Building the future of chipmaking with smarter etching

About the Project

Lead Supervisor: Carla Perez-Martinez

Project Summary:

Why is this research important? The demand for electronics is unprecedented, with microelectronic chips needed for consumer devices and artificial intelligence data centres. Manufacturing electronics requires technologies for material removal, or etching. For example, a mobile phone accelerometer consists of silicon shaped into micrometre-sized beams and springs. To carve such small features, machines known as etchers create and direct a plasma towards a target covered with a patterned mask. In this project, you will optimise a novel etching system, based on a technology known as the Ionic Liquid Ion Source (ILIS).

Who will you be working with? With Dr Carla Perez-Martinez in the London Centre for Nanotechnology (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/london-nano/fabrication-ionic-liquid-ion-sources)

What you will be doing? ILIS are needle devices that produce a spray of ions from ionic liquids, a type of liquid composed solely of positive and negatively charged ions. The resulting beam can be used to treat materials. A single ILIS has already been used to etch silicon with enhanced yields. Ionic liquids are non-volatile and thus an ILIS-based etcher would not require many of the safety fixtures required to handle the toxic gases used by conventional etchers. You will design, implement and test an ILIS needle array and attached optics for use in industry-scale electronics fabrication. You will be trained in charged particle physics and in COMSOL Multiphysics for simulation of the devices, and you will gain experimental skills by testing the devices in our vacuum chamber facilities. You will irradiate silicon targets and use advanced material characterisation techniques (profilometry, chemical analysis) to determine the uniformity of etching from the array.

Who are we looking for? Suitable candidates will have a minimum of an upper second-class UK Master’s degree in physics, electrical or electronic engineering, materials science, or a related discipline, or an equivalent overseas qualification.

How to apply:

To apply for this project please visit the UELA webpage for further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/epsrc-doctoral-training/prospective-students/ucl-epsrc-landscape-award-uela-studentships

Project ID: 2531bd1675

(You will need this ID for your application)

For formal enquires about this project, please contact the lead supervisor Dr Carla Perez-Martinez (carla.perezmartinez@ucl.ac.uk).

Funding Notes

All studentships are fully funded for 4 years. They provide:

• 4 years fees (Home rate) (International students will receive a UCL award to cover the home/international fee difference)
• Maintenance stipend at UELA enhanced rate (ie £1,500 above the UKRI London-weighted rate; this will be at least £23,466 in 2026/27, and rises each year)
• Research Training Support Grant (RTSG). This is to cover additional costs of training eg courses, project costs, conferences, travel