Fully Funded EPSRC PHD Scholarship: Nanotechnology: Fully Funded EPSRC PHD Scholarship: Single Synapse Measurements in Neuromorphic Percolating Nanoparticle
Table of Contents
NetworksNanotechnology: Fully Funded EPSRC PHD Scholarship
Brain-inspired neuromorphic computing could overcome the inherent limitations of conventional silicon technology, offering a new generation of faster low-power computing, direct hardware image recognition, and high sensitivity sensors. Typical approaches to physical neuromorphic devices focus on highly-organized architectures of artificial neurons, which fail to replicate the requisite complex synaptic interconnectivity. Nanostructured networks of metal nanoparticles instead offer comparatively inexpensive self-organising networks that inherently display brain-like dynamics in both the neurons and the synapses that link them together.
This project will use a multi tip scanning probe microscope to directly manipulate and measure these networks [10.1021/nl503743t, 10.1016/j.carbon.2018.11.076] over the length scale of single artificial neurons. Under applied bias, dynamic electrical pathways continually form and break, displaying emergent collective neuromorphic behaviour. The lab is based in the new £30M Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials; a partnership between academia and the semiconductor industry, including IQE, SPTS and Nexperia.
We seek a PhD student to join this exciting project, as part of wider funded activity in this area. It crosses electronics, materials, surface science, computation, mathematics and device physics, and we welcome enquiries from all interested candidates.
Eligibility
Candidates must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) in Engineering or similar relevant science discipline.
Benefits
This scholarship covers the full cost of UK tuition fees and an annual stipend of £17,668.
Additional research expenses will also be available.
Application
Please see our website for more information.