The Materials and Surface Engineering section at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark is seeking a candidate for 1 PhD position in the field of “Corrosion reliability of electrical contacts” focusing on understanding the material combinations and failure mechanisms in gold-based contacts used today, and the development of new contact systems free of gold.

The proposed PhD project is a part of the High performance electrical contacts (HiPEC) consortium funded by Innovationsfonden, Denmark. The PhD position is for a 3-year period and expected to start from August 2015.

Project background and content
Present electrical contacts systems are based on heavy use of costly gold. The layers are typically made of a substrate with a layer of nickel followed by a layer of gold with thickness depending on the application and exposure conditions. Main issues with the electrical contacts are the corrosion and wear, which limits the freedom to reduce the gold thickness. Only two solutions can be foreseen to solve this problem: (i) use of a corrosion resistance passive layer underneath of the gold instead of nickel so that the corrosion is reduced in case of wear and (ii) use a non-electrochemically active top layer with matching resistivity level to gold.

This PhD project focusses on understanding the corrosion reliability issues of the presently used gold-based contacts in detail, including the failure mechanisms. Focus will be on understanding the problems with materials combinations, including substrate material and coating as well as the electrical contact loss due to fretting corrosion. A special focus will be on the contacts used for hearing aid applications.

The PhD project will also focus on developing new contact systems without the use of gold. The aim of the new contact material combination will be to provide greater freedom for substrate choice together with building high performance contacts with the required electrical properties without the use of gold.

Qualifications
Candidates for the position should have a Master degree in materials science and engineering, physics, chemistry or related subjects such as corrosion science and engineering with knowledge of materials engineering and chemistry. Prior experience on corrosion reliability of electronics or knowledge on electrical contact systems is an advantage. Combination of knowledge in electronics, materials, and reliability is also preferred.

Application
To apply, please read the full job advertisement at www.career.dtu.dk

Application deadline: 4 May 2015

DTU Mechanical Engineering covers the fundamental engineering disciplines within Solid mechanics, Fluid mechanics, Coastal and Maritime Engineering, Energy systems and energy conversion, Materials and Surface Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering design and Product development. The department has a scientific staff of about 100 persons, 110 PhD students and a technical/administrative support staff of about 85 persons. 

DTU is a technical university providing internationally leading research, education, innovation and public service. Our staff of 5,700 advance science and technology to create innovative solutions that meet the demands of society; and our 10,000 students are being educated to address the technological challenges of the future. DTU is an independent academic university collaborating globally with business, industry, government, and public agencies.