Applications are invited for 6 PhD positions (“Doctoral Researchers (DRs)”) within the PARASOL Doctoral Network. In total 12 DRs will be trained in the network of which 6 positions have now been filled. The following positions are currently still open. Applications need to be done by the vacancy websites of the hiring universities by using the link provided.
DR5: Time-domain shielding for on-board power-electronics
Host: University of York (UK)
Main supervisor: Dr.ir Simon Bale (simon.bale@york.ac.uk)
Duration: 36 months
Salary: the gross salary will be £41,330 per year (no family) or £46,360 per year (family).
Objectives: This DR aims to further the understanding of on-board electromagnetic shielding for power electronics and provide tools to allow engineers to optimize this shielding. An innovative strategy to shield on-board EMI generated by power-electronic equipment will be explored. It consists in a holistic shielding technique including both software and hardware. This will enable a trade-off between waveform control (complexity and efficiency) and shielding techniques (mass and cost) in the overall on-board design. This trade-off will be assessed with respect to the Safe and Sustainable-by-Design approach.
Application via: Link
DR6: Integrated Circuit (IC) and Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Shielding
Host: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)
Main supervisor: Prof. dr. ir. Davy Pissoort (davy.pissoort@kuleuven.be)
Duration: 48 months
Salary: The exact (net) salary will be confirmed upon appointment and is dependent on local tax regulations and on the country correction factor (to allow for the difference in cost of living in different EU Member States).
Objectives: This Doctoral Researcher will develop a characterization method to measure the absorption of multiple materials under different electromagnetic conditions. The measurement results of these materials will directly lead to a very specific guidelines on how and when to apply these materials within the framework of the SSbD approach. Containing the electromagnetic emissions within a confined space is mostly achieved by implementing shielding materials like board level shields, gaskets, etc. Despite their efficiency, some downsides exist (e.g., heat conduction, space, etc.) by implementing these materials. Another solution is to employ specific absorbers on the radiating parts directly to decrease their emissions. There are, however, not many easy-to-use characterization methods to measure the shielding capabilities of absorbers. Also, the absorption of those materials would depend on the type of electromagnetic source.
Application via: Link
DR9: Statistical Shielding Metrics for Enclosures
Host: UoY (UK)
Main supervisor: Dr.ir. Simon Bale (simon.bale@york.ac.uk)
Duration: 36 months
Salary: the gross salary will be £41,330 per year (no family) or £46,360 per year (family).
Objectives: Electromagnetic shielding is essential in nearly all electronic systems to prevent electromagnetic interference affecting the operation of sensors and wireless communications. To date, all current electromagnetic shielding enclosure measurement standards ignore the internal electronics that the shield is there to protect. This can lead to unpredictable outcomes when the shield is installed. Working as part of the Applied Electromagnetics and Devices research group at the University of York, you will develop more accurate shielding metrics, modelling and measurement techniques that will allow the real-world shielding effectiveness of enclosures with contents to be quantified. This will allow engineers to better predict the risk of EMC failures and optimise the shielding design of their equipment resulting in a reduced design overhead and therefore lower costs. Our previous work has shown that the shielding effectiveness (SE) of an enclosure is not an intrinsic property of the enclosure itself. It depends on the absorption cross-section (ACS) of the enclosure contents as well as the transmission cross-section (TCS) of the enclosure apertures. In this work we aim to measure the TCS of an enclosure and the ACS of its contents in a statistical sense so that the SE of an enclosure can be statistically quantified. You will have the opportunity to work with EVEKTOR and apply the techniques developed in this work to aircraft structures. This is a fully funded (salaried) post for 3 years, and as well as working towards your PhD in the research group at York, you will spend several secondments with our industrial and University partners to further your skills.
Link to local vacancy will follow soon
DR10: Trade-off SE solutions for enclosures
Host: UPC (ES) / UT (NL)
Main supervisor: Dr. ir. Robert Vogt (r.a.vogtardatjew@utwente.nl)
Duration: 48 months
Salary: the monthly gross salary in the first year will be €2,541 and in the fourth year €3,247.
Objectives: This task is about addressing the fundamental concept of shielding achieved by reflection and/or absorption. The corresponding trade-offs regard the material properties, design, and implementation, as well as performance evaluation methods, also in their designated applications, with a strong focus on reverberant enclosures such as airplanes and cars. These reverberant enclosures can generate hot sports of (much) higher field strength rendering reflective SE measures much less effective than absorption. However, the currently available absorbing materials have disputable stable performance, and the materials are used in a trial-and-error process, based on measurement techniques which have been developed, but not (yet) standardised. The DR will focus on the selection of materials (e.g., carbon-fibre filled plastics, ferrite, sprayed-cold composite, or metal, also as a frequency selective surface (FSS)), trade-offs (considering e.g., weight, volume, shape, frequency range and selectivity), implementation type (e.g., coating, paint, gasket/rivet/screw, FSS mesh), design fit and integration in the designated application, as well as cost/performance trade-offs. Although this task looks interesting for material research, it is focused on electromagnetics in the microwave range 1-100 GHz.
Application via: link