EPSRC PhD studentship on Flexible electronics: Innovative new sensors and fabrication technologies

In the last 50 years the semiconductor industry developed astonishing technologies to fabricate billions of electronic devices on semiconductor chips not larger than a few square centimetres. These standard silicon technologies lead to high performance systems, but also exhibits two major drawbacks. On the one hand side, huge investments into fabrication facilities and equipment are required to fabricate state-of-the-art silicon chips, which makes the manufacturing process costly and inflexible. At the same time, new applications like wearables call for electronics, unobtrusively integrated into our daily environment. Here, the attachment of rigid electronics to deformable everyday objects restricts the bendability, is contrary to our aesthetic demands, and causes problems with the localization of strain. A promising solution to both problems is the development of deformable electronic devices on large-area substrates using oxide semiconductors.

This project offers the possibility to work on different aspects of flexible electronics, in particular the following topics are of interest:

• The fabrication of electric potential sensors on flexible plastic substrates. The capacitively coupled electric potential sensor technology developed at the Sensor Technology Research Centre enables the measurement of medically relevant data such as ECG or EMG. A combination of this sensor technology with flexible thin-film technology would lead to lightweight, bendable, stretchable or even invisible sensors on large area substrates which will enable soft and bio-compatible sensor systems, and artificial sensory skins for unobtrusive long term monitoring of physiological signals.

• The fast and easy fabrication of field effect transistors, and circuits without the need for expensive equipment. Here, an alternative fabrication technology is developed by combining thin-film manufacturing, innovative materials such as oxide semiconductors, and cheap, deformable glass, polymers or paper substrates. The resulting tool kit, will enable rapid prototyping of electronics, disposable flexible devices, and customized integrated circuits.

Applicants with prior experience or interest in device technology, semiconductor manufacturing techniques, or material science and a background in electrical engineering or physics will have the possibility to use the device characterisation and manufacturing facilities of the Sensor Technology Research Centre (including a class 100 cleanroom) to work on novel thin-film devices for future flexible applications.

Applicants should have at least a good 2:1 bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) relevant to their area of study. General qualification requirements: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/pg/applying/2016entry/qualifications

For further information including details of the application procedure visit: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/engineering/pgstudy/doctoral/funding

Research webpages: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/engineering/research