Doctoral Candidates (DCs)

PANIONS aims to better understand negative ion beams, from how they are produced to how they behave and interact, which could lead to important advances in different areas. For me, being part of a project like this is a great opportunity to develop my skills and contribute to meaningful research.

Martín Sabater Navarro

DC11: Isotope effects (H-, D-) in negative ion sources for fusion

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (MPG)

I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Physics at the University of Murcia (2015–2024) as a part-time student, while simultaneously pursuing a degree in Music Performance (clarinet) at the Conservatory of Music of Murcia.

Motivated by a strong interest in Nuclear Physics and its applications, I went on to complete a Master’s Degree in Advanced Physics at the University of Valencia, specializing in Nuclear and Particle Physics (graduated July 2025). This experience encouraged me to continue along the academic path, leading me to join a PhD program at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics within the PANIONS network.

Alongside my studies, I gained international experience through the Erasmus program at Ulm University, where I spent seven months in Germany. After finishing my Physics degree, I completed a three-month internship at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, working in the Medical Imaging group. My work focused on analyzing key parameters to evaluate the performance of a new medical imaging scanner.

Additionally, during my Master’s year, I had the opportunity to spend a week at the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), where I contributed to the calibration of the AGATA gamma-ray spectroscopy detector.

Supervisor: Prof. Ursel Fantz

CERN, Switzerland

Supervisor: Rothe

Duration: 2 months

Purpose: Optimisation of caesium evaporation and management in ion sources required to stabilise the desired beams

D-Pace, Canada

Supervisor: Dehnel

Duration: 2 months

Purpose: Diagnostics and extraction and acceleration in negative hydrogen and deuterium sources for particle accelerators

DBT, Germany

Supervisor: Philipp

Duration: 2 months

Purpose: Source and beam diagnostics in small sources