Two-Year Postdoctoral Position: develop a new microscope to observe water at nanoscale - CBS Montpellier, France

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description What is the smallest thing we can see on the surface of water? . The surface of water is the prevalent interface on our planet. Yet, even the most advanced microscopy techniques do not provide nanoscale images of its surface. Yes, reciprocal-space methods such as X-Ray or neutron scattering & reflectivity can provide indirect structural information, but it is an averaged one. This project aims to develop a novel microscopy approach capable of directly imaging the surface of water with nanometric resolution . We will design and construct an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) integrated within a Langmuir trough, permitting high-resolution and real-time characterization of films directly on liquid surfaces. The position lies at the intersection of physics and engineering, with applications spanning soft matter, chemistry, biophysics, and biology. Indeed, interfaces between air and water are crucial for the self-assembly of lipids, surfactants, pollutants, and peptides, playing central roles in multiple disciplines. We have demonstrated the feasibility of AFM at liquid/liquid interfaces [ [1] , [2] ] and identified the formation of a capillary bridge between AFM probe and water as the key obstacle to imaging the air/water interface. Within this framework, we will design and assemble the AFM components, including a fast XYZ scanner, optical beam deflection system, photothermal excitation, and