Available to start September 2015

The nano segment (measurement precision better than 0.3 microns) of the dimensional metrology market is estimated as £1.3bn with 8% growth per annum. Typical systems applications are inspection of products in the semiconductor, micro-optics, photovoltaic, data storage, and medical markets. As existing measurement systems rely on temporal scanning to derive depth information, they are prone to errors caused by vibrations and small batches of products have to be moved from the production line to the vibration-controlled environment of the metrology lab. High-speed approaches to metrology are therefore of paramount importance to eliminate this bottleneck and allow real time corrective feedback in intelligent production lines and diagnostics platforms.

This project will be carried out as part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Embedded Intelligence and is co-sponsored by Renishaw Plc.

Embedded Intelligence is characterised as the ability of a product, process or service to reflect on its own operational performance, usage load, or in relation to the end-user or environment in terms of satisfactory experience. This self-reflection is facilitated by information collected by sensors and processed locally or remotely to derive insight. These aspects must be considered from the design stage such as to enhance product lifetime and performance, increase quality of process or service delivery, or ensure customer satisfaction and market acceptance.

This Centre, in collaboration with Renishaw Plc, offers an attractive package, including a tax free stipend of up to £17k pa (equivalent £24k tax free), in addition to full University PhD registration feesfor British and EU candidates. Overseas applicants are expected to finance the residual annual PhD fees which are in excess of the home student fees. Additionally, there is a generous personal development budget of £10,000 for the specific training needs of the successful candidate.

The Centre offers a unique 4-year Ph.D. programme, drawing on expertise in postgraduate teaching and research supervision in the fields of sensors, system design, embedded software and systems, manufacturing systems, novel manufacturing processing, applications engineering and systems services. The PhD candidate will be supported by the state-of-the-art facilities at Renishaw Plc and Loughborough University.

A high calibre candidate with first or upper second class (2:1) degree in electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, optical engineering or physics is sought. It is expected that the candidate would have good experimental and computational skills and a strong interest in optical instrument development with a view towards product development and commercialization.

Further information can be obtained from Dr Pablo Ruiz, e-mail: P.D.Ruiz<στο>lboro.ac.uk

Please quote Ref No.:2015CDTEIMM2 on your application.  Apply here