Open Positions: Advanced Reconfigurable Miniaturized Power I/Os
Last updated: April 25, 2024, 2:56 p.m.
Description
Our industrial partner designs avionic equipment for a variety of aircraft. These safety critical systems, currently implemented using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, interface to flight surfaces, landing gears, cockpit controls, etc., generating and reading analog and digital signals. Future aviation markets require flight control computers with dramatically reduced space, weight and power (SWAP).
Although a custom integrated circuit (IC) drastically improves SWAP, no single transistor technology is optimal for the range of components, which includes power transistors, high-speed digital, as well as analog circuits. Using an advanced system-in-package (SiP) technology we will integrate enhanced flight control computer functionality into a significantly reduced volume.
This four-year project brings together five faculty members from École de technologie supérieure, Concordia and McGill, along with a team of two post-docs, six PhD students, five MASc students and a research professional.
Prospective students will join a team with expertise in packaging, MEMS and analog and digital integrated circuit design. Through close collaboration with the team and industry partner, researchers will deliver several prototypes, consisting of MEMS for switches and isolators, custom ICs for various signal processing applications, actuating MEMS switches, driving MEMS isolators, as well as demonstrations of enhanced system-level approaches of reliability and fault detection.
Professors
Glenn Cowan, Concordia University — Principal Investigator
gcowan@ece.concordia.ca
Yves Blaquière, École de technologie supérieure
yves.blaquiere@etsmtl.ca
Nicolas Constantin, École de technologie supérieure
nicolas.constantin@etsmtl.ca
Frédéric Nabki, École de technologie supérieure
frederic.nabki@etsmtl.ca
Boris Vaisband, McGill University
boris.vaisband@mcgill.ca
Government partners
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Mitacs
Open Positions
We are looking for candidates with one or several of the following competencies:
Integrated circuit design (positions at all graduate levels)
- Analog integrated circuit design in CMOS technology: amplifiers, limiters, isolators, protection circuits, voltage/current/temperature sensors, switched capacitors
- Physical design of high voltage CMOS integrated circuits (layout, place-and-route, simulation, verification)
- Design of power electronic circuits (<45V, <5A)
- Circuit design and signal processing techniques for the engineering of highly reliable electronic circuits that operate in harsh environments: robustness, reliability, embedded sensing & diagnostic, analog & RF noise coupling behavioral modeling, fault prediction & detection, and embedded self-testing
- Knowledge of the Cadence suite of tools, semiconductor technologies, ASICs, power discrete devices, Verilog-AMS and/or signal processing is an asset
- MEMS driving and read-out circuits
- Required background: electrical engineering
MEMS design (Master’s and Ph.D. students)
- Design of high-power MEMS switches
- Design of high-voltage MEMS digital isolators
- Study and model multiple thermal, electrical and mechanical constraints in an array of MEMS switches or digital isolators
- MEMS post-processing in lab: sprayed-resist lithography, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition and shadow masking
- Knowledge of ANSYS Mutiphysics, COMSOL and MEMS technologies is an asset
- Required background: electrical engineering, engineering physics
Design of heterogeneous SiP systems (post-doc and professional researchers)
- Study, measure, model and validate physical and electrical characteristics and their limits (temperature, speed, voltage, power, EMI, etc.) in heterogeneous SiP systems
- Knowledge of integration constraints of multiple die-level integrated circuits in a SiP: EMI, power supply and signal integrity, switching noise, electro-mechanical limits
- Integration of bare-die integrated circuits, MEMS and discrete power devices in a SiP
- Design and assembly of SiP prototypes
- Robustness, security and liability characterization of SiP prototypes
- Knowledge of Cadence, ANSYS, COMSOL, MEMS and LTCC technologies is an asset;
- Required background: electrical engineering and preferably design experience of heterogeneous SiP systems
Test and verification (Undergraduate intern positions)
- Design and run tests on our prototypes
- Develop test structures to characterize PCB and SiP system prototypes
- Required background: electrical engineering
Apply Now to Join Our Team
Our research is conducted in an environment that deeply values equity, diversity, and inclusion, fostering a welcoming space for all scholars. We are committed to creating a community where you can thrive academically and personally, making significant contributions to our cutting-edge projects.
We are eager to welcome new talent to our multidisciplinary research team.
If you are ready to take on this exciting opportunity, please submit your CV and a letter of interest combined into one PDF.
Send your application to one of the faculty members listed above and take your first step towards a rewarding journey in one of the world’s most student-friendly cities.
Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, on the traditional lands and waters of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation, is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.
Building on the skills of our faculty and the strengths of Indigenous, local, and global partnerships, we set our sights further and more broadly than others and align the quality of learning opportunities to larger trends and substantial challenges facing society.
“Concordia is a young, forward-looking university. It’s a unique place where experimentation, innovation and creativity are truly valued. Our community of students, faculty, staff and alumni all contribute to our momentum as Canada’s next-gen university.” — Concordia President Graham Carr.
Profoundly global, Concordia is North America’s top university under the age of 50 and is recognized for attracting some of the most talented faculty and students from around the world. Driven by ambition, innovation and a commitment to reconciliation, research and community engagement, Concordia is celebrated for advancing transformative learning, convergent thinking and public impact.
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The city enjoys a thriving multicultural scene. Bilingualism is a part of Montreal’s tradition and adds to its inspiring atmosphere. While supporting a significant anglophone population, it is the one of the largest French-speaking cities in the world.
Montreal is famed for its innovative culinary scene and festivals. It was also the first metropolis to be designated a UNESCO City of Design by the Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity.
The city is recognized globally as an important centre for commerce, aerospace, transport, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, gaming and film.
