Student project: PMIC Design for Enabling New Wired Implant-to-Implant Powering Modalities

*Important for non-EU students: You'll need to be registered at a Dutch university to meet immigration requirements.

Smaller implants require new powering solutions. Will you enable a unique implant architecture through a challenging power circuit design?

What you will do

• Execute a literature study and do modelling to determine the exact requirements of the design
• Define a circuit architecture required to implement these requirements
• Implement critical blocks in a schematic with Cadence Virtuoso and verify them
• Compare your work to State-of-the-Art solutions, find limitations and define improvement points
• If time, resources and design quality allow, design the layout of your blocks and do a tape-out

What we do for you

You will be able to work together with a small team of Analog IC Researchers working to push SoA technology into mainstream applications. We are passionate about our work and the research, and welcome creativity and initiative. We have a lot of experience with the entire IC design flow, from concept and architecture to layout and tape-out. You will be allowed to work very independently, but we are available for guidance and questions in weekly meetings and on the side.

On the project side you will gain experience with the entire IC design flow. The IC technology for this project we will choose based on the requirements from the feasibility study. You will gain an understanding of the challenges in Power Management and have the opportunity to come up with and implement your own ideas in a real ASIC. If time and circumstances make it possible, you may even see your design go to tape-out (actual fabrication of the IC).

On top of that, all of this is at the High Tech Campus, a beautiful location for taking walks with fellow IC design students.

Who you are

• You are an MSc student in Electrical Engineering looking for a thesis project (9 months) or combined project (12 months), with a background in Integrated Circuit design
• Whether your specialisation is in Data Converters, Radio Frequency Circuits or Power Electronics: you are welcome to apply! The state-of-the-art we can teach you, as long as you have strong fundamentals.
• You have an interest in IC design for biomedical applications in particular, and are not afraid to look beyond the IC design to think of the requirements for implant applications
• You show initiative and can work with freedom and independence, but are not afraid to ask questions and like brainstorming
• You have some experience with the Cadence Virtuoso suite, through university projects or course-work
• Experience with programming or modelling in Python, MATLAB or Mathematica is a plus
• Experience with Power Management (LDO/Rectifier/Switched converter/Regulation loops) is a plus

Interested

Does this position sound like an interesting next step in your career at imec? Don’t hesitate to submit your application by clicking on ‘APPLY’.
Should you have more questions about the job, you can contact jobs@imec.nl.