Six places available NOW for January/February 2015 Entry

Up to 14 places available for September 2015 Entry

Introduction

The convergence of many exciting technologies such as photonics, electronics and advanced materials facilitated by nanofabrication is an environment for many new, exciting research directions. Our Centre's focus will be on developing the science and engineering to provide highly-manufacturable photonic integration technologies related to the storage of digital information. However, the development of these technologies will be relevant to a wide spectrum of end-users – from telecommunications to biophotonics, in which optical technologies are applied to living organisms and health care.

Background

To continue to increase the capacity of hard disk drives to support 'cloud' computing, a new technology will be required. It is likely to be heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), which uses electromagnetic energy to locally heat the disk to ease the process of writing data on to it. It would allow recording densities to continue to increase at the same rate as happened over the past decade.

However, HAMR requires the integration of photonic components such as lasers, waveguides and plasmonic antennas into the recording head. This exciting technology is a focus of our CDT because these developments required by HAMR will drive low-cost photonic integration and plasmonic technology into other industries and applications.

We therefore offer an environment to undertake a wide diversity of exciting topical doctoral research projects which cut across physics, materials and electrical and optical engineering through to applications as diverse as data storage and biosciences.

Our CDT brings together a critical mass of partners from universities and industries that can meet this challenge.

Our growing list of industry partners include Seagate Technology; IQE plc; Oclaro Ltd; CST Global; JEOL; FEI Company; Cirdan Imaging; Kelvin Nanotechnology; AHS Ltd; Xytartex; Renishaw; and the Knowledge Transfer Network - many of whom will be actively supporting projects or offering internships during your research.

Research & Training

We offer a new 4-year Doctoral Programme leading to the award of a unique Joint PhD between University of Glasgow & Queen’s University Belfast in Photonic Integration & Advanced Data Storage.

Semesters 1 & 2 of Year 1 provide a series of high-level postgraduate taught courses in photonics, imaging, microscopy, nanofabrication and advanced materials backed up by in-lab and in-fab practical hands-on experience to allow you to explore activities that interest you the most.

In tandem we will provide a unique tailored set of management, entrepreneurial and leadership courses to allow you to be the most effective researcher you can be. These courses will range from group work with industry, through to undertaking a series of residential courses at the highly regarded Innovation Academy in Dublin, which specialises in fostering interdisciplinary innovation and entrepreneurship skills among PhD researchers and leads to the award of a Postgraduate Certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

This will be complimented by a dedicated course in Teamwork & Collaboration Skills in a Virtual Cross-Geographic Environment provided by Seagate Technology as part of their Global Leadership Programme. This course addresses a key skill sought by all employers and is a feature of our CDT in enabling and training researchers in distributed working.

In the summer of Year 1 you undertake a mini research project before finally selecting your chosen doctoral project and embarking on the substantive research programme where you will be able to undertake projects that avail of state-of-the-art experimental and computational facilities in Physics at Belfast and Glasgow and in Engineering at Glasgow, also using the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre. Examples of projects that would be offered include:

• Semiconductor laser with optimised power output at 100°C
• Silicon waveguide coupling to nano-antennas
• Compact modeling of electronic devices on flexible substrates
• Fast switching of high power laser bars
• Flexible electronic devices using compound semiconductor
• High fidelity simulation of optoelectronic integrated circuits
• High power single mode lasers
• Non-noble metal alloy plasmonic material: plasmonic response versus high temperature reliability
• Atomic compositional mapping of plasmonic materials across microelectronic diffusion
• Integrated source for quantum cryptography
• Integrated technology for diagnostic capsule devices
• Metamaterials and nanophotonics for imaging technology
• Nanophotonic sensors
• Plasmonically enhanced visible Light Emitting Diodes
• New plasmonic materials for Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording
• Novel nitride-based plasmonic materials
• High temperature/harsh environment evaluation of plasmonic transducer elements
• Self-assembled plasmonic nanowire arrays
• Wafer scale fabrication of 3D plasmonic structures
• Plasmonics of coupled nanosystems
• Semiconductor micro-ring lasers for optical vortex emission
• 'Set and Forget' actuators for integrated silicon photonic circuits
• Stabilised mode-locked lasers for THz generation
• Spintronics for information processing and storage in magnetic nanowires
• Nanoscale physics and electrochemistry of functional materials
• Development of time resolved transmission electron microscopy techniques
• bcc/fcc permalloy multilayers for zero magnetostriction: the role of domains by Lorentz imaging
• In situ studies of functional materials by electron microscopy
• Mapping plasmonic excitations on the nanoscale with transmission electron microscopy
• Direct measure of r.f. field distributions on nanometre scales using TEM
• Magnetic permeability in thin films and device architectures in the GHz regime
• Understanding the structure and properties of optical coatings
• Ultra high precision quantification of the atomic structure of nanoscale objects
• Growth of advanced oxide materials for memory and electronics applications

Funding, Eligibility & Application

Each studentship covers fees and a maintenance stipend at current EPSRC rate. In addition, all studentships have significant funding for personal travel and mobility between the institutions as well as to conferences and for research project expenses to allow you to fulfil your potential.

The CDT student cohorts also have a budget for their own self-directed training and development.

Eligibility: UK and EU nationals who meet residency requirements

Entry Requirements: 2:1 (or equivalent) in a cognate physical sciences or engineering discipline

Applications: goo.gl/MqVtwi quoting EPSRC CDT or, for further information, contact Prof Robert Bowman, the CDT Director, atpiads.cdt@qub.ac.uk