An Industrial CASE award is available for a PhD studentship in the Epitaxial Growth and Characterisation of Novel Materials for Long-Wavelength semiconductor lasers & detectors. The studentship is co-funded by the EPSRC ( Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) and IQE plc (https://www.iqep.com), the global industrial leader in epitaxy, who are providing additional support of £35,000 over the course of the studentship.
This is a excellent opportunity to carry out research and training at the UK’s prestigious National Epitaxy Facility in Sheffield (https://www.nationalepitaxyfacility.co.uk) and to gain first hand experience of industrial epitaxy at the world leading epitaxy company IQE through short term placements at their facilities in St Mellons, Cardiff.
The studentship represents an exciting opportunity to make breakthroughs in many technological areas including fibre-optic telecommunications that underpin the Internet, reducing data centre energy consumption, sensing applications such as LIDAR for autonomous vehicles, and advanced imaging technologies such as the facial recognition found on modern smartphones.
Throughout the studentship the successful candidate will receive extensive training in the industry standard technologies and research methods. This includes:
- MOVPE epitaxy - extensive training in the epitaxial growth technique and the impacts of deposition conditions on the quality of epitaxial material.
- Characterisation of semiconductor materials - training and research in the characterisation techniques which demonstrate the structural, optical and electrical properties of the materials deposited.
- Fabrication of semiconductor devices
- Industrial experience - learning aspects of epitaxial wafer growth such as yield, throughput and wafer uniformity of deposition.
The studentship will be based at The National Epitaxy Facility at The University of Sheffield and led by Professor Jon Heffernan. There will also be supervisory input from IQE plc.
The IQE Group is an international company, specialising in electronic and photonic epitaxial device structures serving wireless and optical telecommunications, medical, industrial and consumer markets as well as many others. They use both MOCVD and MBE reactors to pioneer the supply of epitaxial wafers for a range of compound semiconductor device applications.
The National Epitaxy Facility is a Centre-of-Excellence for semiconductor epitaxy in the UK. The facility supports research grants in excess of £150m in over 25 top universities in the UK and significant work in the UK semiconductor industry. Their state-of-the-art MOVPE and MBE reactors and semiconductor characterization equipment has led to world-class research in physical, engineering and biomedical sciences through III-V and silicon technologies.
The studentship will be best suited to candidates with a keen interest in semiconductor materials, devices and characterization techniques, and a solid background in semiconductor physics or engineering.
Funding:
Funds will be delivered through an Industrial CASE Account (ICA) grant, co-funded by EPSRC and IQE plc. IQE plc are also offering an additional £35,000 on top of the normal EPSRC student stipend of £17,668 per annum.
Travel costs will be accounted for as required by the student to/from the intended 3-month placement.
Entry Requirements:
Candidates should have a minimum of an upper second honours degree (2.1) (or equivalent) in Electronic & Electrical Engineering or Physics. A master’s degree is desirable but not necessary. Candidates in other related fields would be considered.
The PhD studentship will preferably commence on 1st October 2023, with the latest start date being 1 October 2024.
Note: Full funding of this studentship is only available to UK citizens. Overseas students may be considered if they can demonstrate they have additional funds available to support increased overseas fees.
If you are interested in this opportunity and would like to apply, please click on the following link https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying.
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