Lunds universitet, Lunds Tekniska Högskola, Fysiska institutionen

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top universities. The University has around 47 000 students and more than 8 800 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset.

The research at the division of Solid State Physics is focused around different aspects of semiconductor physics, ranging from materials science to quantum physics, to different applications. The division also leads NanoLund, the major interdisciplinary research environment within nanoscience and nanotechnology at Lund University. Lund Nano Lab is a central key facility for fabrication of material and devices on the nanoscale. The division is also heavily involved in the undergraduate education, especially within the “Engineering Nanoscience” program.

In the last decade, our research within the area of one-dimensional semiconductor structures, so called nanowires, has been at the international forefront. So far, our three main areas have been epitaxial growth of nanowires, fundamental properties studied with transport physics and optical physics, and more applied nanoelectronics.

More information is found at: www.ftf.lth.se and www.nano.lu.se

Work duties
The main task for the doctoral student will be to conduct research education which includes work with research but also to master graduate courses.

In this project, you will perform experimental work to study superconductor – semiconductor hybrids. These systems host Majorana states that promise virtually decoherence-free and fault-tolerant quantum computation based on topological protection. Thanks to material and experimental advances achieved during the last years, Majorana zero modes are now routinely observed in multiple research laboratories. Your task is to work in an EU-wide QuantERA project that aims to bring research on Majorana modes to the next level in a twofold way. First, we will develop cleaner InAs-based systems as well as novel InSb systems that allow the integration of multiple Majorana wires, and second, we will optimize fast electronic control and measurements techniques to be directly applied to study the physical properties of Majorana modes and in performing basic quantum operations.

You will have a key role in this project to develop charge detectors for the 2DEG devices, determine parity lifetimes and to fabricate and measure InAs and InSb quantum well devices with epitaxial Al in collaboration with the other project partners and staff at Solid-State Physics division and NanoLund. The overall aim is to realize Majorana states in patterned 2DEG devices and build multi-dot 2DEG devices and demonstrate non-abelian properties of the Majorana states in collaboration with the project consortium.

Admission requirements
A formal requirement for doctoral studies in physics is:

  • a University degree on advanced level within a related field, such as a Master's degree in physics or equivalent, or
  • substantial advanced course work at the Master lever, or comparable, including an independent research project.

Furthermore, the acceptance is based on the estimated ability to accomplish postgraduate studies.

A person meets the specific admission requirements if he or she has

  1. at least 30 credits of relevance to the subject, including at least 15 second-cycle credits, and a second-cycle degree project of 15 credits of relevance to the field, which in turn can be part of an exam in, for example, physical chemistry or biophysics, or
  2. an MSc in engineering in engineering physics or an associated field, or a Master’s degree in physics or an associated field

Other requirements:

  • Very good knowledge in spoken and written English is a requirement
  • Good knowledge of quantum physics, ideally on quantum information, quantum dot structures or superconducting systems

Assessment criteria
Selection to postgraduate studies is based on the expected ability to perform well in the studies. The evaluation of the ability to perform well is based primarily on the results of studies at the basic and advanced levels, in particular:

  1. Knowledge and skills relevant to postgraduate studies within this area, such as a broad and thorough preparation in physics. This can be documented by appended documents.
  2. Estimated ability to work independently and the ability to formulate and solve scientific questions. This ability can be established, for example, based on undergraduate research experiences, a masters thesis or in a discussion of scientific problems during a possible interview.
  3. Skills in written and oral communication.
  4. Other experience relevant to postgraduate studies, such as professional experience.

Other assessment criteria:

We expect that your undergraduate studies include courses in solid state physics, quantum physics and material physics. The research is to a large extent interdisciplinary, and a broad competence profile and experiences from relevant areas of physics and nanoscience are of special value. The ability for skillful laboratory work is essential as well as problem solving with analytical thinking and ability to perform numerical and analytical calculations.

Important personal qualities are, beside creativity and a curious mind, the ability to work both independently and in a group and experience in the scientific interaction with researchers from other disciplines and in other countries.

Terms of employment
A PhD position is an employment with the main duty to be engaged in PhD studies according to the study plan. The duration of PhD studies is 4 years full time studies. In addition, those appointed to doctoral student position may be required to work with educational tasks, research and technical/administrative duties at a level of at most 20% of full time. The position is then extended correspondingly, however not longer than corresponding to 5 years full time employment. PhD positions are subject to special regulations. These can be found in the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance (SFS 1993:100, ch. 5, with updates). Only those admitted to third cycle studies may be appointed to a doctoral studentship.

Instructions on how to apply
Applications shall be written in English and include a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the position and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background. The application must also contain a CV, degree certificate or equivalent, and other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.). Applicants are also required to answer the job specific questions in the final step of the application process.

Type of employment Temporary position
First day of employment Snarast
Salary Monthly salary
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100 %
City Lund
County Skåne län
Country Sweden
Reference number PA2018/3064
Contact
  • Ville Maisi, Biträdande universitetslektor, +46 46 222 4363 E-mail: ville.maisi@ftf.lth
Union representative
  • OFR/ST:Fackförbundet ST:s kansli, 046-222 93 62
  • SACO:Saco-s-rådet vid Lunds universitet, 046-222 93 64
Published 20.Sep.2018
Last application date 11.Oct.2018 11:59 PM CEST

Return to job vacancies