PhD Studentship: Development of RF MEMS for 6G Communication

Supervisory Team: Kees de Groot & Harold Chong

Project description

Applications are invited for this prestigious 3.5-year Industrial PhD studentship to work on an exciting collaboration between Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton and Analog Devices Inc. in Limerick, Ireland.

The research will be in the Sustainable Electronic Technologies Group and will the use state-of-the art fabrication and design tools at the University of Southampton and Analog Devices. The studentship benefits from an enhanced stipend above the standard RCUK rate. We welcome applicants from the UK who have or expect to obtain preferably a first-class degree in either Electronics, Mechatronics, Materials Science, or related discipline. Any experience with either RF/Analog IC Design, semiconductor characterisation, or microfabrication would be advantageous. Informal enquiries may be directed to Professor Kees de Groot (chdg@soton.ac.uk)

Radio-Frequency Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (RF-MEMS) switch between on and off state, not by controlling the current through the device like a field effect transistor, but by mechanically opening and closing the current path. The RF-MEMS devices are now of such sophistication that they can switch billions of times and are capable of carrying high currents of 1A and electro-magnetic waves at frequencies above 10GHz. The RF performance limitation is surprisingly not solely associated with the device itself but predominantly with the semiconductor Si substrate on which it is fabricated. At Southampton we have recently developed a Au-doped Si process which enhances small signal performances and lead to better performance in terms of crosstalk and RF losses. Such a low-loss and highly linear substrate is extremely suitable for RF MEMS. It is the aim of this project to enable heterogeneous integration of our high-resistivity substrate with RF MEMS which will enable the resulting system to power the next generation of 6G communications as well as many other applications.

Link to Sustainable Electronic Technologies Group:

www.southampton.ac.uk/people/5wz7rm/professor-kees-de-groot#research

Link to Analog Devices:

www.analog.com/en/about-adi/news-room/press-releases/2023/5-15-23-adi-announces-investment-in-next-gen-semiconductor-facility-in-limerick.html

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact:
Kees de Groot, SET Research Group, Email: chdg@soton.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 2732

Entry Requirements

A very good undergraduate degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent).

Closing date: applications should be received no later than 29^th March 2024 for standard admissions, but later applications may be considered depending on the funds remaining in place.

Funding: For UK students, Tuition Fees and a stipend of £21,551 tax-free per annum for up to 3.5 years.

How To Apply

Apply online: Search for a Postgraduate Programme of Study (soton.ac.uk). Select programme type (Research), 2024/25, Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, next page select “PhD Elect & Elect Eng (Full time)”. In Section 2 of the application form you should insert the name of the supervisor Kees de Groot

Applications should include:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Two reference letters
• Degree Transcripts/Certificates to date

For further information please contact: feps-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk

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