General information
Organisation
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.
The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
Reference
SL-DRF-26-0468
Direction
DRF
Thesis topic details
Category
Condensed Matter Physics, chemistry, nanosciences
Thesis topics
Effect of gamma-ray irradiation on ferroelectric, hafnia-based, non-volatile memory for use in extreme environments
Contract
Thèse
Job description
The emergence of hafnia-based ferroelectric (FE) memories has opened a new paradigm for ultra-low-power edge computing. Hafnia is fully compatible with CMOS technology and is ultra low-power—three orders of magnitude less than other emerging memory technologies.
These advantages align with strategic applications in space, defense, medical, nuclear safety, and heavy-duty transport, where electronics face harsh radiation environments.
Imprint induces a shift of the Polarization-Voltage (P-V) curve along the voltage axis and is attributed to charge trapping/detrapping, domain pinning and charged defects. All may be accentuated under irradiation.
The project will use advanced photoelectron spectroscopy techniques including synchrotron radiation induced Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and complementary structural analysis including high-resolution electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and near field microscopy. The experimental characterization will be accompanied by theoretical calculations to simulate the material response to irradiation
The work will be carried out in the framework of close collaboration between the CEA/Leti in Grenoble providing the samples, integrated devices and wafer scale characterization and the CEA/Iramis in Saclay for the fundamental analysis of the material properties, irradiation experiments and device scale characterizations.
University / doctoral school
Physique en Île-de-France (EDPIF)
Paris-Saclay
Thesis topic location
Site
Saclay
Requester
Position start date
01/10/2026
Person to be contacted by the applicant
Barrett Nicholas
nick.barrett@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRAMIS/SPEC/LENSIS
DRF/IRAMIS/SPEC
Bâtiment 462
CEA Saclay
91191 Gif sur Yvette
France
0169083272
Tutor / Responsible thesis director
Barrett Nicholas
nick.barrett@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRAMIS/SPEC/LENSIS
DRF/IRAMIS/SPEC
Bâtiment 462
CEA Saclay
91191 Gif sur Yvette
France
0169083272
En savoir plus
https://iramis.cea.fr/spec/lensis/pisp/nick-barrett-2/
https://iramis.cea.fr/spec/lensis/