Research Fellow - EUV Nanophotonics & Nanopatterning

About the role

The LUMINOUS! Centre of Excellence for Semiconductor Lighting and Displays at NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is seeking a Research Fellow in EUV Nanophotonics and Nanopatterning for an NRF Competitive Research Programme project. The Fellow will fabricate chip-scale, free-electron-driven EUV sources and ~10 nm electron-beam-lithography masks, integrate them with vacuum and electron-optical systems, and lead the first proof-of-concept demonstration of EUV nanopatterning.

Key responsibilities

• Design and assemble high-vacuum and UHV systems, custom chambers and optical setups for free-electron light interaction and EUV generation.
• Develop and fabricate chip-scale EUV emitters, including cathode nanostructures (ZnO, graphene, carbon nanotubes) and Si/Mo multilayer anodes, using sputtering, CVD and high-vacuum bonding/sealing.
• Design and fabricate EUV nanopatterning masks (Si3N4 membrane on Si) via electron-beam lithography and metal dry-etching to ~10 nm features.
• Characterize electron beams and devices, including cold-cathode field emission testing, and measure EUV brightness and coherence.
• Integrate nanostructures into vacuum environments, align and package EUV-emitting devices and masks, and run proof-of-concept demonstrations with sub-10 nm alignment.
• Manage lab and cleanroom safety, mentor PhD and MSc students and research assistants, and publish, present and document the project.

Required profile

• PhD and prior postdoctoral experience in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Applied Physics, Nanotechnology, Photonics or a related field.
• Significant experience with electron beam systems (SEMs/TEMs or custom electron guns) and beam-matter interactions.
• Experience in EUV or soft X-ray work (synchrotron beamlines or HHG) and familiarity with EUV detectors (CCDs, MCPs) and grazing incidence optics.
• Proven track record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals and strong scientific writing.
• Leadership, safety compliance and mentoring experience, and ability to troubleshoot first-of-a-kind systems.

Required skills

• High-vacuum and UHV system design, maintenance and chip-scale device packaging.
• Nanofabrication: electron-beam lithography, photolithography, sputtering, CVD, reactive-ion or metal dry etching.
• Fabrication and characterization of multilayer thin films and membranes (e.g. Si3N4).
• Cold cathode fabrication and field emission characterization, or nanophotonics characterization (FIB, COMSOL, Ansys, MEEP).