Electronic Engineering: Fully Funded PhD Studentship in Next-Generation Wide-Bandgap Materials and Devices

Silicon has traditionally dominated as the semiconductor for power electronics, but its inherent limitations such as narrow bandgap (and thus operating voltage) have led to an increasing focus on next-generation wider bandgap compound semiconductors with superior characteristics. Understanding and developing these wider bandgap semiconductors will be the focus of this PhD project with a particular focus on more efficient power electronics to facilitate societal progress toward Net Zero. Activities will include: i) the application of advanced characterisation to understand the structure-property relationships in newly-developed SiC and GaN devices and materials; and ii) the growth and characterisation of emergent semiconductors with ultra-wide gaps based upon gallium oxide (Ga2O3) and its alloys utilising Swansea University’s state-of-the-art new industrial-grade AIXTRON Metal Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition (MOCVD) epitaxy reactor.  

This exciting PhD project will be undertaken in close collaboration with (and is sponsored by) one of the world’s leading compound semiconductor epitaxy companies (IQE). It will be hosted by and use the full facilities of the new Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM) – Swansea University’s flagship £55M facility for advanced semiconductor research and development. This is an outstanding opportunity for materials science, electrical / electronic engineering, chemistry or physics graduate to be part of the semiconductor for net-zero revolution. 

This studentship will also be part of an exciting new Doctoral Training Initiative called UK Semiconductor Industry Future Skills, or UK-SIFS for short. UK-SIFS will create a vibrant, multi-disciplinary cohort experience for all our students and provide highly practical training of substantial value to those interested in careers in the semiconductor and related sectors, such as optoelectronics and clean energy. You will also have a chance to work with a large range of industrial partners who will not only deliver training content but also co-supervise research and host secondments. We would particularly welcome appropriately qualified applicants with experience from other industry sectors looking to embark on a new career journey in semiconductors. If you want to undertake cutting edge research in world-class facilities closely linked to the rapidly expanding UK semiconductor sector, then UK-SIFS and this PhD project is your opportunity.

Funding Details

Funding Comment

This scholarship includes an annual stipend at the UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26). 

An additional research training support grant of up to £3,000 per year will also be available.

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