Through a joint collaboration Exergy Storage (SME) and DIFFER aim with a consortium of partners to realize a prototype battery operating in this intermediate temperature window suitable for residential storage unit through the project NaSTOR. In this context, the role of DIFFER is particularly to focus on the challenges related with the NaSBs cathodic compartment.
Vacancies
Postdoc position
PhD position
This PhD position is funded and part of the Shell/NOW Computational Science for Energy Research (CSER) program. The project aims at accurate Monte Carlo modelling of the electrons in a non-equilibrium plasma environment. The work is performed in synergy with the DIFFER experiments to store and convert sustainable energy by recycling CO2 into solar fuels.
PhD position
A key challenge in the development of fusion power plants is figuring out how to exhaust the gigawatts of liberated fusion power from the machine without damaging the walls surrounding the plasma. A significant fraction of this power (hundreds of megawatts) will be transported via a thin layer of unconfined plasma wrapping the hot fusion core (the scrape-off layer or SOL) towards a part of the wall called the divertor. The SOL plasma needs to be strongly cooled to reach the low temperatures (< 5 eV) necessary for keeping the divertor wall load below the material limit.
PhD position
The PhD project involves physics of magnetically confined plasma for fusion energy, and control theory. In a magnetic confinement fusion reactor it may prove desirable to operate at the minimum power that allows for so-called H-mode energy confinement. At lower power a bifurcation occurs: sudden fall-back to poorer L-mode energy confinement and hence a drop in fusion power. A number of physics processes have been identified that could play a role in these transitions.
Postdoc position
Magnum-PSI is the only device that can currently study plasma-wall interactions under plasma and neutral conditions matching those expected in the ITER divertor. This is not only important for testing divertor materials, but also for understanding and reliably extrapolating to the basic plasma processes in future fusion devices such as ITER. However, due to the fundamentally different magnetic configurations, plasma conditions in reactor divertors cannot be derived from Magnum-PSI experiments alone.
Internship
Strong-light matter coupling has emerged as a major cross-disciplinary field of study over recent years. This regime was originally constrained to the realm of low-temperature studies, however, extensions to room temperature through advances in the fabrication of nanophotonic structures have opened the door for numerous new research lines. In this manner, strong-coupling has been proposed as a means for modifying the internal physics of condensed matter systems, with great potential for light-harvesting, energy-transport and catalysis.
Internship
Strong-light matter coupling has emerged as a major cross-disciplinary field of study over recent years. This regime was originally constrained to the realm of low-temperature studies, however, extensions to room temperature through advances in the fabrication of nanophotonic structures have opened the door for numerous new research lines.
Internship
Two dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene, black phosphorous, and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit fascinating physical properties due to their specific band structure and reduced dimensionality. In recent years, TMDs (MX2, where M = Mo, W and X = S, Se) particularly are of much interest from a fundamental point of view but they also provide an excellent platform for ultrathin optoelectronic and photonic devices.
Internship
The discovery of new energy materials is becoming a large-scale challenge that is far beyond the reach of experimentation but also stretching the limits of conventional computation. At DIFFER; we are working on to improve the speed and the prediction power of computation for the discovery of new solar energy conversion and energy storage materials.
Internship
Encapsulation foils are highly demanded in the production of flexible devices such as thin film transistors (TFT), organic LEDs, solar cells and so on. To bring this technology to commercial manufacturing phase, the thin film performance should be further improved and the throughput should be increased. Atmospheric-pressure PECVD is regarded as a promising tool to achieve these industrial targets because of its capability of the roll-to-roll processing and precise control over the thin film properties.
