This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP). NIST recognizes that its research staff may want to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest and, therefore, requires those institutions to be recipients of a PREP award. The PREP program involves staff from a wide range of backgrounds conducting scientific research across various fields. Individuals in this position will perform technical work supporting the collaboration's scientific research.
Research Title:
Thermoreflectance Thermal Property Measurements (Candidates must be eligible to obtain a Department of Commerce background check for facility access.)
The work will entail:
The Materials Measurement Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking qualified persons (U.S. Citizens Preferred) to validate and improve thermoreflectance optical pump-probe thermal-property measurement methods, develop and refine instrumentation, optimize protocols, and provide thermal property data for thin-film and multilayer materials that can improve the performance, reliability, and thermal management in microelectronics packages and wide bandgap power electronics. The researcher will work closely with NIST experts in optics, thermal metrology, scientific instrument design, and uncertainty analysis.
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Designing, building, operating, and/or refining pump-probe instrumentation
- Operating and developing physics-based analysis software
- Measuring thermal property data for internal and external collaborators and stakeholders
- Depositing and characterizing thin films in the NIST NanoFab
- Presenting results at internal and/or external meetings as required
- Writing and publishing results
Required Skills, Expertise and Qualifications:
- Ph.D. in physics, optics, materials science/engineering, or other related field
- Experience in designing, building, and operating thermoreflectance-based measurement instrumentation
- Experience in thermal metrology, thermal analysis, and optics
- Experience in thin film deposition and thin film characterization
- Experience with data modeling and programming (MATLAB required)
- Expertise in semiconductor manufacturing processes and device failure analysis
- Experience working in cleanrooms
- Ability to work collaboratively and independently
- Strong oral and written communication skills
The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that does not unlawfully discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.