About the project
Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a unique material as it has a temperature driven insulator to metal transition just above room temperature resulting in more than 3 orders of magnitude change in resistivity. The transition can be triggered by Joule heating which enables the integration of the VO2 based devices into complex electronic circuits. This reversible phase transition can be fully controlled by electrical pulses resulting in a memristor where a resistivity increase slowly dissipates with time. The system is forgetting unless it learns through new pulses. The unique switching mechanism exactly emulates the behaviour of biological neurons and information processing in the human brain.
This project will develop two-terminal VO2 based memristor device for neuromorphic computing by carrying out complex functions such as perception, learning and memory using at least an order of magnitude less power than conventional computers. An extremely energy-efficient neuromorphic computing circuitry will have application in many aspects of artificial intelligence, specifically those related to pattern recognition and autonomous behaviour.
The successful applicant will join the Sustainable Electronic Technologies Research Group (SET) in the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS). SET group leads in research and education activities covering a broad range of advanced electronic materials topics related to artificial intelligence, energy efficiency, solar cells, and automotive and mobile communication.
Our current research is being supported by numerous research grants from various sources including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Royal Society.
You will have the opportunity to join a dynamic research team with vast experience. You will also have access to advanced micro- and nanofabrication in the best University clean room facility in the UK as well as electronic characterization in our state-of-art measurement laboratory.
