A 2 years post-doctoral position is offered in the framework of the collaborative project WHeSCI (piim.univ-amu.fr/amidex/whesci), financed by the A*MIDEX foundation (amidex.univ-amu.fr) and proposed in the context of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the international project that aims to demonstrate the technological and scientific feasibility of fusion energy with the Tokamak design (www.iter.org). The WHeSCI project seeks to describe the interactions of the fusion fuel (deuterium (D) and tritium (T)) and ashes (helium (He) and neutron) with the walls of the exhaust of the reactor (the divertor made of Tungsten, W). The induced material properties modifications are indeed critical for the reactor operation and safety and the successful operation of ITER requires a detailed understanding of the plasma-wall interactions.
In this context, the post-doctoral fellow will be in charge of the experimental studies of hydrogen and helium interactions with tungsten materials. Since the divertor of ITER will be subjected to local heat loads, its surface composition will not be homogeneous. Thus, the postdoc will study the effect of tungsten surface contaminations (oxygen, nitrogen…) and microstructure (grain boundaries) onto deuterium adsorption and absorption, as a function of the deuterium form: ionic, molecular or atomic. In addition, as nuclear fusion reactions are occurring, tungsten will be impinged by helium ions. The trapping and releasing rate of this helium flux will be assessed with various temperature programmed desorption methods. All these experiments will be confronted to Macroscopic Rate Equation (MRE) models [1-3], which are describing so far the D/T fuel interaction with the bulk of tungsten.
The postdoc is expected to participate in the further development of MRE models towards the description of D/W interactions, including surface effects, and He/W interactions in presence of temperature gradients throughout the bulk.
The candidate should have a PhD in experimental physics, a solid background in gas-surface interactions and be skilled with powerful CW lasers and ultra-high-vacuum surface science setups. Experience with mass spectrometry, Auger and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is sought after. Knowledge in rate equations modeling and/or finite element based tools (COMSOL) is a plus. As the candidate will have to interact with the various actors in the project, good oral and written communication is necessary and the ability to work in a collaborative research environment is essential. Knowledge of French would be appreciated but is not mandatory.
The position is based at the PIIM laboratory (Marseille, France), in the Plasma-Surface group. The deadline for application is June 27th, 2018.
The position is available from October 1st, 2018.
Contact : regis.bisson@univ-amu.fr
[1] E.A. Hodille et al Nucl. Fusion 57 076019 (2017) [2] E.A. Hodille et al Nucl. Fusion 57 056002 (2017) [3] E.A. Hodille et al Phys. Scr. T167 014011 (2016)
GEFAM 