Come and work with us!

The Schröter lab at the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany, is looking for motivated Postdocs and PhD students to lead our efforts in developing new materials that will enable future quantum technologies, such as

  • topological superconductors for scalable quantum computers
  • topological metals for spintronic memory and logic applications 
  • 2D materials for electronic and magnetic quantum devices

A focus of our work will be on the creation and investigation of heterostructures where novel electronic phenomena can occur at interfaces. For a targeted design of these new materials and electronic interfaces, we will employ a range of techniques that prospective PhD students and postdocs will be trained in and that are available at our institute

  • Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) with ultimate energy-, momentum-, spatial-, spin-, and depth-resolution
  • Thin film growth (MBE, PLD, sputtering) and fabrication of 2D materials in collaboration with Prof. Stuart Parkin from Max Planck Halle 
  • Scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM, STS) 
  • Structural characterization (XRD, LEED, RHEED, TEM)
  • Optical characterization (Kerr, FMR, SNOM)

To complement these in-house facilities, we regularly travel to use synchrotrons around the world. 

Applications are considered for work in any of these areas. For more information, please send your CV and (if applicable) publication list, as well as contact details of two scientists that can provide references, to Dr Niels Schröter .

Conditions of employment

The positions are available immediately, although the start date can be negotiated. They are fully funded and contain a competitive salary and social benefits package. The initial contract duration is 36 months for the PhD and 24 months for the postdoc position, but extensions are possible.

Requirements

For the PhD position: MSc degree (or equivalent, e.g. 4 years Bachelors) in physics, materials science, or related fields, including a final thesis project. For postdocs a PhD in physics, materials science, or related fields is a requirement. Candidates with prior experience of ARPES, thin-film growth, or 2D materials will be preferred.

Employer

The Max Planck Society is Germany's premier research organization dedicated to basic research and to supporting and developing early career scientists. It offers an excellent infrastructure and a very international environment that enables research at the highest level. The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

 

If you are interested to learn more about our recent work, please consult the following publications

N.B.M. Schröter et al.
Chiral topological semimetal with multifold band crossings and long Fermi arcs
Nature Physics 15, 759–765 (2019)
N.B.M. Schröter et al.
Observation and control of maximal Chern numbers in a chiral topological semimetal
Science 369, 179–183 (2020)
Schuwalow, N.B.M. Schröter, et al.
Band Structure Extraction at Hybrid Narrow‐Gap Semiconductor–Metal Interfaces
Advanced Science (2021), 2003087
Peng, N.B.M. Schröter, et al.
Substrate Doping Effect and Unusually Large Angle van Hove Singularity Evolution in Twisted Bi‐ and Multilayer Graphene
Advanced Materials (2017), 29, 1606741
Go to Editor View