Postdoctoral Fellow / Postdoctoral Fellowess in Thin Film Engineering for Microsensors

Postdoctoral Fellow in Thin Film Engineering for Microsensors

Location: 100%, Zurich, fixed-term

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Postdoctoral Fellow in Microsensor Film Engineering to join our dynamic and interdisciplinary research team. The successful candidate will systematically study and engineer nanomaterial film architectures on miniaturized (MEMS) substrates for integrated gas sensing devices. The central objective is to understand and control how deposition process parameters govern film architecture (e.g., thickness, porosity, roughness, grain/particle connectivity, interfaces, adhesion, and pattern fidelity) and how this architecture ultimately determines sensor performance and device reliability.

Project Background

Miniaturized gas sensors are increasingly important for applications spanning environmental monitoring, industrial safety, healthcare, and smart infrastructure. While nanomaterials offer exceptional sensing potential, successful device translation hinges on reproducible, scalable, and well-understood thin-film architectures that can be deposited and patterned on MEMS platforms. This position targets the establishment of process-architecture-property-performance relationships, combining controlled deposition experiments with advanced characterization and device-level testing.

This position focuses on the deposition of nanomaterials onto MEMS substrates, the engineering and characterization of film architecture, and the integration and testing of gas sensor devices, both in the lab and in the field. Applicants are encouraged to explore and benchmark multiple deposition routes (including flame aerosol deposition, aerosol jet printing, inkjet printing, and related techniques), and to develop systematic parameter studies that enable robust and repeatable sensing layers.

Job Description

• Systematic investigation of deposition process parameters and their influence on film architecture on MEMS/miniaturized substrates.
• Engineering and tailoring film architectures (thickness gradients, porosity/connectivity, hierarchical structures, multi-layer stacks, functional/catalytic over-layers, patterned films) for sensing.
• Benchmarking and comparing deposition techniques, such as flame aerosol deposition, aerosol jet printing, inkjet printing, spray/aerosol-based coating, and related approaches.
• Establishing process-architecture-performance relationships, linking film morphology and interfaces to sensitivity, selectivity, response/recovery, drift, stability, and power consumption.
• Integration of sensing films into MEMS devices, including packaging constraints, electrical interfacing, and robustness under realistic operating conditions.
• Sensing characterization and testing, including calibration, repeatability, humidity/interference effects, aging, and statistical evaluation across sensor batches.
• Collaborate closely with interdisciplinary teams (materials science, microfabrication, chemistry, device physics, modeling).
• Prepare manuscripts, reports, and presentations to disseminate findings.

Profile

Qualification:

• PhD in mechanical/process engineering, materials science, micro/nano engineering, electrical engineering, chemistry, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience in thin-film engineering, nanomaterial deposition, or micro/nano-fabrication-related research.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (proficient in English).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with one or more of: flame aerosol synthesis/deposition, aerosol jet printing, inkjet printing, spray coating, electrophoretic deposition (any relevant method).
• Experience with film architecture characterization on microstructured substrates (e.g., SEM/FIB-SEM, AFM, profilometry, ellipsometry, XRD, Raman, XPS, porosity metrics, image analysis).
• Experience with chemoresistive gas sensing and/or automated gas test infrastructure (flow control, humidity control, multiplexing).
• Familiarity with MEMS handling/integration (chip carriers, wire bonding, thermal management, reliability testing).
• Experience with reliability/stability testing and statistical analysis of repeatability across batches.

Workplace

ETH Zurich offers a highly motivated, multidisciplinary, and collaborative team environment. You will receive scientific mentoring and support for your professional development, as well as flexibility to pursue your own research direction within the project framework. You will have opportunities to supervise junior researchers, contribute to teaching, and access state-of-the-art infrastructure and collaborative research networks.

We Value Diversity and Sustainability

In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity, and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to find out how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish. Sustainability is a core value for us; we are consistently working towards a climate-neutral future.

Curious? So Are We.

Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

For more information on our group, please visit our website. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Prof. Andreas Güntner at andregue@ethz.ch.

Earliest possible starting date: March 1st, 2026.

About ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich is one of the world’s leading universities specializing in science and technology. We are renowned for our excellent education, cutting-edge fundamental research, and direct transfer of new knowledge into society. Over 30,000 people from more than 120 countries find our university to be a place that promotes independent thinking and an environment that inspires excellence. Located in the heart of Europe, we forge connections all over the world as we work together to develop solutions for the global challenges of today and tomorrow.