Direct e-beam writing of Nanostructures (TWO STUDENTSHIPS AVAILABLE)

Two fully funded (bench fees and stipend) 36 month studentships are available with Dr David J. Lewis in the Department of Materials for ambitious and talented inorganic materials chemists as part of a wider £1.7M EPSRC project, working with teams in the Departments of Chemistry (Winpenny) and Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Boland) at the University of Manchester. A team of three postdocs and a project manager will also support the work.

The successful applicants will work as part of a world leading team of physicists, chemists, engineers and materials scientists which has been assembled to demonstrate a sustainable high-resolution route to nanofabrication by introducing direct write ion beam lithography as an additive manufacturing route to nanoscale semiconductors. The successful candidates will produce bespoke inorganic molecules that act as molecular precursors for the solid state materials to be written at the nanoscale. The outcomes will be multiple breakthroughs in manufacturing that will enable large scale manufacturing of semiconductor devices at resolutions < 5 nm leading to a step change in the performance and fundamental understanding of the materials targeted. This manufacturing route will accelerate academic research and make smaller semiconductor companies in the UK competitive with larger companies globally.

Applicants must have, or be expected to obtain at least a 2.1 in Chemistry or Materials science.

Applicants must also possess a strong interest and ideally publications in inorganic or materials chemistry or a related discipline, with experience in characterisation of synthesis and characterisation of inorganic molecules and/or solid state materials. Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made to Dr David J. Lewis (Email: david.lewis-4@manchester.ac.uk).

Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities. We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact. We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.

We also support applications from those returning from a career break or other roles. We consider offering flexible study arrangements (including part-time: 50%, 60% or 80%, depending on the project/funder).