KTH in Stockholm is the largest and oldest technical university in Sweden. No less than one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education capacity at university level is provided by KTH. Education and research spans from natural sciences to all branches of engineering and includes architecture, industrial management and urban planning. There are a total of just over 15,000 first and second level students and more than 1,600 doctoral students. KTH has almost 4,300 employees.

The School of Electrical Engineering conducts research and education in the fields of electrical engineering, systems engineering, information and communications theory, space and fusion plasma physics, and electrical power engineering. 300 people work in this creative and dynamic environment, out of which half are Ph.D. students, many from other countries. Our research projects are carried out in close collaboration with industry partners as well as with research colleagues from Sweden and other countries. The school is responsible for educating bachelors and masters in electrical engineering and five international masters programs which are in great demand and which have a close connection to our main fields.

In total, three PhD student positions are announced simultaneously within the recently started SiC Power Center www.acreo.se/Global/TA-Nanoelectronics/SiCPowerCenter/Folder_SiC%20Power%20Center.pdf , where KTH interacts with Acreo och Swerea-Kimab on the one hand, but also with a great number of industrial partners on the other hand. One of these positions, i.e. the one corresponding to this announcement, is situated at KTH, Laboratory of Electrical Energy Conversion www.kth.se/ees/omskolan/organisation/avdelningar/e2c at the School of Electrical Engineering.

The other two PhD student positions are administered by Acreo  www.acreo.se and Swerea-Kimab  www.swereakimab.se and they deal deal with thermo-mechanical modelling of silicon carbide modules and silicon carbide module technology with focus on material interfaces and interconnection technologies. Applications to these two positions should be sent to the respective institutions. The three PhD students will be included in multi-disciplinary research team consisting of researchers at KTH, Acreo, and Swerea-Kimab and three senior PhD students who already are active in the field. Below follows a brief description of the PhD position at KTH.

Project Description

The overall goal is to evaluate the use of SiC devices in power converters for various applications such as industrial drives, motor control, welding, battery charging, power supplies, generation, distribution and conditioning of electrical energy.

Different types of SiC devices (MOSFET’s, JFET’s, BJT’s, etc.) require different power systems circuit topologies to function properly. It is the aim of this work to use devices from different vendors to construct converters with optimized topologies for each device type and thereby enable comparison of both devices and topology. This knowledge will simplify decisions and shorten development times in the industry driven projects. You will be part of a team of senior PhD students.

• you will construct demonstrators with SiC devices showing high compactness, energy density and efficiency
• you will develop failure-safe drive circuits for SiC devices (for ex. N-on JFETs)
• you will evaluate new circuit topologies using SiC devices

Eligibility and assessment criteria

Applicants must hold or be about to receive an MSc degree in electrical engineering, engineering physics, or a related area.

Furthermore, the applicant must have:

• Strong academic credentials, written and spoken English proficiency, communication and team-work skills.
• Preparation and readiness to contribute to our research agenda and to work in an internationally oriented group.
• Interest in design, analysis, and experimental work on power electronic circuits and semiconductor components. ¨'

Employment

A PhD assistantship at KTH can extend to up to five (5) years, with about 80% of the time devoted to research and 20% to teaching duties. The salary is set according to the standard agreements for PhD student employment at KTH.

Application

An application, written in English, at least in 10pt font, should include:

1. Cover letter: One-page summary of your application.
2. Curriculum vitae: A document of all your relevant academic, professional, and other achievements, experience, and knowledge. Maximum four (4) pages.
3. Transcripts and degrees: Official documents from your previously attended University-level institutions, with certified translations in English (unless provided so by the issuing institution).
4. Recommendation letters: Please include detailed contact information for at least two (2) references and arrange for letters to be sent directly to 0047@ee.kth.se . 
5. Statement of purpose: Please discuss: your motivation and research interests, your preparation (studies, technical knowledge, research, experience, etc.) towards a PhD in our group, and your future goals. Maximum two (2) pages.
6. Representative publications/technical reports: Up to two (2) documents, up to twelve (12) pages each. For longer documents (e.g., theses), please provide an abstract and a web link to the full text.

Application submission:

Please submit all your material, integrated in a single PDF file, as an email attachment to 0047@ee.kth.se . Please put the Employer’s reference number in the subject line.

Application deadline: 2012-03-04
Employer’s reference: E-2012-0047

Contact

Hans-Peter Nee, Professor
E-mail:  hansi@kth.se
Web page:  www.kth.se/ees/omskolan/organisation/anstallda/sokanstalld/index.php?action=people_polopoly&cmd=extended&peopleid=368 .

Union representative

Lars Abrahamsson, SACO
Phone: 08-790 7058 
E-mail:  lars.abrahamsson@ee.kth.se