KTP Associate Plasma Physicist

This KTP offers the Associate a unique opportunity to apply cutting-edge numerical techniques and design concepts into a real-world setting. Beyond the technical requirements, the Associate will establish and coordinate a project group, oversee project deliverables and support knowledge transfer and embedding project outputs with support from the OIPT R&D team, necessitating cross-departmental communication and management. The Associate will develop a keen knowledge of the rapidly evolving SiC industry, and will be responsible for managing timelines, budgets, and stakeholder expectations, requiring careful coordination and regular communication between academic, commercial, and executive team members.

The successful candidate will work between the UoA and OIPT’s R&D team. The position will primarily be based at OIPT’s premises in Bristol.

Salary will be at the appropriate point on Grade 6, off scale, between £38,000 – £41,000 per annum with placement according to qualifications and experience. In addition to this, the Associate will also benefit from a tax-free personal development budget of £5,000.

Informal enquiries should be made to Dr Scott Doyle, Lecturer, Head of Plasma Science Research Group, e-mail: scott.doyle@abdn.ac.uk

This 2.5 year (30 month) Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), co-funded by Innovate UK and Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology (OIPT), will employ state-of-the-art numerical modelling techniques, in combination with experimental verification, to assess and optimise plasma-assisted silicon carbide (SiC) wafer polishing processes in an industrial context.

The project aims to develop and validate a rapid, targeted, cleaning process for plasma processing reactor tools to reduce equipment downtime and use of environmentally damaging materials. The transfer of plasma chemistry, modelling and simulation capabilities, and the creation of a digital model, will directly facilitate process optimisation and increase company market share.

The successful candidate, hereafter referred to as the Associate, will lead and manage detailed numerical assessments of complex plasma-surface interactions and subsequent carbon impurity generation, transport, and re-deposition in an OIPT plasma-assisted SiC polishing reactor. This will be facilitated by the creation, and verification, of plasma-surface chemical reaction mechanism and embedding it within an existing numerical framework.

The start date is flexible and will be agreed with the successful applicant.