Division 1.2 “Biophotonics” is currently seeking a Student (w/m) for a Master's thesis
The mission of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is to deploy technology in a safe and environmentally friendly way. Our research, testing, approval and regulation activities are intended to promote safety in engineering and chemistry. As a higher federal authority and departmental research institution of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi), with 1700 employees, we have national and international responsibilities, cooperate with universities and non-university research institutions and support young academics.
Description
In an interdisciplinary master project, the optical properties of so-called upconversion (UC) nanoparticles (UCNPs) with nonlinear, Anti-Stokes shifted luminescence are analyzed with static and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy as a function of material composition (variation of dopants and dopant concentrations), surface chemistry (core and core-shell particles; different ligands), and particle size. The upconversion (UC) process involves the sequential absorption of two or more photons, followed by several energy transfer processes, resulting in the emission of one higher energy photon. The focus of this project lays on the quantitative determination of excitation power density-dependent luminescence properties of these nanoparticles including the quantum yield of the UC emission (QYUC = ratio of the number of emitted and absorbed photons with hem > habs) utilizing a custom-built integrating sphere set-up and the determination of the luminescence decay kinetics of the involved excited states for the characterization of the performance of these UCNPs and the identification of luminescence quenching processes. This project involves also the cooperation with different research groups involved in particle synthesis.
Qualifications
- Studies of physics or physical chemistry (with focus on optical spectroscopy)
- Experiences in optical spectroscopy
- Interest in interdisciplinary work between physics and chemistry
- Experiences in solid state physics are advantageous
Inquiries regarding the master thesis can be directed via telephone or email to
Dr. Ute Resch Genger (030 8104-1134, ute.resch@bam.de)
Dr. Christian Würth (030 8104-5574, christian.wuerth@bam.de)