Don't miss our weekly PhD newsletter | Sign up now Don't miss our weekly PhD newsletter | Sign up now

  EngSci-MATS-97: Development of CMOS compatible non-volatile resistive memories


   Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

This project is no longer listed on FindAPhD.com and may not be available.

Click here to search FindAPhD.com for PhD studentship opportunities
  Prof Liudi Jiang, Prof Kees De Groot  No more applications being accepted  Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

About the Project

Continuing transistor downscaling has led to a range of limitation and intrinsic constrains for transistor based memories. Non-volatile Resistance memory (RM), also known as programmable metallization cell and/or redox memory, promises great potential to replace conventional flash memories and RAM in the near future. RMs usually have simple metal-solid electrolyte-metal stack structures and on/off states are distinguished by stable low/high resistance electrically achieved between the metal electrodes. Key advantages of RMs include low power and fast speed operation and high scalability, making it the most promising candidate for future universal memory. In consideration of future highly constrained computing application, it is important to integrate RMs and future CMOS based logic circuits. Despite a recent surge of research in RM developing field, RMs that utilize main stream CMOS compatible materials are yet to be developed.

This project aims at development of such resistance memories using CMOS compatible metal and dielectric materials and at the same time ensuring the achievement of high memory performance such as high ON/OFF ratio. This project will involve thin film electronic material characterization as well as RM device design, fabrication and testing. The results also underline the studies of relevant resistive switching mechanisms. The PhD student will be able to exploit the extensive material and device expertise as well as the state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities at the University of Southampton. Applicants with backgrounds/experience in general electrical engineering, microelectronics, semi conductive devices, electronic materials, and micro/nano-fabrications will be particularly relevant. Successful applicants should hold degrees equivalent to UK 2:1 or 1st class honours.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Prof. Liudi Jiang, Engineering Materials Research group, Email: [Email Address Removed], Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 8748.

 About the Project