This proposal seeks funding to create a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Connected Electronic and Photonic Systems (CEPS). Photonics has moved from a niche industry to being embedded in the majority of deployed systems, ranging from sensing, biophotonics and advanced manufacturing, through communications from the chip-to-chip to transcontinental scale, to display technologies, bringing higher resolution, lower power operation and enabling new ways of human-machine interaction. These advances have set the scene for a major change in commercialisation activity where electronics photonics and wireless converge in a wide range of information, sensing, communications, manufacturing and personal healthcare systems. Currently manufactured systems are realised by combining separately developed photonics, electronic and wireless components. This approach is labour intensive and requires many electrical interconnects as well as optical alignment on the micron scale. Devices are optimised separately and then brought together to meet systems specifications. Such an approach, although it has delivered remarkable results, not least the communications systems upon which the internet depends, limits the benefits that could come from systems-led design and the development of technologies for seamless integration of electronic photonics and wireless systems. To realise such connected systems requires researchers who have not only deep understanding of their specialist area, but also an excellent understanding across the fields of electronic photonics and wireless hardware and software. This proposal seeks to meet this important need, building upon the uniqueness and extent of the UCL and Cambridge research, where research activities are already focussing on higher levels of electronic, photonic and wireless integration; the convergence of wireless and optical communication systems; combined quantum and classical communication systems; the application of THz and optical low-latency connections in data centres; techniques for the low-cost roll-out of optical fibre to replace the copper network; the substitution of many conventional lighting products with photonic light sources and extensive application of photonics in medical diagnostics and personalised medicine. Many of these activities will increasingly rely on more advanced systems integration, and so the proposed CDT includes experts in electronic circuits, wireless systems and software. By drawing these complementary activities together, and building upon initial work towards this goal carried out within our previously funded CDT in Integrated Photonic and Electronic Systems, it is proposed to develop an advanced training programme to equip the next generation of very high calibre doctoral students with the required technical expertise, responsible innovation (RI), commercial and business skills to enable the £90 billion annual turnover UK electronics and photonics industry to create the closely integrated systems of the future. The CEPS CDT will provide a wide range of methods for learning for research students, well beyond that conventionally available, so that they can gain the required skills. In addition to conventional lectures and seminars, for example, there will be bespoke experimental coursework activities, reading clubs, roadmapping activities, responsible innovation (RI) studies, secondments to companies and other research laboratories and business planning courses. Connecting electronic and photonic systems is likely to expand the range of applications into which these technologies are deployed in other key sectors of the economy, such as industrial manufacturing, consumer electronics, data processing, defence, energy, engineering, security and medicine. As a result, a key feature of the CDT will be a developed awareness in its student cohorts of the breadth of opportunity available and the confidence that they can make strong impact thereon.

Gallium Nitride (GaN) based optoelectronic devices have the potential to revolutionise our society. They are more efficient and more robust than the alternative device technologies used today and therefore last longer and deliver significant energy savings. For example, GaN LEDs can be used to replace compact fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs in our homes and places of work. Such LED light bulbs have the potential to reduce by up to 50% the energy we use for lighting. Since about 20% of all the electricity we generate is used for lighting applications this would save the equivalent of about 8 power stations worth of electricity in the UK each year. Another, potentially even larger area where Gallium Nitride could have a significant impact is power electronics. Power electronic devices are found in electric cars, power supplies for laptop, and the control systems for mains electricity. Since GaN power electronics can handle more power, operate at higher voltages and are again significantly more efficient than other semiconductor technologies, it is estimated that by switching to GaN power electronics it may be possible to save up to £1 trillion each year in global energy costs. From these examples it is clear that GaN devices can significantly help to reduce our demand for energy and therefore our Carbon footprint. However, for this potential to be realised, research still needs to be done to deliver the promised performance of these devices and to reduce their manufacturing cost so that they are widely accepted. Production of semiconductor devices involves the manufacture of thousands or even millions of devices simultaneously on a circular wafer. One of the developments which has allowed the low cost and pervasive nature of Silicon electronics today are the economies of scale that can be achieved when large diameter wafer are used. A key step therefore in the manufacturing of low cost GaN devices is the development of high quality GaN layers grown onto large diameter Silicon wafers. This will allow the high volume production techniques that have been developed for the Silicon electronics industry to be applied for GaN devices reducing their cost by up to 80%. Research carried out in this fellowship will provide new knowledge about how to grow and control GaN device layers. This will allow the promise of these devices to be realised enabling higher efficiencies, new applications and growth on large diameter Silicon substrates (upto 200mm). By carrying out this research in close collaboration with UK industry, the developments will be focused towards real products and address some of the real world challenges associated with delivering high performance and reliable devices. This will also ensure that the research supports the developing GaN device manufacturing base in the UK and can contribute to the commercial exploitation of GaN technology.

Optical imaging is perhaps the single most important sensor modality in use today. Its use is widespread in consumer, medical, commercial and defence technologies. The most striking development of the last 20 years has been the emergence of digital imaging using complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Because CMOS is scalable, camera technology has benefited from Moore's law reduction in transistor size so that it is now possible to buy cameras with more than 10 MegaPixels for £50. The same benefits are beginning to emerge in other imaging markets - most notably in infrared imaging where 64x64 pixel thermal cameras can be bought for under £1000. Far infrared (FIR), or terahertz, imaging is now emerging as a vital modality with application to biomedical and security imaging, but early imaging arrays are still only few pixel research ideas and prototypes that we are currently investigating. There has been no attempt to integrate the three different wavelength sensors coaxially on to the same chip. Sensor fusion is already widespread whereby image data from traditional visible and mid infrared (MIR) sensors is overlaid to provide a more revealing and data rich visualisation. Image fusion permits discrepancies to be identified and comparative processing to be performed. Our aim is to create a "superspectral" imaging chip. By superspectral we mean detection in widely different bands, as opposed to the discrimination of many wavelengths inside a band - e.g. red, green and blue in the visible band. We will use "More than Moore" microelectronic technology as a platform. By doing so, we will leverage widely available low-cost CMOS to build new and economically significant technologies that can be developed and exploited in the UK. There are considerable challenges to be overcome to make such technology possible. We will hybridise two semiconductor systems to integrate efficient photodiode sensors for visible and MIR detection. We will integrate bolometric sensing for FIR imaging. We will use design and packaging technologies for thermal isolation and to optimise the performance of each sensor type. We will use hybridised metamaterial and surface plasmon resonance technologies to optimise wavelength discrimination allowing vertical stacking of physically large (i.e. FIR) sensors with visible and MIR sensors. We ultimate want to demonstrate the world's first ever super-spectral camera.

This proposal is concerned with the research and development of new manufacturing methods that add electronic functionality to the heart of textiles by incorporating semiconductor devices into yarns. Textiles are one of the most common materials with which humans come into contact, but, at present, their functionality is limited to their appearance and physical properties. There is considerable and growing interest in multifunctional textiles with added electronic functionality: These will offer a far greater range of functionality that can include sensing, data processing and interaction with the user and, as a result, can be applied in a vast range of applications. Electronic textiles (E-textiles) need to not only perform well but also be robust, comfortable to wear and be readily used, worn, washed, and maintained. Currently, electronics have been integrated with textiles by either attaching or printing the electronics onto the surface of a textile (first generation), or the electronic functionality is added at the textile manufacturing stage (second generation). The first generation E-textiles will always interfere with the textile properties of a garment; even thin film devices or circuits printed on textiles. As a textile conforms to a shape some regions bend and some go into shear deformation: Both factors are important for drape and conformability. Knitted and woven textiles are able to conform to a shape as they bend and shear however, a thin polymer film can bend but, as it cannot shear, it will buckle and crumple rather than conform to a shape. The second generation textiles may retain a textile feel but are limited in their applications, such as the creation of electrical pathways, and electrode-based sensing. Therefore, Professor Dias (the PI) pioneered the development of a platform technology for embedding semiconductor packaged dice within the core of yarns, in order to integrate electronics into the heart of textile structures. The production process starts with re-flow soldering of package dice onto fine copper wire. A carrier yarn is placed in parallel to provide improved tensile strength to the copper wire populated with packaged dice. The package dice and carrier yarn are then encapsulated within polymer micro-pods to provide protection from moisture ingress. The micro-pod and copper interconnects are finally surrounded with additional fibres held tightly together within a knitted fibre sheath to create an electronic yarn (E-yarn). The aim of this project is to create the underlying knowledge to produce E-yarns in an automated fashion reliably, and to demonstrate an automated pilot manufacturing line (TRL4). The ability to produce E-yarns in a semi-automated fashion using two-terminal packaged dice has already been demonstrated by the investigators. The programme of research will extend this expertise to the reliable creation of E-yarns based on semiconductor devices with more than two terminals, massively extending the scope for the types of E-yarn that can be created. To achieve this ambitious goal the following research areas must be addressed: thermal energy management for soldering semiconductor dice; encapsulation of soldered dice; optimisation of the techniques of covering copper wires populated with dice to prevent their migration to the surface of the E-yarn; development of testing methods for the E-yarns. This proposal concerns a platform manufacturing technology that can address a range of E-textiles applications. The research will ensure that the technology can deliver the required functionality, meet the requirements of practical use, and provide the platform for commercialising the E-yarn technology. Project results will increase industry capability in the UK to lead the E-textile sector, which is expected to grow to a $5 billion market by 2028; hence the proposed research is timely. [1] www.idtechex.com/research/reports/e-textiles-2018-2028-technologies-markets-and-players-000613.asp

This proposal seeks funding to deliver enhanced capability for characterising and assessing advanced nanomaterials using three complementary, leading edge techniques: Field-emission microprobe (EPMA), combined Raman/multiphoton confocal microscope (Raman/MP) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). This suite of equipment will be used to generate a step-change in nanoanalysis capability for a multi-disciplinary team of researchers who together form a key part of Strathclyde's new Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC). The equipment will support an extensive research portfolio with an emphasis on functional materials and healthcare applications. The requested equipment suite will enable Strathclyde and other UK academics to partner with other world-leading groups having complementary analytical facilities, thereby creating an international collaborative network of non-duplicated facilities for trans-national access. Moreover the equipment will generate new research opportunities in advanced materials science in partnership with the National Physical Laboratory, UK industry and academia.