Electronic and Electrical Engineering: Fully Funded Swansea University PhD Scholarship: Gate-oxide reliability of wide bandgap power MOSFETs: offline prediction of lifetime and online monitoring of degradation

Swansea University

  • Swansea
  • £18,622 per year
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 1 month ago
Job Information Organisation/CompanySwansea University DepartmentCentral Research FieldEngineering » Electrical engineeringEngineering » Electronic engineeringEngineering Researcher ProfileFirst Stage Researcher (R1) CountryUnited Kingdom Application Deadline1 May 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/London) Type of ContractOther Job StatusFull-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?Not funded by an EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?NoOffer DescriptionFunding providers: Swansea UniversitySubject areas: Electronic and Electrical EngineeringProject start date:
  • 1 July 2024 (Enrolment open from mid-June)
  • 1 October 2024 (Enrolment open from mid-September)
Supervisors:
  • Dr Mohammad Monfared (
) * Professor Mike JenningsAligned programme of study: PhD in Electronic and Electrical EngineeringMode of study: Full-timeProject description:The wide bandgap (WBG) power MOSFET is more prone to early failure than its Si counterparts despite its recent success. One of the most significant contributing factors to the overall reliability of these devices is degradation or even complete failure of the gate oxide. Specifically, gate threshold voltages shift from their original value with prolonged application, mainly due to gate oxide thickness reduction and high electric fields.Reliability refers to a product's performance remaining within specifications for a specific period of time. According to the semiconductor industry, after 10 years of operation under nominal conditions, at most 100 devices per million can fail from oxide breakdown.The goal of this project is to a) study and examine the failure mechanisms of WBG (particularly gallium nitride) devices, b) compare different methodologies for predicting or modelling the gate-oxide reliability of WBG power MOSFETs and identify the gap for both offline reliability and lifetime estimation and possible online condition monitoring from transistor signals, c) design, simulate and practically implement the required circuit configuration and the final multi-channel test rig for concurrent reliability testing and examining the failure mechanisms, d) develop conventional statistical approaches and artificial intelligence (AI) models from data provided by testing a large number of samples under controlled conditions to validate and generalise the research findings and e) recommend future work to implement the realised improvements.This PhD project aims to create a meaningful impact through the collaboration between EPRG (Engineering and Power Research Group) at Swansea University and Vishay Intertechnology.RequirementsResearch Field Engineering Education Level Bachelor Degree or equivalentSkills/QualificationsCandidates must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level in Engineering or similar relevant science discipline. If you are eligible to apply for the scholarship (i.e. a student who is eligible to pay the UK rate of tuition fees) but do not hold a UK degree, you can check our comparison entry requirements. Please note that you may need to provide evidence of your English Language proficiency.Specific RequirementsDue to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by .Additional InformationBenefitsThis scholarship covers the full cost of UK tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £18,622 for 2023/24).Additional research expenses will also be available.Eligibility criteriaCandidates must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level in Engineering or similar relevant science discipline. If you are eligible to apply for the scholarship (i.e. a student who is eligible to pay the UK rate of tuition fees) but do not hold a UK degree, you can check our comparison entry requirements. Please note that you may need to provide evidence of your English Language proficiency.Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by .Selection processPlease visit our website for more information.Website for additional job detailsWork Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute Swansea University Country United Kingdom GeofieldWhere to apply WebsiteContact State/ProvinceSwansea CitySwansea WebsiteStreetSingleton Park Postal CodeSA2 8PPSTATUS: EXPIRED

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