Location: Highfield Campus
Closing Date:Â Thursday 31 October 2013
Reference: 267513FP
Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship to be filled by November 2013. This scholarship will fund students for their tuition fees, a bursary to cover living expenses (£13,726 per year) and a Research Training Support Grant for research consumables and conference attendance. This role will be based at the Nano Group within the Electronics and Computer Science Department and will use state-of-the-art facilities at the Southampton Nanofabrication Centre. SNC is one of the premiere cleanrooms in Europe, facilitating a uniquely broad range of technologies by combining traditional and novel top down fabrication with state-of-the-art bottom up fabrication.
The outline of the project is presented below:
Emerging nanodevices based on functional oxides are currently regarded as a promising solution for establishing next-generationâs memory elements. Their impact is foreseen to be realized through their infinitesimal dimensions, their capacity to store multiple bits of information per element and the miniscule energy required to write distinct states that overall results in high spatial- and high storage-density well beyond the current state-of-the-art. At the same time, the functional properties of such elements present us with opportunities in exploiting them as novel computation elements. This has rendered considerable research on the physical switching mechanisms of distinct functional oxides that facilitate memristive phenomena.
Our long-term goal is to investigate the performance, reliability, and the manufacturability of ultra-thin functional oxide layers, their application in high-density low-power memory devices and integration with conventional industrial semiconductor technologies.
The ideal candidate should have an MEng/MSc (or equivalent, or near completion) with first class honours or distinction in Electronics, Materials Science, Physics, or a closely related subject with experience in micro/nano fabrication techniques and an interest in thin-films. Due to funding restrictions, this studentship is available to UK/EU applicants for a period of 3 years. The Nano Group will provide research experience in one of its programs, training, laboratory facilities and access to its seminar and lectures. Students would also be encouraged to attend three major conferences during their period of study and would have access to all university facilities for wider study, including the libraries, and recreation.
Prospective candidates are encouraged to contact Dr Themis Prodromakis (t.prodromakis@soton.ac.uk) directly for further details.
To apply please send a CV, relevant publications, the names of two referees and a covering letter explaining your current interests and relevant background to Mrs Glenys Howe (gch@ecs.soton.ac.uk). Please note that the successful candidate will be asked to submit a PhD research application to Registry to ensure they have met all necessary admissions criteria. More information on the Nano Group and the Southampton Nanofabrication Centre can be accessed at: http://www.nano.ecs.soton.ac.uk
http://www.southampton-nanofab.com