For our location in Hamburg we are seeking:

Scientist as postdoctoral researcher for laser-driven X-ray source development

Limited: 3 years | Starting date: earliest possible | ID: MMA055/2024 | Deadline: 27.09.2024 | Full-time/Part-time

DESY, with more than 3000 employees at its two locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen, is one of the world's leading research centres. Its research focuses on decoding the structure and function of matter, from the smallest particles of the universe to the building blocks of life. In this way, DESY contributes to solving the major questions and urgent challenges facing science, society and industry. With its ultramodern research infrastructure, its interdisciplinary research platforms and its international networks, DESY offers a highly attractive working environment in the fields of science, technology and administration as well as for the education of highly qualified young scientists.

Laser-plasma-based particle accelerators can generate 100 MeV-scale electron beams in only millimeter acceleration lengths. Leveraging inverse Compton scattering allows turning these compact sources of energetic electrons into metre-scale sources of X-ray radiation with tens to hundreds of keV photons. With their demonstrated ability to drive novel medical imaging modalities such as X-ray fluorescence imaging, such ultra-compact high energy X-ray sources are also an exciting prospect for industrially relevant applications. As part of HI ACTS, we will develop a robust, all-optical high energy X-ray source and make it available to test novel industrial concepts, such as imaging modalities of static or rapidly evolving objects/phenomena at a very early stage. In this context, we are looking for a postdoc to work on developing and demonstrating the laser-plasma-accelerator-driven high energy X-ray source and its application for industrially relevant imaging. The successful applicant will also work developing the required technology to push the repetition rate of the source to kilohertz level.