PhD: Imaging Spectroscopy for Broadband EUV Source Size Characterization

Work Activities

This fully funded PhD position is part of a Holland High Tech (TKI HTSM) grant titled “Imaging Spectroscopy for Broadband EUV Source Size Characterization (ImSpec)”, a collaboration between the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL) and University of Twente (UT).

Background

Laser-produced tin plasmas are the sources of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation at 13.5-nm wavelength powering state-of-the-art lithography. Ever higher EUV powers are required, to produce ever smarter semiconductor devices. Changing the conditions in the EUV light source results in changes in emitted radiation that must be studied and understood. Besides the required EUV light, radiation is produced in a broad wavelength band, which may be harmful in the lithography process. At the same time this radiation provides a diagnostic window into the plasma itself.

This project continues a highly successful ARCNL/UT collaboration to further develop and employ novel, compact (time-resolved) imaging spectroscopy capabilities to diagnose plasma. As part of a team, you will develop new techniques and employ these to understand and optimize promising alternative laser-produced plasma sources of EUV light as currently being developed at ARCNL.

Project goal

The aim is to develop a compact imaging spectroscopy tool based on a combination of nanofabricated grating and dispersion-matched zone plate and to use this tool to unravel the radiative power partitioning over the various relevant wavelength bands and their spatial origins.

Figure 1 First results of imaging spectroscopy from the ARCNL/UT collaboration: Panel (a) spectrum only and (b) combining imaging and spectroscopy. Figure modified from Y. Mostafa et al., Opt. Lett. 48, 4316 (2023).

You will join an interdisciplinary team of several PhD students and postdocs and work at location ARCNL and UT, starting out being based in Amsterdam at ARCNL – with frequent travel between the two locations. Medium and long term stays at UT may be part of the project. You will have as an objective to simulate & design bespoke zone plates, to be fabricated in state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities at UT, and commission them in plasma experiments at ARCNL. You (and the rest of the team) will be responsible for the setup, execution, analysis, and interpretation of the experiments.

Qualifications

You have (or soon will have) a MSc physics or applied physics. Programming skills (Python) are welcomed. Good verbal and written communication skills (in English) are required.

Work environment

About ARCNL and the EUV Plasma Processes group

The Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL) focuses on the fundamental physics and chemistry involved in current and future key technologies in nanolithography, primarily for the semiconductor industry. ARCNL is a public-private partnership between the Dutch Research Council (NWO), the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the VU University Amsterdam (VU), and associate partner the University of Groningen (UG), and the semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML. ARCNL is located at the Amsterdam Science Park, The Netherlands, and has a size of approximately 100 scientists and support staff. See also www.arcnl.nl 

The research activities of the EUV Plasma Processes group aim at the atomic- and molecular-level understanding of the fundamental dynamics in the operation of contemporary and future plasma-based sources of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) light for nanolithography.

About University of Twente and the XUV Optics group

The University of Twente (UT) is a public technical university located in Enschede, Netherlands. At UT’s MESA+ institute, we believe in realising grand solutions with the extremely small. We contribute to solving current and future societal challenges. We do this by using our fascination with the extremely small. We bring societal challenges inside and use our fascination to work on innovative and sustainable solutions.

The XUV Optics Group, part of MESA+, is an enthusiastic team of academic and engineering specialists focusing on advanced thin film research with atomic scale physics and chemistry topics for the future XUV and soft X-ray optics. We are proud of a track record of transferring know-how to industry and society.

Working conditions

The position is intended as full-time (40 hours / week, 12 months / year) appointment in the service of the Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (NWO-I) for the duration of four years, with a starting salary of gross € 2.781 per month and a range of employment benefits. After successful completion of the PhD research a PhD degree will be granted at University of Twente. Several courses are offered, specially developed for PhD-students. A favorable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. ARCNL assists any new foreign PhD-student with housing and visa applications and compensates their transport costs and furnishing expenses. We envision the project to start early in the Fall of 2024.

ARCNL offers also:

• Responsibility over a dedicated setup, laser systems, and plasma diagnostic tools at ARCNL.
• Learn how to simulate how electromagnetic waves propagate, and design custom zone plates to be fabricated in state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities at the MESA+ institute at University of Twente.
• The ability to improve your experimental skills in extensive experimental campaigns that can be designed with a lot of freedom.
• To be the linking pin between two leading groups in research related to nanolithography in The Netherlands.
• Cooperation within a large team of PhD students and postdoc and with a large industrial partner.

More information?

For further information about the position, please contact :

Dr. Oscar Versolato and Dr. Muharrem Bayraktar
E-mail: versolato@arcnl.nl and m.bayraktar@utwente.nl
Phone: +31 (0)20-851 7100

Application

You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Please send your:
– Resume
– Motivation letter on why you want to join the project (max. 1 page).

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code

ARCNL is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

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