Printed electronics for next generation digital-physical interactions

A studentship is available in the field of printed electronics, for the development of flexible, paper-based electronic systems. These systems will form the basis of new types of interactions between physical objects, users, and digital content.

The hardware platform will comprise flexible sensors, control electronics, energy scavenging and storage components, made with ultra-low-cost solutions and targeting extreme energy efficiency. Emerging flexible and printed electronics, which can bend, fold and be scrunched up, unlock completely new applications in medicine, wearable sensors, entertainment, human-computer interfaces and smart living environments. Fabricating them on paper-like materials and with extremely low cost techniques, such as spraying, drastically reduces their environmental impact.

Often there are competing challenges for emerging technologies: manufacturing costs, energy efficiency during operation, operating speed/performance and reliability. We plan to optimise this balance by using low-cost printing techniques and high-performance materials which can be processed from solution on large areas, along with unconventional electronic building blocks with proven uniformity and reliability advantages, which have been pioneered and perfected at Surrey. This forms the basis of the present doctoral studentship.

The recipient will devise, implement and optimise techniques and devices, and will efficiently incorporate them into interaction sensing platforms, with support from numerical simulation.

The ideal candidate would have an interest in many areas of electronics design, with a good combination of practical and software skills, and be willing to explore new research areas. Experience in nanofabrication, flexible and printed electronics, semiconductor physics, computer modelling or programming would be advantageous.

The position will be held in the department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, a leading UK department in the fields of nanotechnology, electronics fabrication and measurement. The University of Surrey has been named University of the Year in 2016. Supervising the work will be Dr Radu Sporea, large-area electronics expert and EPSRC Rising Star in 2014.

All Surrey PhD researchers are supported and encouraged in the development of their technical and transferrable skills through training and mentoring programs.

For further information about this project, please E-mail Dr Radu Sporea ([Email Address Removed])