Research Opportunities
Details will appear here.
Studentships
Two EPSRC PhD Research Studentships in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)
Salary: Standard EPSRC studentship stipend
Two 3.5 year PhD research studentships (RS) are available from 1st October 2009 to work on MEMS devices and systems. The first studentship will concentrate on developing low-cost optical imaging system using advanced MEMS optical scanners while the second studentship will concentrate on novel dielectric microsensors for biological applications. These studentships are funded by the EPSRC Doctoral Training Grant (DTG) 2009 and only eligible students should apply.
Research Studentship 1: Infrared (IR) and Terahertz (THz) imaging systems are key tools that have applications in security systems, while low-light imaging systems are required when objects to be detected are camouflaged or when the imaging system is operating at night. In conventional IR and THz imagers, the detector arrays are either very expensive or non-existent. Moreover, their power consumption is high limiting their use in portable systems because of limited battery life and power. This project aims to develop novel imaging configurations based on MEMS scanners and the use of just a single detector rather than an array.
Research Studentship 2: Dielectric spectroscopy sensors for characterizing biological specimens are increasingly important in research and clinical applications. Current optical- and biochemical based detection methods present several drawbacks such as alteration of the biological activity by biochemical reactions or by the fluorescent tags bonded on analyte molecules. Purely electronic sensing techniques provide solutions to this problem, as they can probe a sample without the need for chemical modifications. This project aims to investigate various dielectric sensing techniques based on MEMS microwave devices. The integrated circuits for signal processing the sensors will also be developed using state-of-the-art CMOS processes.
PhD applicants are expected to have a First Class or Second Class Upper Honours degree in Physics or Electronic & Electrical Engineering and would, ideally, have experience in experimental techniques. Further details can be obtained from the persons named below.
Applicants should submit a full CV, the names and addresses of two referees and a covering letter explaining why they would like to pursue a PhD degree to:
Prof Deepak Uttamchandani or Dr Lijie Li
Centre for Microsystems and Photonics
Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering
University of Strathclyde
204 George Street
Glasgow
G1 1XW
Tel: 0141 548 2211/2875
Email: du@eee.strath.ac.uk or ljli@eee.strath.ac.uk