PhD candidate

[2022.05.19] Ph.D Candidate position at Phenikaa University

Project: “Atmospheric plasma enhanced spatial atomic layer deposition of functional nanocoatings” (Ph.D co-supervised by Dr. Viet Huong Nguyen & Dr. Duc Nam Nguyen)

Job Description:

In many industrial fields, the application of a functional nanocoating of metal oxide such as SiO₂, Al₂O₃, TiO₂, SnO₂, Cu₂O, ZrO₂, etc. over a surface can greatly enhance its properties in different aspects. For instance, the surface can exhibit hydrophobicity, UV-protective performance, and humidity blocking barrier. The development of a low-cost, solvent-free, and high-throughput fabrication technique that allows precise control of the deposited quantity of materials is highly required. Such requirements can be achieved using atmospheric pressure spatial atomic layer deposition (SALD), which is indeed a unique variation of ALD technology that allows depositing conformal metal oxide at remarkably high throughput with an excellent possibility to control the coating thickness down to sub-nanometer level.¹ The main success factor of the ALD process lies in the chemical design of ALD precursors, which should satisfy simultaneously several requirements: volatility, thermal stability, high reactivity, and a self-terminating reaction with the solid surface. But in most cases, the high reactivity of ALD precursors comes along with their high-cost, unsafe handling (pyrophoric, explosive, corrosive…). Conversely, the use of precursors of lower reactivity might lead to the use of a high thermal budget for surface reactions, which is not appropriate for polymer-containing substrates. In this context, the development of atmospheric cold plasma coupled with SALD is an excellent pathway,^2,3 opening the possibility of using low-cost and safe metalorganic ALD precursors for functional nanocoatings at high-throughput and low temperatures.

In the framework of a research project funded by Phenikaa Innovation Foundation, we plan to develop functional nanocoatings of metal oxides using cold plasma technology integrated within an SALD compact head. The Ph.D. candidate will work on the development of the cold plasma-integrated SALD head for different metal precursors at the lab scale and industrial-scale level. The candidate will also be involved in functional material fabrication and characterization. The candidate is a highly self-motivated individual with a strong experimental background in thin films technology and plasma technology.

Applicant Profile

Ideal candidate should have a Master’s degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Materials Science, or related fields, have high motivation and a standard attitude in doing research, and be able to communicate - verbally and in writing - to a high standard in English. Experience in thin film technologies, and/or plasma technology is highly appreciated.

Contract: fixed-term contract of 36 months (tuition: free, attractive salary). Start date: 01/08/2022 (or when the position is filled).

Application procedure: please send motivation letter, CV and contact details of 2 references to huong.nguyenviet@phenikaa-uni.edu.vn or nam.nguyenduc@phenikaa-uni.edu.vn

References:

1) Nguyen, V. H.* et al., Impact of Precursor Exposure on Process Efficiency and Film Properties in Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition. Chemical Engineering Journal 2021, 403, 126234.

2) Nguyen, V. H.* et al., Atmospheric Plasma-Enhanced Spatial Chemical Vapor Deposition of SiO₂ Using Trivinyl-methoxysilane and Oxygen Plasma. Chemistry of Materials 2020, 32 (12), 5153–5161.

3) Nguyen, D.-N.* et al., Fabrication of Highly Oriented Piezoelectric Nanofibers Using a Low Cost and Lab-Scale Electrospinning System, Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science. (2022) 139–148