pulsed laser deposition. Since it is well known, that defects and texture in thin films can significantly alter the mechanical as well as electronic properties, a microstructural analysis using scanning and transmission electron microscopy is compulsory. Global and local strain analysis should be performed using X-ray and electron diffraction techniques, respectively.

Requirements: Excellent Diploma or Master’s university degree in chemistry, physics or materials science, with basic knowledge in metal physics, X-ray diffraction and SEM microscopy. Interest and ability for interdisciplinary research and cooperation with experimental physicists and theorists in the GRK 1621 are expected, as well as proficiency in English language and organisational skills.

Applications from women are particularly welcome. The same applies to people with disabilities.