John Sheil received his BSc degree in Theoretical Physics from University College Dublin (UCD) Ireland in 2015. In 2019 he received a PhD under the supervision of Professor Gerry O’Sullivan in the UCD Spectroscopy group, supported by a personal grant received from the Irish research Council. His Ph.D. research focused on characterizing the atomic structures of moderately charged lanthanide and actinide ions through plasma spectroscopy experiments and atomic structure theory. His research led to a re-evaluation of the ground-state configurations of moderately charged actinide ions as well as the identification of signatures of quantum chaos in the latter. He also spent time at the Large Helical Device in Tajimi, Japan, where he was involved in the spectral analysis of lanthanide ions excited in low-density, fusion plasma conditions.
In 2019, he moved to the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography as a postdoctoral researcher with the task of initiating a laser-plasma modeling capability in the EUV Plasma Processes group of Dr. Oscar Versolato. He subsequently expanded his research activities to include atomic population kinetics modeling, radiation transport in laser plasmas, and the physics of plasma expansion. In 2021, he initiated the Plasma Theory and Modeling group at ARCNL and became an Assistant Professor position at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. A major activity of the group currently focuses on modeling laser-produced tin plasmas driven by 2- and 10-micron lasers. He was awarded a Veni grant in 2023.
Research Description
Our group undertakes theoretical and computational modeling of laser-produced plasmas, primarily those employed as extreme ultraviolet light sources in new-generation nanolithography machines. We investigate topics in atomic processes and radiation transport in plasmas, plasma expansion physics and perform radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of laser-produced plasmas.
Teaching
List of courses/teaching responsibilities, preferably with links to course guide (this is for students to be able to easily connect a PI whose work they find interesting to potentially coursework)
