Call Expression of Interest MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships at UNIGE – N. 2D-TMD and r

Position: Call for Expression of Interest for MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships at UNIGE – N. 51 2D-TMD and r[...]
Organisation / Company University of Genoa Department Department of Physics Is the Hosting related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Description - Call for Expression of Interest for a joint application under the upcoming Call for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026
University of Genoa, UNIGE, located in Genoa, ITALY, welcomes postdoctoral researchers of any nationality, with an excellent track record, to apply to the European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026. Our University has been beneficiary of several MSCA-PF in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe.
The Marie Sklodowska Curie (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship is one of funding scheme of the European Commission’s Horizon Europe Research & Innovation programme, dedicated to excellent research promoting international mobility, as well as interdisciplinary and intersect oral exchanges.
MSCA fellowship grant provides a competitive salary plus mobility and family allowances if applicable, as well as a contribution to cover research, training and networking costs. The research projects will have 2- or 3-years duration.
Selected candidates will be provided with special support for proposal writing and development.
The University of Genoa will organize in May the fifth edition of the Masterclass MSCAected candidate researchers will have the opportunity to attend a 2-days online intensive training and coaching course on how to write a successful proposal. This masterclass is a pathway of support to candidates and their supervisors in preparing project proposal, including prescreening activity of the draft proposals and the organisation of dedicated B2B meetings, by the European Research Office of Uni Ge, National Contact Point and other experts.
The masterclass will take place in May 2026.
Recent challenging examples have demonstrated that two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors based on Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMD) are promising candidates as photon absorbing layers in next-generation ultrathin photoconversion devices for solar power harvesting, sensing and photodetection, quantum technologies and photocatalysis. However, as the thickness of the TMD is reduced down to the single layer, absolute optical absorption is limited to the 10 % range, which represents a fundamental bottleneck for achieving a high energy conversion efficiency.
Additionally, most of the studies on TMDs devices are based on micrometer scale flakes obtained by scarcely reproducible and not scalable exfoliation techniques thus hindering any real-world application.
We welcome proposals that will tackle key issues, by developing original solutions that require advancement in fundamental knowledge beyond the state-of-the-art, combining experimental and theoretical expertise in nanofabrication, nano-spectroscopy and nanophotonics in the following key areas :

Engineering of the electronic properties of the 2D-TMD layers (strain, phase, and doping control)
Nanofabrication of hybrid 2D-TMD/plasmonic and 2D-TMD metal interconnects
Innovative Light harvesting and energy conversion schemes based on hybrid 2D-TMD/plasmonic platforms and Flat optics.

Research Group
At the Nanostructures Laboratory (Lab Nano) we run an internationally recognized activity on the growth and functionalization of nanostructured surfaces and 2D-Materials recurring to self‑organised approaches and to top‑down lithography.

Prototype apparatus for self‑organised nanopatterning based on defocused Ion beam sputtering
nanoslitography via thermal‑Scanning Probe Lithography (t‑SPL Nanofrazor) and Electron Beam Lithography (EBL)
Large area lithographic techniques based on laser interference lithography
Deposition facility of ultrathin films and 2D materials

The characterization of the nanostructured samples will be performed recurring to scanning probe microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS), optical spectroscopy, electrical characterization at the nanoscale (Conductive AFM, Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy KPFM), and near‑field optical microscopy (s‑SNOM, IR‑neaSCOPE+ s by Attocube) with full characterization of reflection and absorption (visible and nano‑FTIR…