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PhD in THz microelectronics

PhD in THz microelectronics

Belgium 06 Feb 2021
Université catholique de Louvain

Université catholique de Louvain

State University (Belgium), Browse similar opportunities

OPPORTUNITY DETAILS

Total reward
0 $
State University
Area
Host Country
Deadline
06 Feb 2021
Study level
Opportunity type
PhD
Specialities
Opportunity funding
Not funding
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This opportunity is destined for all countries
Eligible Region
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The Louvain School of Engineering is seeking a millimetre-wave (mmWave) Device engineering PhD student (4 years) to work on silicon waveguide technologies for future > 100 GHz applications.

As CMOS technologies have now scaled down to well below 50 nm they have become suitable candidates for mmWave applications. Of particular interest is the RF SOI technology, which offers transistor cut-off frequencies reaching 400 GHz, and for which RF SOI transceivers operating at frequencies around 140 GHz have now been demonstrated.

However, one limiting factor of CMOS technologies at > 100 GHz operating frequency is associated to high resistive losses in the transmission lines (microstrips, coplanar waveguides, …) used to propagate (sub-)mmWave signals. These lines are traditionally built within the available metal layers of CMOS back-end-of-lines (BEOL), but those have been designed and optimized for high density digital applications. At sub-mmWave frequencies resistive losses become unacceptably high and it has become clear that the feasibility of CMOS-based sub-mmWave circuits will require alternative modes of signal propagation than current BEOL-supported transmission lines. Approaches based on substrate-integrated waveguides (WG), which are known to provide loss reduction by close to 2 orders of magnitude, will be investigated in the course of this PhD.

Key responsibilities therefore include:

Position requirements:

Hosting lab information

The student will be hosted by the RF SOI group of the Louvain School of Engineering. Under the guidance of Prof. J.-P. Raskin, the group has pioneered the widespread use of SOI for RF and microwave applications by establishing a clear path to transform lossy SOI substrates into quasi-lossless material. Thanks to those developments SOITEC’s eSI™ RF-SOI substrate has been able to displace III-V on the mobile handset RF switch market and at present almost all new smartphones have RF-SOI inside.

Prof. D. Lederer joined the Louvain School of Engineering in September 2020 to work on THz technologies. He also joined the RF SOI group to explore how the boundaries of RF SOI can be pushed towards > 100 GHz applications.

Contact us:

Prof. Dimitri Lederer, PhD

Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)

Place du Levant, 3, Maxwell Building, bte L5.03.02

B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Tel: +32 10 47 25 61

dimitri.lederer@uclouvain.be

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