In the last 40 years, the systematic downscaling of CMOS Integrated Circuit (IC) technologies has enabled unprecedented improvements in the transistor density, frequency of operation, energy efficiency and reliability. Most recent CMOS technologies allow the integration of several billions of transistors in a digital microprocessor chip the size of a fingernail. While technology downscaling has been extremely beneficial for digital circuits, the design of analog frontend electronics and Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) in deep sub-micron CMOS technologies is becoming increasingly challenging due to the systematic power supply reduction, the intrinsically larger device parameter variability, and the higher low-frequency noise level of these transistors. To achieve high performance while ensuring a high level of reliability, complex and accurate calibration circuits need to be added to the ICs to counteract these effects. However, the design of these calibration circuits is challenging, and their effectiveness is typically limited to specific operating conditions.
This project is done in cooperation with NXP semiconductors, Eindhoven.
Your duties
As a PhD researcher from the Integrated Circuits group, you will investigate a novel methodology to design and implement calibration techniques for Analog-to-Digital Converters with the aid of Machine Learning (ML). During your PhD you will first identify the root causes which limit ADC performance. Next you will investigate suitable ML algorithms to correct these errors, calibrate the ADC behavior and improve its performance. Finally, you will design a novel ADC with embedded ML calibration circuits, achieving beyond state-of-the-art performance.
In summary your main tasks will be:
We are looking for a candidate who meets the following requirements:
You will need to have a good proficiency in spoken and written English; knowledge of Dutch is not required.
TU/e
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is one of Europe's leading research universities. The Eindhoven area, in the southern part of the Netherlands, is one of Europe's top 'innovation ecosystems', with many high-tech companies and institutes. TU/e is intertwined with many of these companies and institutes, and research at TU/e is characterized by a combination of academic excellence, industrial relevance and societal interweaving.
Please visit www.tue.nl/jobs to find out more about working at TU/e!
Diversity
We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.
More information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact
dr.ir. Marco Fattori, M.Fattori[at]tue.nl or dr.ir. Pieter Harpe, P.J.A.Harpe[at]tue.nl.
Further information about the employment conditions can be found here.
Application
We invite you to submit a complete application by using the 'apply now'-button on this page.
The application should include:
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