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Queen's University Belfast

Photonic Integration & Advanced Data Storage

Overview
The Centre for Doctoral Training offers unique four-year PhD training in Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage, leading to a jointly awarded degree from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow.

Designed and delivered in close collaboration with an impressive range of industrial partners, the CDT provides a cutting-edge and innovative research environment for doctoral students to develop the new technologies, products and systems required to address the expanding data storage needs of today's fast moving digital world. The programme aims to equip students with high-level and sophisticated technical training and skills alongside much sought after skills in distributed working, collaboration, entrepreneurship and business planning skills. CDT students enjoy a substantial funding package which provides an individual budget for project research expenses and for mobility and conference travel.

CDT students are exposed to best practice commonly used in large scientific and development projects, including annual conclaves for the dissemination of ideas and network building, and peer-to-peer learning and training in world-leading fabrication, characterization and analysis techniques.

Our doctoral students join of a close-knit community of postgraduate research students who are supported by world-leading researchers from Queen's University's Centre for Nanostructured Media, host to the largest global Seagate Technology university engagement, and from the University of Glasgow whose capabilities include the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre in the Engineering & Microscopy facility of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Students spend time at both universities benefiting from the excellent facilities available to postgraduates including The Graduate School at Queen's and The Graduate School at Glasgow.

Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage highlights

The programme is delivered by leading academics from both Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow and leads to a jointly awarded research degree from both institutions.

Key Facts
The CDT is a partnership between Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow which aims to tackle some of the challenges created by the increasing quantities of data generated by today's society.
•The programme is delivered by leading academics from both Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow and leads to a jointly awarded research degree from both institutions.
•CDT students benefit from access to top academics in the field from both universities.

Learning Outcomes
Course structure
Students are registered at both Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow. In the first year students spend one semester completing a range of taught courses at each institution. Year 1 also includes attendance at the Innovation Academy in Dublin and specialist training given by Seagate Technology on global collaboration and distributed working. The Centre coordinates travel and accommodation arrangements for the first year. Students then undertake a summer research project located in either, or between both Universities before going on to identify their substantive PhD research project.
All PhD projects take place under the direction of a cross-institutional supervisory team, led by the University where the majority of the research is undertaken. All candidates submit the PhD thesis at the end of four years of full-time registration.
In Years 2-4 candidates undertake further courses from the Innovation Academy leading to the award of a Postgraduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Upon successful completion of optional additional modules candidates may also be eligible for the award of MRes in Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage.

Facilities
CDT students benefit from access to the state of the art facilities at the Centre for Nanostructured Media at QUB and the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre at the University of Glasgow.

Entry requirements

Entrance requirements
Graduate
The minimum academic requirement for admission to this research degree programme is normally an Upper Second Class Honours degree in a cognate physical sciences or engineering discipline from a UK or ROI HE provider, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University. Cognate disciplines include physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, chemical engineering.

Please note this programme will run for 2019 entry subject to funding being secured. Further information can be obtained by contacting the School of Mathematics and Physics.

International Students
For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.

English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.0, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. *Taken within the last 2 years.

International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
•Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
•Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.

Duration

4 years.

Careers or further progression

Career Prospects
Introduction
The CDT programme has been designed and delivered in close consultation with an impressive range of industrial partners. Through placements, internships, annual conclaves, industrial seminars, industrial site visits and project supervision, our students benefit from ongoing opportunities to engage with the Centre's industrial partners, such as Seagate Technology, IQE and Oclaro.

The programme enables students to develop high-level technical, research, management, entrepreneurship, creativity and collaboration skills. Thus, CDT doctoral students are well equipped to progress to a range of research and development, technical and management roles in industry and academia.

Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.

Further enquiries

Professor Robert Bowman 
CDT Director
School of Maths and Physics

Application date

How to Apply
Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal go.qub.ac.uk/pgapply and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Find a supervisor
If you're interested in a particular project, we suggest you contact the relevant academic before you apply, to introduce yourself and ask questions.

To find a potential supervisor aligned with your area of interest, or if you are unsure of who to contact, look through the staff profiles linked here.

www.qub.ac.uk/Study/PostgraduateStudy/Postgraduate-research/find-phd-sup...

You might be asked to provide a short outline of your proposal to help us identify potential supervisors.

Postgraduate Research
There is no standard closing date. You should however check both the University's website and refer to the relevant School/Institute webpage for information on deadline dates for postgraduate funding applications, as these will also determine when your application for admission should be submitted.

Research areas

Research information

Research Projects
CDT research students are engaged on a range of challenging doctoral research projects across the Centre's five main research themes, as shown below. All students are jointly supervised by academic staff from the University of Glasgow and Queen's University Belfast.

Research Themes
Ultra-reliable semiconductor lasers operating in hostile environments. e.g:
-Semiconductor Lasers for Harsh Environments
-Hybrid optical components for advanced quantum systems
-GaN blue lasers for photonic integration
-Quantum Dot Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Laser

Low cost planar lightwave circuit platforms suitable for volume manufacture. e.g:
-Design Optimisation for an Integrated Optical Device based on Laser Interactions with Nanostructured Arrays
-Hybrid Integrated Silicon Photonic Transceiver
-Heterogeneous integration of III-V lasers to optical waveguides

Novel nanoplasmonic devices capable of operating in extreme environments. e.g:
-Plasmonic Antennas for Extreme Light Concentration and Harvesting
-Plasmonic properties of silver fractal nanostructures

Atomic scale analysis techniques. e.g:
-Antiferromagnetic Materials for Optical Recording
-New Forms of Magnetic Storage: Manipulation of Skyrmion Lattices for Memory and Logic
-Developing the Use of Functional Domain Walls in Oxides for Memory Storage Applications
-Structure and Ferroic Ordering at Conducting Domain Walls

Advanced materials for magnetic recording. e.g:
-Mapping Plasmonic Excitations of Patterned TiN Nano-elements in the Scanning-transmission Electron Microscope
-Thermal effects in nanostructured magnetic materials

Research Impact
The CDT is a partnership between Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow which aims to tackle some of the challenges created by the increasing quantities of data generated by today's society.

Established in 2014 with substantial investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), both universities and industrial partners including Seagate, the industry leader in hard disc drives and storage solutions, the Centre is helping to address a skills shortage in the photonics industry by educating future scientists and engineers.

The Centre's focus is on developing highly-manufacturable photonic integration technologies related to the magnetic storage of digital information. The development of these technologies will be relevant to a wide spectrum of end-users – from telecommunications to biophotonics, in which optical technologies are applied to living organisms and health care.

Research Success
CDT students benefit from access to top academics in the field from both universities and have access to the state of the art facilities at the Centre for Nanostructured Media at QUB and the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre at the University of Glasgow.

The available research projects fall under five research themes:
• Ultra-reliable semiconductor lasers operating in hostile environments
• Low cost planar lightwave circuit platforms, suitable for volume manufacture
• Novel nanoplasmonic devices capable of operating in extreme environments
• Advanced materials for magnetic recording
• Atomic scale analysis techniques.

These themes encompass the expertise of our staff from the Schools of Physics and Astronomy, School of Engineering at Glasgow and the Centre for Nanostructured Media in Belfast in underlying science and materials for next-generation data storage and information-processing technologies. An increasing role for advanced functional materials and optics and optical excitations, particularly in ever-diminishing dimensions in a host of applications.

Our established strengths in these themes places the CDT in a unique position to offer globally leading training and research opportunities. Throughout the CDT programme, students have opportunities to undertake internships and placements with our industrial partners.