Nikhef Institute

Nikhef, the national institute for subatomic physics in the Netherlands invites applications for a position for the Development of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits for the Readout of Pixel Sensors.

 

Institute

Nikhef is the Dutch national institute for subatomic physics with ca. 250 employees of whom 120 are physicists.

It is a collaboration between 4 universities and the funding agency FOM. The institute coordinates major activities in experimental subatomic physics in the Netherlands, such as the ALICE, ATLAS, and LHCb experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The program also includes several astro-particle physics projects, such as ANTARES and KM3NET, the AUGER cosmic-ray observatory and the VIRGO gravitational-wave interferometer.

 

Group

The Nikhef detector R&D group is active in the development of state-of-the-art detector technologies for accelerator-based particle physics and astro-particle physics experiments as well as for detector R&D collaborations like Medipix and RD51 at CERN. The majority of the detector systems are Medipix/Timepix based. The attention for applications outside the scientific world has led to a number of projects with industrial partners as well as a number of spin-off companies.

 

Project & Framework

The successful candidate will work on developing a high-speed serial data link for a pixel readout ASIC, with an immediate application in the readout ASIC of the forthcoming LHCb pixel detector implemented in 130 nm CMOS technology. The high channel occupancy translates into the need to ship 20 Gbits/s of data from each pixel readout ASIC to a buffer board in the counting room. The main challenge is posed by the high radiation levels and the low power consumption requirements. The project foresees also a further development in 65 nm CMOS technology.

The work will be conducted mainly at Nikhef, with the option of spending some time at CERN or in other institutes where tests will be performed. The project is part of the INFIERI (http://www.apc.univ-paris7.fr/APC/Projets/INFIERI) training network in which about 20 institutes, universities and companies work together on the development of intelligent devices and tools for application in Astrophysics, High Energy Physics, Medical Physics and Telecommunications.

 

Requirements

The appointment is for two years, with the option of extension, subject to availability of funds, and with the option of writing a dissertation for a doctoral degree. The applicant should have a degree in electronics engineering or applied physics and a keen interest in the development of advanced microelectronic circuits for application in particle physics detectors. Applicants are expected to avail of good communication skills and to be able to work in an international team of physicists and engineers. The applicant must hold no doctoral degree and have less than 4 years experience in research. The applicant must not have spent more than 12 months in the past 36 months in The Netherlands.

 

Information & Applications

Further information can be obtained from A. Pellegrino

(phone +31 20 592 5002 or by email: antonio@nikhef.nl)

or M. van Beuzekom (phone +31 20 592 2154 or by email: martinb@nikhef.nl).

To apply, please send a detailed CV, transcripts of your BSc and MSc results, and a copy of your MSc thesis along with a letter of application to:

Nikhef, att. A. Pellegrino or M. van Beuzekom

P.O. Box 41882 NL-1009 DB AMSTERDAM.

(or by email: antonio@nikhef.nl or martinb@nikhef.nl).

All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.