Research Associate in MEMS Sensor Fabrication

Can your skills in semiconductor device technology help us to ensure that our water taps do not run dry? We have an exciting opportunity on an EPSRC-funded project aiming to enable the UK water sector to meet its commitment to half leakage by 2050 from the lost trillion litres/year. Together, we will develop and demonstrate novel bio-inspired micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor science and technology for condition assessment from within buried, operational water supply pipes through integration with autonomous robots (similar to those used in https://pipebots.ac.uk/).

Based within the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, you will work with partners across the School of Mechanical, Aero & Civil Engineering at Sheffield, Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics at Imperial College and the Optoelectronics Research Centre at Southampton, and with our industrial partners to develop arrays of microscale neuromasts to sense acoustic velocity and higher order pressure derivatives, mimicking the sensing modality of fish. These will be used to detect pipe failures and early signs of wall damage in any pipe material and down to the smallest network diameters.

We will support the design, fabrication and characterisation of a range of MEMS sensors, including cantilever structures with piezoresistive sensors. We will explore manufacturable processes for bionic hair/neuromast manufacture and attachment, and work to improve sensor sensitivity through various modifications to the initial silicon structure including use of III-V semiconductor resonant tunnelling diodes in both monolithic and heterogeneously integrated (via micro-transfer print) devices. Extensive facilities for fabrication of such structures are available at Sheffield and you will work with these as well as liaise with the team at Southampton to develop new processes, collaborating strongly with the wider project team on packaging and electronics.

You will have expertise in electro-mechanical device design/simulation, practical skills in semiconductor device fabrication and who can demonstrate a strong enthusiasm for development of new sensor technology. You will have a PhD in a related discipline.

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