Research Fellow: Manufacturing Nano-Scale LEGO Blocks

Sustainable Electronic Technologies

Applications are invited for a full time fixed term Research Fellow position at the University of Southampton. We have developed silicon based manufacturing process technologies to fabricate various Silicon Photonic and Single Electron devices. Several devices are ready for characterisation and we are obtaining several promising results.

You will have a PhD in Electronics or Physics or equivalent professional qualifications and experience in Research for materials and a detailed understanding and knowledge of semiconductor device physics. Ideally you will have experience in measuring semiconductor devices both electrically and optically.

In this project, a novel manufacturing process technology will be developed to fabricate various quantum structures, named Nano-LEGO® Blocks, including quantum wells, nano-wires, quantum dots, pillars, and fins. These nano-structural building blocks will be fabricated by a combination of the state-of-the-art Si nanofabrication processes and the self-limiting wet etching. The nano-structures are defined by the crystallographic orientation with the atomically flat interface, and the quantum nature of the structures will be examined.

By properly designing the process steps and the 3D device layouts, we can economically assemble these building blocks in large quantities with wafer scale in highly reliable, low-cost, and high-yield processes. The concept is based on the natural extension of LEGO® Blocks to the nano-meter scale, i.e., starting from the several kinds of well-defined building blocks we can construct sophisticated technological arts by the arbitrary combinations of the blocks.

While our main purpose is to establish the comprehensive process technologies using nano-structural building blocks, we will find out real process issues and solutions in the actual device fabrications for identifying true industrial needs. The combinations of these building blocks will enable realisation of new functionalities using the quantum nature of properties for various electronics, photonics, and phononics integrated system applications. The applications are not limited to quantum devices, and we will demonstrate on-chip heat sinks and low-loss Si photonic waveguide, which can immediately contribute to the energy saving in a big data centre for cloud computing.

The University of Southampton is an institution in the top one per cent of world universities* and one of the UK's top 15 research-intensive universities. We have an international reputation for research, teaching and enterprise and hold an Athena SWAN Silver award.

Applications for Research Fellow positions will be considered from candidates who are working towards or nearing completion of a relevant PhD qualification. The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon successful completion of the PhD. Prior to the qualification being awarded, the title of Research Assistant will be assigned.

Application Procedure

You should submit your completed online application form. The application deadline will be midnight on the closing date stated above. If you need any assistance, please call Hannah Farrance (Recruitment Team) on +44 (0) 23 8059 2507. Please quote reference 1171619FP on all correspondence.

We aim to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Please note that applications from agencies will not be accepted unless indicated in the job advert.