PhD Studentship: Health Monitoring for Wide-Bandgap Power Modules

Short info about job

Detail information about job PhD Studentship: Health Monitoring for Wide-Bandgap Power Modules. Terms and conditions vacancy

Value of Award

£56,244 in total (over 3 years). Funding covers the cost of annual fees at £4,250 and provides annual maintenance of £14,553 (2017/18 figure). UK applicants will be eligible for a full award paying tuition fees and maintenance. European Union applicants will be eligible for an award paying tuition fees only, except where UK residency has been established for more than 3 years.

Number of awards: 1

Start date and duration: Start dates: 15.10.2017 or later but no later than 1.1.2018

Duration: 3 years

Application closing date: 8 September 2017. Applications will be viewed when received and a response provided before the closing date (where possible)

Overview

The pace of power electronics development is defined by the market penetration of wide-bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor modules. In 2020 the estimated worldwide market value for WBG power semiconductor modules will be $900M which is still small compared to silicon based power modules. The relatively slow growth can be explained by the lag of WBG reliability and lifetime data, which is important to any end-user who is manufacturing power electronics converters. In order to boost confidence, health monitoring for WBG power semiconductor modules become essential. Health monitoring has been already successfully applied to silicon based power semiconductor modules but little is known how to apply health monitoring techniques to WBG power semiconductor devices. This PhD studentship will undertake research in this new area.

Please see more project overview information at http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding/sources/ukeustudents/ee044.html.

More information on existing research in this area can be found here: Electrical Power Research Group

Sponsor

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the School of Engineering at Newcastle University.

Name of supervisor(s)

Professor Volker Pickert (Head of the Electrical Power Research Group) and Dr Mohamed Dahidah (Lecturer)

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants should be educated to at least BEng (Hons) level and should have a good understanding in power electronics and power semiconductors. Applicants should have typically a 1st degree in engineering (electrical/electronic) or physics. Applicants with a 2.1 are welcome to apply but must show clearly evidence of strength in power electronics engineering. Finally it is expected from the candidate to be passionate researcher.

How to apply

You must apply through the University’s online postgraduate application system. To do this please ‘Create a new account’.

All relevant fields should be completed, but fields marked with a red asterisk must to be completed. The following information will help us to process your application. You will need to:

• insert the programme code 8060F in the programme of study section
• select ‘PhD School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (full time)’ as the programme of study
• insert the studentship code ee044 in the studentship/partnership reference field

You must also attach a CV, certified copies of degree certificates and transcripts, a personal statement describing relevant experience (maximum 2 pages), 2 references, and proof of eligibility (eg passport or residence permit).

Applicants will only be contacted if selected for interview.

Contact

For all queries please email Prof Volker Pickert ([email protected]).