Dr. Sushanta Barman
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics (DNAP)
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai
Contact: sushanta.barman@tifr.res.in
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics (DNAP)
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai
Contact: sushanta.barman@tifr.res.in
Academic Background
2018 - 2025: PhD, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, India, Thesis title: "Studies on plasma-based variable energy focused ion beams: Particle and wave phenomena," Thesis Supervisor- Prof. Sudeep Bhattacharjee
2016 - 2018: Master of Science (Physics), Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, India
2013 - 2016: Bachelor of Science (Physics), Dinhata College, University of North Bengal, India
Research Experience
2026 - Present: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai
2025 - 2026: Fellow of Academic and Research Excellence (FARE), Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, India
2018 - 2025: PhD Research Fellow, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, India
Areas of Research
Postdoctoral research (Currently at TIFR, Mumbai): I am currently exploring ultracold atom–ion interactions in a hybrid trapping system, where ions confined in a Paul trap are sympathetically cooled using ultracold atoms prepared in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). The goal is to access the quantum collision regime. This work is part of ongoing research at the Ultracold Atoms and Molecules Laboratory, TIFR Mumbai, under the guidance of Prof. Sourav Dutta.
PhD (IIT Kanpur): Development of high-current ion beams from microwave plasma sources for nano-scale focusing.
Studied nonlinear demagnification due to plasma sheath effects near extraction apertures with sizes below the Debye length.
Achieved nano-scale (~160 nm) high-intensity beam control using micro-capillary guiding.
Investigated matter-wave diffraction of ions and its applications in quantum sensing and precision measurements. [more details]
Research Patent
Sudeep Bhattacharjee, Sanjeev Kumar Maurya, and Sushanta Barman, "Plasma-based focused ion beam system for reducing ion beam size using plasma sheath nonlinearity", Indian patent number 548562, issued on 23 August 2024.
Awards and Recognitions
Received the Fellowship for Academic and Research Excellence (FARE) from IIT Kanpur in 2025.
Received SERB-International Travel Grant Award - 2023. Attending the ICPIG XXXV International Conference on the Phenomena of Ionized Gases (ICPIG), Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands, July 9 - 14, 2023.
Received the BEST POSTER AWARD in the 6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Physics (AAPPS-DPP 2022) (International Conference), held from 9th October to 14th October 2022. The title of the poster was "Controlled guiding and focusing of high current plasma ion beams by micro-glass capillaries: Quantum beams for physics and applications."
Received the BEST POSTER AWARD in the 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Physics (AAPPS-DPP 2020) (International Conference), held from 26th October to 31st October 2020. The title of the poster was "Observation of Nonlinear Demagnification in Plasma-based Ion beam Optics."
Professional Associations
Member of the Association of Asia-Pacific Physical Societies, Division of Plasma Physics (AAPPS-DPP) from 2020 to present.
Member of the Plasma Science Society of India (PSSI) from 2019 to present.
Professional Activities
Reviewer of Physica Scripta, published by IOPscience.
Reviewer of Measurement Science and Technology, published by IOPscience.
Updates
April 8, 2026: I delivered an online guest lecture at VIT Chennai titled “When matter Acts like waves: From quantum ideas to modern technology."
March, 2026: I joined as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Ultracold Atoms and Molecules Laboratory, Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics (DNAP), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.
February, 2025: I joined as a Fellow under the Fellowship of Academic and Research Excellence (FARE) at the Department of Physics, IIT Kanpur, and began working under the supervision of Prof. Sudeep Bhattacharjee on matter-wave optics of cryogenic ion beams.
January, 2025: I submitted my PhD thesis titled “Studies on plasma-based variable-energy focused ion beams: particle and wave phenomena.”
November 2024: I delivered an invited talk titled “Generation of high-intensity nano ion beams using plasma sheath nonlinearity and micro-glass capillary guiding” at the 8th Annual Conference of the Division of Plasma Physics of the Association of Asia Pacific Physics Society (AAPPS-DPP 2024), held at Grand Swiss-Bel Hotel, Malacca, Malaysia.