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Posted: 15-May-26
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Type: Full-time
Categories:
Internal Number: A-186809-26
General Description
Salary: $85,000- $90,000 per year
This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest and thus requires that such institutions be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.
Research Title:
Reliability testing of wide bandgap semiconductor power devices
U.S. Citizen Preferred
The work will entail:
Reliability is the most critical factor in power electronics. As systems face increasing electrical, thermal, and mechanical stress, individual components degrade, causing untimely failures. Rapid electrification and the aging grid infrastructure can only be addressed if the underlying power electronic components are reliable. Current testing standards for existing silicon-based electronics fail to accurately capture the performance and failure mechanisms of newer wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor materials like SiC and GaN. Advantages of WBGs- such as higher efficiency, small footprint, higher power- can be overshadowed by reliability issues that standard silicon-based test methods cannot detect. Without accurate test protocols to evaluate reliability of emerging WBG semiconductors, manufacturers will face higher costs and will adopt them at lower rates. This project will aim to adopt a three-pillar measurement approach that can overcome the limitations of the current test protocols. This work will address electrical, material and mechanical degradation via real-time characterization methods. Pillar one is focused on building a dynamic testing apparatus for stress-testing of power devices under high voltage swings to capture the transient behaviors of internal resistance and threshold voltage hysteresis that occur in devices only when actively switching in a circuit. The second pillar will address dielectric breakdown at interfaces using AC gate stress testing under realistic loads. Finally, pillar three will employ an advanced Power Cycling Test (PCT) with microsecond resolution internal temperature measurements in order to correlate electrical load stressors with thermal stress and mechanical packaging failures. Our focus will be on 'active load' simulations rather than passive testing, therefore giving us and the industry high-quality data that is highly desired.
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Build and fully characterize one or more dynamic testing circuits for stress-testing of power devices, such GaN HEMTs, under voltage or current transients.
- Evaluate dielectric breakdown at interfaces using AC gate stress testing under realistic loads
- Perform advanced power cycling measurements to evaluate thermal stress and packaging failures.
- Present results at internal and external meetings and conferences
- Write peer-reviewed journal articles on novel and important research findings
Qualifications
§ A masters or a Ph. D. degree in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
§ 3 years of relevant experience, including graduate research work.
§ Proficient in PCB layout and circuit simulations and modeling.
§ Familiarity with data analysis techniques and mathematical computations using programming tools such as Python or MATLAB.
§ A strong desire to collaborate with other researchers and be involved on various related projects.
§ Strong oral and written communication skills.
Application Instructions
Please upload the following with your application:
- CV/Resume
*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Your resume will not be considered if the following information is included on your CV/resume.
- Self portraits
- Phone number
- Home address/Country
- Citizenship status
- Languages spoken
- Sex/Gender
- Personal Interest
Privacy Act Statement
Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)
Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP), which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor's degree holders, graduate students, master's degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.
PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines, including (but not limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.
Salary Range
The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.
Total Rewards
Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.
Equal Opportunity Employer
The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.
Pre-Employment Information
If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the HR Business Services Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit accessibility.jhu.edu.
Background Checks
The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check including education verification.
EEO is the Law:
https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf
Vaccine Requirements
Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.
The following additional vaccine requirements may apply, depending upon your campus. Please contact the hiring department for more information. The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.
