PREP0004149 In-Situ Plasma Nanocalorimetry Senior Researcher

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0004149

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

In-Situ Plasma Nanocalorimetry Senior Researcher

Project Description:

The Materials Measurement Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking qualified persons (U.S. Citizens Preferred) to join a multi-disciplinary team of scientists working to advance the current state-of-the-art in nanocalorimetry-based measurements for monitoring of semiconductor manufacturing processes. This individual will work closely with the leaders of this multi-effort project, but will personally be responsible for incorporating these novel sensors into a custom plasma chamber and determining their utility for in-situ characterization of plasma-based etching and deposition processes.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Design and assemble a custom plasma reactor that integrates NIST-produced nanocalorimetry sensors as well as other common plasma diagnostic tools
• Perform experiments using a variety of plasma types and conditions relevant for semiconductor manufacturing processes, utilizing nanocalorimetry along with other plasma diagnostic techniques for in-situ monitoring
• Data interpretation to understand the parameters during plasma processes and assess the feasibility of using nanocalorimetry as a process monitoring technique
• Publish results in peer-reviewed scientific journals and present results at scientific conferences

Desired Qualifications: 

• U.S. Citizen preferred
• Ph.D. in materials science, physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, or related field
• Hands-on expertise in the design and assembly of custom plasma reactors, as well as experience using plasma diagnostic techniques such as Langmuir and optical probes
• Experience with calorimetry-based measurements of temperature and/or thermal properties of materials
• Understanding of measurements of radical/ionic fluxes and energy distributions at the substrate level, as well as deep knowledge of plasma-surface interactions
• Strong written and oral communication skills; ability to work independently and as part of a team

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. Mark McLean (mark.mclean@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.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use the information you submit for the purpose stated.