Research

Research Environment

Faculty, researchers, graduate students and undergraduates work side by side. Two student rooms and a measurement room let us take a circuit from design through fabrication to evaluation without leaving the lab.

Student rooms built for focused work

Room for solo work and for talking it through

Two student rooms carry the day-to-day work: theory, programming and the small meetings that happen between them. Height-adjustable desks and large displays mean you can settle into your own work or turn around and argue about a circuit with the person behind you.

A student room with height-adjustable desks

Explore the research workflow in illustrations

Concept illustration of two fictional students reviewing a schematic and illustrative response plots — Chip circuit design and simulation
Comparing a circuit schematic with a simulation. The screens are illustrative, not actual circuit designs or simulation results.

Concept illustration of two fictional students discussing fine interconnect layers inside a chip on screen and paper — Layout design inside a chip
Reviewing device placement and interconnects within an integrated circuit. This is chip layout, distinct from PCB routing; the display is not actual design data.

Concept illustration of two fictional students comparing illustrative response plots on a computer and taking notes — Analysing responses on a computer
An imagined task of organising, comparing and analysing responses. The screen plots are illustrative, not actual measurements or analysis results.

Concept illustration of a stylised professor and fictional students discussing a prototype board and schematic curves — Discussing results and the next experiment
An imagined meeting about a prototype and how to interpret results. The people and screen are conceptual, not a record of an actual meeting or measured results.

From schematic to measured silicon

Build the circuit you designed, then measure it

The measurement room is where integrated circuits are tested and characterised. A microscope-mounted wire bonder and a 3D printer are available alongside the instruments, so a design does not stop at simulation: you bond your own chip, build the jig for it, and measure what you actually made.

Integrated circuit design with CAD tools

The 3D printer used for measurement jigs

Explore the research workflow in illustrations

Concept illustration of two fictional students reviewing PCB routing between components and connectors — Designing a test PCB
Reviewing component placement and routing on a board for chip evaluation. This is a separate task from chip layout; the board is illustrative, not an actual design.

Concept illustration of a fictional student wearing safety glasses and soldering a held PCB beside a fume extractor — Assembling a board by soldering
An imagined board-assembly task. The tools and equipment are illustrative and do not document an actual laboratory activity.

Concept illustration of a fictional student probing a prototype board and viewing a schematic waveform on an oscilloscope — Checking signals with an oscilloscope
An imagined task of observing a prototype circuit signal. The instrument and waveform are illustrative, not an actual measurement setup or measured result.

Concept illustration of a fictional student viewing a generic sensor measurement arrangement and an illustrative response on a computer — Observing a gas sensor response
Observing a gas sensor response (an illustrative measurement arrangement, not the actual apparatus). The response on screen is also illustrative.

Work that travels

Students go abroad; researchers come here

We work closely with research institutions abroad, sending our own students overseas and hosting students from partner institutions. There are opportunities to present at international conferences such as ISSCC and CICC.

Explore the research workflow in illustrations

Concept illustration of a fictional student presenting a schematic chip image and answering an audience question — Presenting research and learning through questions
A generic conference presentation and Q&A, not evidence of participation, a presentation or an award at any particular conference.

Facility plans for 2026

New equipment for cryogenic and ultrasound measurement
A cryogenic measurement room in Building 31, set up jointly with the Tada Laboratory (Dept. of System Design Engineering)