PhD Studentship: Large Area Transient Electronics

Location: Highfield Campus

Closing Date:  Friday 25 August 2017

Reference: 775316BX

Project

Reference: EngSci-ELM-129

Project Themes: Energy & Climate Change, Materials & Surface Engineering and Mechatronics, Signal Processing & Control  

Transient electronics that are pre-programmed to dissolve or disintegrate have recently been proposed as a new class of electronics. When exposed to the environment (e.g. water or moisture), transient electronics progressively disintegrate into benign materials beyond its intended period of application. A number of potential applications have been suggested for transient electronics, including biological sensing where small implants dissolve and get absorbed by the human body once the useful data is collected. In a similar way, environmental sensors that require short term monitoring action could be fabricated in a transient format, scattered in a disaster zone (e.g. oil spills, forest fires, nuclear disaster) and then allowed to collect critical information for emergency response. This project will explore the concept of transient environmental sensors from the material, device and system perspectives. There remain many challenges such as converting entire systems into a transient form and how such systems will be powered. Novel material and substrate combinations will be explored with the goal of minimising environmental impact, extending the functionality of such systems and adopting a low-cost, large-area manufacturing processes. This project is part of a collaboration between the University of Southampton and A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech). The successful candidate will spend two years in Singapore and two years in Southampton, UK.

One PhD scholarship is available to strong candidates with British or EU citizenship.

The ideal candidate should have at least an excellent bachelor's degree in any field of engineering or applied sciences, and be proficient in English.  

To apply please use the following link http://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/postgraduate/research_degrees/apply.page? and select Faculty of Engineering and the Environment.

Further details:

• Job Description and Person Specification