Two PhD defenses on June 30th

June has been a busy month for ARCNL, with a record number of four PhD defenses in one month. The final two defenses took place on June 30th: Cristina Sfiligoj (Nanolayers) and Christian Dieleman (EUV Photoresists) both at the University of Amsterdam.

Cristina Sfiligoj defended her thesis ‘Towards stable nanolayers for EUV optics’ in which she focuses on nanolayers to be used as coatings for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) optics in present- and next-generation photo-lithography. Joost Frenken was promotor.  The goal of Sfiligoj’s work is to improve the efficiency and durability of EUV mirrors and pellicles, following three approaches to increase their thermodynamic stability.

The PhD project of Christian Dieleman was a collaboration between ARCNL, AMOLF and the University of Amsterdam. Promotor of Dieleman was Bruno Ehrler (AMOLF, Hybrid Solar Cells) and Sonia Castellanos Ortega (former ARCNL group leader EUV Photoresists) was co-promotor.
In his thesis ‘Patterning Colloidal Nanocrystals with Light and Electrons’ Dieleman explores the use of lithographic techniques to pattern several types of colloidal quantum dots and nanocrystals. Colloidal quantum dots are nanocrystals made from inorganic semiconductor materials and they have been a research field of interest due to their interesting properties.