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Elaboration and characterization of thin films for medical application
CNRS, Nancy
Institut Jean Lamour
Materials Science Applied Physics Inorganic Chemistry 
Full Description:

Research team to welcome the student :

IJL Institut Jean Lamour, NANCY FRANCE: Dpt II, Team 202 + Common Service X-Gamma (for XRD)http://ijl.univ-lorraine.fr/en/research/chemistry-and-physics-of-solids-and-surfaces-department/development-of-functional-thin-films/

Scientific context : Some materials (in the dark or under light) present the property of
oxidizing (and so destroy) some bacteria at their surface by simple contact.
This catalytic phenomenon could be exploited to realize coatings exhibiting anti-bacterian properties and could be used in public spaces or hospitals to fight again nosocomial diseases for instance …. Very recently, some nitrides (TaN, TiN ..) doped with metals were tested for this property and show excellent results … It would be interesting to test the AlN nitride with that respect as its cost is economically interesting.

Topic of the project and International context : 

The goal of the project will be in the first place to control the synthesis of such layers so that they could be tested for their anti-bacterian and biocompatibility properties at EPFL in Lausanne (Switzerland). The work which will adopt a methodology consisting of elaboration-characterization loops, will have to strongly interact with theoretical part (for up-stream
calculations) and with the Swiss team (down-stream). The preparation method chosen is a deposition technique very well spread in industry (cathodic sputtering). The characterizations techniques to describe and control the structure, thickness, chemistry and morphology of the deposited films will range from X-ray diffraction (at the X-gamma common service of the laboratory IJL in strong collaboration with Pascal Boulet head of the service), SEM and/or TEM. More exceptionally, EXAFS on synchrotrons (the team performs experiments on Diamond synchrotron- Oxford UK) is also envisaged. The choice of the elaboration parameters will base on the process knowhow of the team and the past published papers. The challenge is to follow the stability or not of the morphological and crystallographic features of the films by introducing
third elements. The student will interest her/himself in the solubility of AlN to a third element. On top of literature work, the choice of the third element will find its inspiration thanks to theoretical calculations performed by a Greek laboratory in Thessaloniki University (ab initio atomistic simulations to predict stability of the compounds and their electronic band gap structure). Ultimately, the goal of the work is to correlate the morphological and crystallographic (as the electronic structure of the possible compound) features of the films to the catalytic and biocompatibility properties obtained in collaboration by the Swiss laboratory.
Obviously, an optimization of the medical application could be obtained.

 Technique(s)

The deposition technique: magnetron cathodic sputtering under vacuum is very common in industry.Characterization techniques: XRD, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy),
TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) … EDXS, RBS … EXAFS (at Diamond synchrotron, UK).

 The candidate  should have an obvious taste for experimentation should possess a basic profile in engineering with knowledge of materials, physics and chemistry of solids.
English practice mandatory. Strong background in solid state physics and materials characterization methods are required. Qualities: adaptability, communication, teamwork, taste to determine the relationship between the properties and behavior of materials.  Specific aspects of the synthesis process will be acquired during operation.

Please send CV with photo + letter + last 2 years transcripts + 2 recommendation letter to valerie.brien@univ-lorraine.fr (please type PhD_in_France_Candidate in the subject of the mail).