PhD student in Materials Physics

Uppsala University hereby declares a PhD student position in Materials Physics, at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, to be open for application.

The research conducted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy encompasses a wide range of physics topics, distributed over nine divisions. The department is located in the Ångström laboratory and employs nearly 400 people, 100 of whom are doctoral students. It offers a broad physics curriculum to undergraduate and graduate students, participation in nationally and internationally leading projects for researchers, and opportunities for partnership with industry and various outreach activities.

Read more about the Department of Physics and Astronomy here

The research within the division of Materials Physics, at Uppsala University, is centred around understanding the physical properties of materials by analysing their structure and composition across multiple length scales, from the atomic to the macroscopic, and linking them to functional properties. Core areas are magnetism, hydrogen, energy materials, soft matter and ion-solid interactions.

Read more about the division of Materials Physics here

Project description

The PhD project will focus on the investigation how volatile elements such as Xe, Kr, I and Cs, concentrate or diffuse in a range of different nuclear-fuel types, under a range of thermal conditions. The core of the methodology is ion-implantation of the volatiles, in unirradiated nuclear-fuel, followed by elemental depth-profiling with ToF-ERDA (Time-of-Flight – Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis) recoil detection analysis. Samples will then be annealed and the effect of the annealing assessed by additional depth profiling. These general procedures will be further supported by a range of other material categorisation techniques, which will provide correlated information on changes in the microstructure of the samples. Over the project, the student will be supported by experts from two Swedish academic institutions and three major companies in the Swedish nuclear industry.

Duties

The doctoral project will be focused on obtaining new information on the diffusion of volatile elements in nuclear fuels, whilst simultaneously removing the need to handle irradiated fuel. Specifically, this includes:

• optimising the methodology, in terms of accuracy and throughput;
• upgrading the infrastructure presently available, to enable implantation at elevated sample temperatures, as well as in-situ annealing;
• identifying trends in microstructural effects on diffusion;
• identifying trends in compositional effects on diffusion;
• working with atomistic models of diffusion.

Requirements

To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must:

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in a natural science discipline, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits,
• or have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way;
• be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills in English as well as excellent academic records;
• and have the personal capabilities necessary to carry out fully the duties of the appointment.

Appointment as a graduate student requires that the holder is admitted or will be admitted to PhD studies, where the applicant’s ability to successfully complete the doctoral studies will be decisive.

Additional qualifications

It is considered advantageous a background in either a Physics, Material Science or equivalent; strong data analysis skills; past experiences in vacuum systems. Experience in materials research with ion beams is beneficial.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

Information about doctoral education, eligibility requirements and admission rules can be found on the web site of the Faculty of Science and Technology.

About the employment

The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 5th of May 2025 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Robert Frost, rob.frost@physics.uu.se.

About the application

Applications should include a brief description of research interest and past experience, a CV, copies of exams, degrees and grades, a copy of your Master thesis (or a draft thereof) and other relevant documents. The candidates are encouraged to provide letter(s) of recommendation and contact information to reference persons.

Please submit your application by the 4th of April 2025, UFV-PA 2025/218.