Associate Research Scientist; PREP

General Description

PREP Research Associate - CHIPS Funded Project.

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (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 be the recipients 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.

Research

Title:

Nanocalorimetry for Semiconductors and Semiconductor Process Metrology

The candidate will join a multidisciplinary team of scientists working to advance the current state-of-the-art in nanocalorimetry-based measurements and expand the technique’s applicability to monitoring of semiconductor manufacturing processes. The goals of the project are to (1) improve existing nanocalorimetry measurement capabilities at NIST and (2) determine the feasibility of using nanocalorimetry for in‑situ monitoring of atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma-based processes.

• Design and assemble new instrumentation to improve the accuracy, sensitivity, speed, and stability of experiments using NIST nanocalorimetry sensors.
• Collaborate with team members on development, fabrication, and testing of new sensor designs and applications.
• Publish results in refereed scientific journals and present results at scientific conferences and meetings.
• Make improvements to existing nanocalorimetry equipment and measurement capabilities.
• Modify existing instrumentation to provide better sensitivity and stability.
• Develop corresponding data acquisition and analysis systems.
• Perform measurements to determine thermal properties of nanoscale materials commonly found in semiconductor devices.
• Support the nanocalorimetry-based semiconductor process metrology development, including ALD and plasma.

• Ph.D. in materials science, physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, or a related field.
• Expertise with building and maintaining custom laboratory instrumentation, knowledge of electronics, PCB layout, and analog circuit design is a plus.
• LabVIEW experience required; experience with FPGA systems is a plus.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team.

• Submit CV/Resume. Limit the CV to 3 pages and include only a valid email address.
• Self portraits.
• Phone number.
• Home address/Country.
• Citizenship status.
• Languages spoken.
• Sex/Gender.

The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University’s good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate’s geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training, and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre‑employment background check, including education verification.

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits, and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance, and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.