MSc Nanotechnology and Nanoelectronic Devices

A dissertation project is carried out during the final semester, using the facilities within ATI.

Taught master’s programmes in the Department of Electronic Engineering utilise our research-active staff in conjunction with state-of-the-art facilities. We provide a range of learning experiences – lectures, tutorials, directed study, practical laboratories and project work – which prepare graduates for their professional life.

We are particularly keen to develop in all our students a broad range of generic and transferrable skills, such as programming and presentation skills to complement the core technical or scientific competencies of your chosen subject area.

Our modular programme format, coupled with the increasing use of innovative teaching and learning strategies such as e-learning and industrially focused short courses, provides a flexible study environment whilst maintaining academic rigour and quality.

The University of Surrey is one of the leading institutions developing nanotechnology and the next generation of materials and nanoelectronic devices. The Department of Electronic Engineering has been recognised as one of the leading electronics departments in the UK in both of the last two national Research Assessment Exercises. Our facilities are of the highest order and, as participants on the programme, you will be able to make full use of them.

The Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) is a £10 million investment in advanced research and is the flagship institute of the University of Surrey in the area of nanotechnology. ATI brings together under one roof the major research activities of the University from the Department of Electronic Engineering and the Department of Physics in the area of nanotechnology and electronic devices. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) has reconfirmed Surrey’s pre-eminent position as amongst the very best research-led electronic engineering departments in the UK.

ATI is a multidisciplinary research centre comprising 22 members of academic staff from the Electronic Engineering and Physics Departments. It houses over 140 researchers, approximately half of whom are PhD students, and our researchers come from a wide range of backgrounds – electronic engineers, physicists, material scientists, biologists and chemists – as well as from around the world, both of which reflects the strong multidisciplinary nature of modern-day research in nanoscience and technology.

ATI’s strategy is based on carrying out selective and focused programmes of research in the areas of nanomaterials and nanoelectronics, with a strong focus on the growth, structure and characterisation of materials for devices and sustainable energy.

Our research into nanophotonic materials and devices concentrates on silicon and III–V materials, including sensors, laser and solid state lighting, and spintronics. Our Ion Beam Centre is the UK’s national facility for ion implantation and ion beam analysis, and works with 22 industrial partners and a similar number of universities. Our research into theory and advanced computation provides the insight for computational design applied to relevant applications.
The backbone of ATI is strong collaboration between the different groups on cross-cutting themes in science and technology on the nanoscale, with experiments backed up by advanced simulation.

Within ATI, we have created a strong entrepreneurial culture supporting innovation and enterprise, based on a sound scientific foundation. Backed by advanced facilities and computational power, ATI strives to work with industry and governmental organisations on some of the most technologically challenging problems of today.

The research groups making up ATI have a proud history of innovation, recognised in 2002 by the award of a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for pre-eminence in optoelectronics and ion implantation. Staff at ATI have a successful track record of developing basic research into practical application, the high point of which is the development of the strained layer quantum well laser found in every CD and DVD player, which was pioneered at Surrey.

Several new spin-out companies have been established which build upon fundamental research. Surrey NanoSystems’ NanoGrowth Catalyst™ platform provides for the low-temperature, large-area, scalable growth of carbon nanotubes. The company won the Start-up and University Collaboration category at the 2007 Engineer Technology and Innovation Awards.
Si-Light Technologies Ltd is commercialising patented nanotechnology based on ‘dislocation engineering’, which enables light emission and optical activity in silicon.

Quantum Filament Technologies Ltd was spun out in 2005 from a collaboration between ATI and Dundee University, with the aim of commercialising a large-area and scalable platform technology for field emission displays.

The industrial map of the nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network shows that there are hundreds of companies which are active in the areas of functional nanotechnology, devices and machines, nanofabrication, nanomanufacturing and nanomaterials – all key areas that are covered by our MSc degree.

The UK is particularly noted for the strong instrument and characterisation sector among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Taking this degree will immediately open up access to jobs in these companies, which need highly skilled staff with a nanotechnology technical background. An MSc in Electronic Engineering will complement your first degree, whether it is in electronics, physics or materials.

We have extensive and longstanding collaborations with Philips, BAE Systems, Intel, Omicron, FEI (especially in relation to focused ion beam systems), Hitachi, QinetiQ, the Carbon Trust, CEVP and Merck.