Ph.D. thesis student on operando TEM analysis of ionotronic materials

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description Context & Job description . Thesis subject: Growth and Characterization of Two-Dimensional Free-standing Functional Oxides. This PhD project focuses on the development of a stable, electron-transparent crystalline platform for advanced in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies of functional materials during epitaxial growth and under external stimuli such as electric and magnetic fields and light illumination. The platform, developed at PGI-7, enables the fabrication of free-standing single-crystalline membranes that serve as substrates for direct growth and operando TEM investigation of complex oxide materials. The project will investigate in situ epitaxial growth, oxygen-vacancy ordering, and topotactic phase transitions, e.g. in SrFe(Co)Ox thin films and nanostructures. Using state-of-the-art in situ TEM, electron holography, and electrical and optical biasing, the candidate will study the interplay between crystal growth, atomic structure, ionic transport, and local magnetic properties in real time. The developed platform will enable entirely new experimental approaches for studying functional materials at the atomic scale, while also offering opportunities to explore routes towards commercialization. The project will be hosted at the Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C) at Forschungszentrum Jülich, one of the world’s leading elec