Postdoctoral Position in Materials Physics

Uppsala University - Department of Physics and Astronomy

Uppsala, Sweden

Duties

The Postdoctoral researcher will be affiliated with the Division of Material Physics and be part of a group working with neutron scattering methods. Employment will be in Uppsala with extended stays at the ISIS Neutron and Muon source near Oxford (UK) and the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund (Sweden). ISIS and ESS together represent the forefront of neutron science, combining decades of operational excellence with next-generation source and instrument development. ISIS is a globally leading multi-disciplinary facility where curiosity-driven research meets application-led science and engineering, while ESS—currently preparing for operation and instrument finalisation—will be the world’s most powerful neutron source, built as a partnership of 13 European member countries. The position offers a unique opportunity to work in highly collaborative, international environments alongside world-leading scientists, engineers, and technicians, contributing from an early stage to cutting-edge instrumentation and scientific discovery with broad societal, technological, and scientific impact.

The Postdoctoral researcher will utilize Spin–Echo Modulated Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SEMSANS) to extend accessible length scales beyond that of the conventional SANS and to obtain spatially resolved scattering signals by dark-field imaging. SEMSANS uses polarised neutrons to encode small scattering angles without the need for a highly collimated neutron beam and measures the autocorrelation function over mesoscopic length scales, probing structural features from the micrometer range down to the nanometer regime. The method relies on spatial modulation of the neutron beam’s polarisation using a pair of magnetic Wollaston prisms - superconducting triangular field regions - placed upstream of the sample. The Postdoctoral researcher will work on the design and implementation of the Wollaston prisms and a spin exchange optically pumped (SEOP) neutron spin analyser, both will be developed on a test beamline at ISIS. Once implemented, the new capabilities will be exploited on the already operating instruments Larmor and IMAT at ISIS. When ESS becomes operational with its novel long neutron pulse, the setup will be integrated and used on the dedicated imaging instrument ODIN and the SANS instrument SKADI. This will enable unique studies on mapping flux lattices in intermediate mixed-state superconductors, characterizing vesicles in model cell systems, and resolving hierarchical cellulose microstructures in collaboration with the project partners.

Requirements

• Applicants must hold a PhD in physics, materials, or a similar area of science and have the following skills:
  • Strong documented interest in material science
  • Understanding of scattering techniques.
  • Experience with instrumentation and experimental work performed at photon or neutron user facilities or similar.
  • Proficiency in Python for data treatment and evaluation.
  • Excellent communication skills in English, writing and speaking, are required. Non-Swedish speaking candidates are encouraged to learn Swedish during employment.
  • Documented experience of presenting scientific results both orally and in writing.
  • Publications in relevant subject areas in internationally recognized scientific journals.
  • The ability and willingness to travel internationally and work abroad for an extended period is mandatory for this position.

Additional qualifications

• Experience with small angle scattering, imaging, polarised neutrons and spin manipulation techniques like neutron spin echo methods or other advanced scattering techniques like coherent diffractive imaging and phase contrast imaging.
• Proficiency in development and commissioning of instrumentation.
• Experience of research in an international environment, and scientific project leading.
• Proficiency in working in multidisciplinary environments.