Research Associate BiOI (Fixed Term)

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 12 months in the first instance with possibility to extend to 2 years. The post will start between 1st September 2024 and 1st January 2025, by mutual agreement.

This post is an exciting opportunity to develop a new generation of radiation detectors that can make medical imaging safer and more effective. The project is jointly funded by the UK EPSRC and the US NSF. You will be part of a world-leading team involving our group at the University of Cambridge, Oxford, and the University at Buffalo, and there is a substantial travel budget to work with these external groups. The proof-of-concept results were published recently by us in Nature Communications (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38008-4), as well as a patent (GB no. 2203932.5). We developed the synthesis of BiOI single crystals with low defect densities <1010 cm-3, which were capable of detecting X-rays with dose rates as low as 22 nGyair s-1 (with an extrapolated limit of detection of 1.1 nGyair s-1), and high sensitivity of 103 C Gyair-1 cm-2. The ultralow limit of detection outperforms industry-standard amorphous selenium X-ray detectors by >100 _and can substantially lower the
dose rate needed for medical imaging, improving patient safety and opening up new opportunities for advanced imaging (e. g., video techniques). The key challenge, and the focus of this project, is to scale-up the detectors from research-level single crystals to large-area X-ray imagers. This will involve vapour-phase synthesis, thin film synthesis and subsequent processing, spectroscopic characterisation to understand and control electron-phonon coupling, device engineering, and the development of flat-panel X-ray imagers with high spatial resolution.

The position in Cambridge will be focused mainly on the thin film synthesis part of the project. The successful applicant will be expected to undertake experimental research in a team environment, working under the supervision of Prof Driscoll. The candidate will undertake thin film growth by PVD or CVD methods, and will undertake materials characterisation by a wide range of methods (i.e. X-ray, XPS, electron microscopy, AFM, wide ranging electrical and optoelectronic measurement methods). The candidate needs to be highly self-motivated and collaborative and will have demonstrated independence of research with solid experience in the aforementioned methods.

Other responsibilities include:

Liaising with colleagues from different disciplines and with the team outlined above, and to work with researchers in the other departments across Cambridge. They will need to analyse and interpret the results of their own research and generate original ideas based on outcomes, designing and conducing a coherent set of experiments and record their outcome, conducting literature and database searches, writing up results of own research, assisting in the organisation of conferences or other meetings, whether they be online or in-person, leading and contributing to the production of research reports and publications, presenting information on research progress and outcomes to internal and external contacts, both academic and industrial.

Applicants should have or about to obtain a PhD in a materials science or a closely related subject with experience as outlined above. Effective written communication skills and the ability to plan and organise independently are essential.