High-performance computational techniques and numerical methods for the electromagnetic simulation of semiconductor and communications devices

About the Project

This PhD project is at the intersection of electromagnetism, numerical methods, and high-performance parallel computing, with application towards the design and optimisation of integrated circuits, antennas, and electromagnetic metasurfaces.

The computer-aided simulation of electromagnetic fields is critical in the design of most computing and communications devices, such as high-speed interconnects in semiconductor devices, large antenna arrays for satellite communication, and advanced electromagnetic surfaces. As these devices continue to become more complex and operate at ever-increasing frequencies, there is a growing need for new high-performance electromagnetic simulation technologies to enable rapid design and optimisation, in both research and industry.

Towards meeting these needs, this PhD project will involve the research and development of new computational technologies, based on the boundary element and finite element methods, in a high-performance computing context. The work may include, but is not limited to:

• investigating new numerical formulations of Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism;
• developing fast algorithms and numerical methods that leverage modern parallel computing paradigms (e.g., MPI, CUDA, etc.);
• designing and managing new electromagnetic solvers and associated codebases in C++ and/or Python;
• exploring the use of scientific machine learning to augment conventional simulators, or for design optimisation and sensitivity analysis

The research will be geared towards the following key application areas: the simulation of electromagnetic fields in high-speed electrical interconnects in the semiconductor industry; the prediction of the electromagnetic performance of communications devices such as antenna arrays; and the modelling of advanced electromagnetic structures such as metasurfaces, which allow for unconventional control and manipulation of electromagnetic fields.

The following skills will be essential in this project:

• familiarity with the theory of electromagnetic fields and waves;
• good understanding of basic vector calculus concepts, especially as they apply to the 3D Maxwell's equations;
• experience with programming in C++ and / or Python (or equivalent experience in Matlab / Julia);
• familiarity with fundamentals of linear algebra, such as matrix factorisation and decomposition, eigenvalue problems, etc.

The following skills would be nice to have:

• some exposure to parallel computing, e.g., OpenMP, MPI, CUDA, etc.;
• experience developing code for numerical methods such as FDTD, FEM, BEM, etc.;
• familiarity with numerical optimisation and/or machine learning techniques.

If you are interested, please reach out to me directly by email, along with your CV/resume. In your message, please outline specifically why this project interests you, and how your past projects or coursework might relate to this research.

Please note that AI-generated messages often sound very similar to each other, and can be easy to spot, which might make your application less likely to stand out.

Funding Notes

Strong prospective candidates who have identified a source of external funding, such as external studentships / scholarships that they are eligible to apply for, are welcome to get in touch.

Additional sources of funding can be found at: View Website.