Type:
Intern
Contract type:
Internship
Duration:
4-6 months
Place:
Belvaux
As a key player in research and innovation in Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), with its employees, is active in the domains of materials, the environment and IT. As an RTO (Research and Technology Organisation) and with its interdisciplinary impact-driven approach, LIST contributes to the development of Luxembourg’s economy and society. The Materials Research and Technology Department (MRT) translates cutting-edge materials research into applicable technology, with about 150 collaborators. For this, the department cultivates close relationships and joint projects with both academic and industrial partners, and contributes to Luxembourg's and Europe's innovation agenda in Materials Research and Technology.
The Advanced Instrumentation for Ion Nano-Analytics (AINA) group of the MRT department at the LIST is renowned for developing innovative nano-analytical techniques for materials characterization and life science applications. During the past few years we have been developing in particular a Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) add-on system for the Helium Ion Microscope (HIM) and for a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) as well as an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) system that we integrated in our NanoSIMS, allowing the advantages of high spatial resolution with high sensitivity chemical information to be combined. The research activities of the AINA group cover fundamentals, instrument development and applications.
We are looking for a master student to investigate the modification and sputtering of nano-sized objects under ion-beam irradiation. Nowadays, ion beams play an important role for the development and characterisation of nanomaterials. For the characterisation of the latter by secondary ion mass spectrometry and electron microscopy, it is essential to understand how the shape and surface curvature of small objects influence the intensities of electron and ion signals emitted under ion irradiation in order to convert the recorded signals correctly into concentrations.
During the internship, the master student will have the opportunity to get training on an instrument equipped with a focused ion beam (FIB), to prepare nano-sized features with controlled and known curvature, and to study the intensity of electron and ion signals as a function of the size and curvature of the nano-objects. The overall objective is to correction images obtained by ion and electron microscopy for any artefacts related to topography. The internship may lead to a PhD thesis on a similar topic.
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