ETTOURI Rim

Categories: PROFESSOR AND RESEARCHER, TEAM PCM

Senior Lecturer

Functions :

2023-present: Senior lecturer, IMN – Nantes University (PCM group)
2022-2023: Temporary Teaching and Research Associate (ATER), GREMI – University of Orléans
2022: Postdoctoral researcher, GREMI – Université d’Orléans
2019-2022: CIFRE doctoral student / Microsystems engineer, MISTIC SAS – Orléans

Qualifications :

2022: PhD in Plasma Physics, Université d’Orléans (GREMI / MISTIC SAS) Title: High aspect ratio titanium etching for biomedical innovations
2019: Research Master (Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics), Aix-Marseille University
2018 : Engineering degree, Mines Saint-Étienne, specializing in nanoelectronic devices

Expertises :

Plasma etching (RIE, DRIE, ALE)
Multi-scale modeling of plasma processes
Plasma HiPIMS, PECVD, Bosch, cryogenic
Plasma characterization (Langmuir, RFEA, OES), surface characterization (XPS, DRX, AFM, SEM…)
Cleanroom microfabrication, titanium structuring

Main research themes:

Plasma etching of titanium for MEMS (aspect ratio >10)
Development of innovative plasma processes (fluorinated, chlorinated, mixed)
Simulation of plasma-surface interactions (Monte Carlo)
Modeling and AI for plasma process optimization

Current research projects :

HiPIMS modeling (co-supervised PhD, early 2024)
FAISTOS 2025 (coll. Valeria Borodin – STMicroelectronics Tours – Bosch engraving)
PULSAR project (Pays de la Loire region – currently being evaluated)

Activities in the research community :

GDR EMILI co-cil member
Member of the Board of Directors of the Société Française de Physique – section Centre
Member of organizing committees :
2025: COFMER
2024: RAFALD
2023: PlaCEP
2022: J²C, PlaCEP, SFµ Junior

Biography

French :

Rim Ettouri is a lecturer at the Institut des Matériaux de Nantes (IMN), in the Plasma and Thin Films group (PCM). She also teaches in the Physics Department (“Electronics, Electrical Energy and Automation” – EEA) of the Science and Technology Faculty of Nantes University. Her research focuses on multi-scale modeling of low-pressure plasma processes, in particular for etching and deposition processes used in micro and nanotechnologies. She is developing approaches combining Monte Carlo simulations, plasma modeling and surface modeling, with a progressive integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize process prediction and efficiency.

With a PhD in physics from the University of Orléans in 2022, she worked on titanium plasma etching for biomedical MEMS, in partnership with startup MISTIC SAS. She then continued her work at GREMI before joining IMN. In 2024, she will be spending a year in Professor Mark Kushner’s plasma modeling group at the University of Michigan.

She is a member of the GDR EMILI steering committee, active in the cold plasma community, and is also involved in scientific mediation.

English

Rim Ettouri is an Assistant Professor at the Institut des Matériaux de Nantes (IMN), within the Plasma and Thin Films (PCM) group. She also teaches in the Department of Physics (Electronics, Electrical Energy and Automation – EEA) at Nantes University, Faculty of Science and Technology. Her research focuses on multi-scale modeling of low-pressure plasma processes for etching and deposition, with a strong interest in coupling simulation tools with experimental validation and artificial intelligence.

She earned her PhD in 2022 from the University of Orléans (GREMI / MISTIC SAS), where she developed deep etching processes for titanium-based biomedical MEMS. Following a postdoctoral fellowship, she joined IMN in 2023. Her current work involves plasma, sheath, and surface modeling, as well as Monte Carlo simulations for complex 3D structures. In 2024, she conducted a scientific stay in the group of Professor Mark Kushner (University of Michigan), a leading expert in plasma modeling.

Rim is a member of the GDR EMILI steering committee, actively participates in the cold plasma network, and is engaged in both teaching and scientific outreach.