PREP0004128 NV Diamond Force Sensing Researcher

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0004128

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, and thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

APPLY ONLINE HERE

NV Diamond Force Sensing Researcher

Project Description:

The work will entail building a self-driving confocal microscope for quantum measurements of ensemble and single spins of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond for high-pressure/force measurements. The envisioned microscope will be capable of supporting photoluminescence, CW-ODMR (optically detected magnetic resonance), and pulsed-ODMR measurements of NV-diamond samples, including nano- and micro-particles and CVD-grown chips with parts per billion to parts per million levels of NV centers. The research fellow will measure temperature and pressure/force-dependent spectral changes in NV samples inside a diamond anvil cell.

In addition, the PD fellow will work with the PI to acquire stress/force and temperature-dependent NV measurements, analyze data, and develop fiber-optic coupled NV sensors, including the development of novel machine learning methods for signal processing.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Design, automate, and validate the performance of a confocal diamond microscope, including the implementation of active learning methodologies to enable a self-driving microscopy setup
• Design and fabricate RF antennas for the diamond anvil cell
• Implement PL, CW, and pulsed-ODMR measurements
• Analyze and prepare data for reporting to stakeholders; prepare data for publication in peer- reviewed journals
• Present results at internal meetings and meetings with external stakeholders
• Ensure that results, protocols, software, and documentation have been archived or otherwise transmitted to the larger organization

Desired Qualifications: 

• A Ph.D in physics
• 5+ years of relevant experience working with NV centers, including quantum modeling of NV ODMR active transitions and successfully designing, building, and using an NV-diamond microscope for single spin measurements
• Experience in using machine learning methods such as PCA, LDA, and neural networks for signal processing
• Prior experience with diamond anvil cell and high-pressure measurements preferred
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• US citizenship strongly preferred

Other Details:

• Full-time: the participant is expected to work 40 hours a week
• Location: the participant will work at the NIST Gaithersburg Campus.
• Duration: this is expected to be a one year position. Extensions are sometimes granted depending on the availability of funds.
• For questions related to the research project or the nature of the work in this position, please contact Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed (zeeshan.ahmed@nist.gov). For questions related to the online application or NIST PREP more generally, please contact msu-nistprep@morgan.edu.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

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