PhD Studentship - Neptune â Inkjet printing digital image generation and compensation for surface chemistry effects (ENG1254)

PhD Studentship Sponsored by Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI)

Based at the Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM)

University of Nottingham 

This 3 year PhD studentship, is based at the world-renowned Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM) at The University of Nottingham in partnership with global electronics manufacturer Texas Instruments Incorporated. For further information, please visit https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cfam/

Project title: Neptune – Inkjet printing digital image generation and compensation for surface chemistry effects

Project description: 

As AM technologies advance and printed electronics (PE) materials improve in their electrical and mechanical properties there is a requirement to print onto non-porous substrates (e.g. silicon wafers). In the case of the semiconductor industry, these substrates may vary in surface material, be non-planar in topography, or may generally require tight features that push inkjet resolution to its limits. Traditionally for inkjet printing understanding the wetting of ink on such substrates requires computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling which is limited in its physics approximation of surface interactions. Otherwise, a kind of “trial and error” approach to determining how the ink wets the substrate is used, often a very time consuming process.

For these reasons, this project is targeted to leverage new modelling techniques to provide a kind of image “correction” from the digital desired image and the final structure resulting from the printing process. Image correction is intended to help with the generation of fine features that are traditionally difficult for inkjet, improve resolution of edges and corners by reducing the amount of overflow from material, and account for varied topography and capillary effects thereof on the substrate surface. It is also expected that the project will be able to account for the topography of the printed structure and be able to model the effect of multiple layers built up on each other.  

The successful candidate will:

Receive the training needed for a professional career in Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing 

Receive a full studentship (fees and stipend at UK/EU rates) for 3 years 

Work directly with leading academics and industrialists

Eligibility

Applicants should possess a minimum 2:1 in Materials Science, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, or a related discipline. 

How to apply

Please send your covering letter, CV and academic transcripts to cfam@nottingham.ac.uk referring to the project title. Please note applications without academic transcripts will not be considered.

The successful candidate will be available to start on 1st October 2019.

Closing date: 31st July 2019

Closing Date: 31 Jul 2019
Category: Studentships