PhD Scholarship in Innovative In-line Characterization for Manufacturing of Organic Solar Cells

If you dream of a career at the interface between research and innovation, this is the ideal job for you. By employing a new, fast characterization method based on scattered light, you will develop a machine module that enables non-destructive, in-line optical characterization of thin films and functional surfaces, employing a spectrally sensitive camera-based technique capable of real-time monitoring of product quality at several m/min. You will apply the module to the use case of organic photovoltaic (OPV) thin-films manufactured by slot-die roll-to-roll (R2R) layer deposition. Your effort will, in collaboration with our industry partners, contribute to achieving the aim of delivering a metrology module capable of high-frequency, quantitative real-time characterization of R2R manufactured materials. It will provide live data analysis for cost-effective process optimization and quality monitoring of anti-reflective PET foils and photovoltaic films.

Responsibilities and qualifications

You will be responsible for integrating the scatterometry technology with R2R slot-die coating of OPV, as well as simulation and demonstration of the application of anti-reflective microstructured substrates and encapsulation foils for practical light management in flexible OPV.

To be qualified for the project you will need a diverse skillset covering theoretical and practical qualifications. You should be able to implement algorithms for computational simulation of optical properties of microstructured thin-films and photovoltaics, as well as program efficient software tools for fast data reduction and analysis.

Because integration of characterization tools with manufacturing hardware is an essential part of the project, you will need good practical and mechanical skills, as well as some experience with handling of chemicals and solution processing of thin films.

In your cover letter, please, address the following questions:

• Do you have documented experience with computer programming?
• Do you have documented experience with computational scientific modelling and simulation?
• Do you have documented experience with laboratory solution processing?
• Do you have documented experience with thin film device manufacturing?

Ideally, you must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree, ideally with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Approval and Enrolment

The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education.

Assessment

The assessment of the candidates will be made by a recruitment committee consisting of professor Jens Wenzel Andreasen and Head of Section Luise Theil Kuhn, with participation of project stakeholders from our industry partners.

Further information

Further information may be obtained from professor Jens Wenzel Andreasen, jewa@dtu.dk, +45 21 32 63 01.

You can read more about DTU Energy at www.energy.dtu.dk

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure

Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 28 February 2023 (Danish time).

To view the full announcement and to apply, by clicking the ‘Apply’ button.

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