Physics Electrical Engineering Materials: Fully Funded PhD Studentship in Next-Generation Strain Gauge Materials

Funding providers: Faculty of Science and Engineering and Flintec  

Subject areas: Semiconductors, Electronics, Sensors, Advanced Materials, Printing  

Project start date: 1 October 2025 (Enrollment open from mid-September) 

Supervisors: Dr Yaonan Hou, Dr Gregory Burwell  

Industrial Supervisor: Dr Andrew Evans  

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Physics, PhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering, PhD in Materials Engineering

Mode of study: Full-time

Project description: 

Flintec is a global Load/Force sensor company, that is responsible for manufacturing 6 million+ strain gauges per year. It is rapidly growing into industry 4.0, where sensor-based technology will be integral in the future of automated products.  

A strain gauge is a sensor that measures deformation in a material or structure by detecting changes in electrical resistance. Conventional strain gauges rely on conductive grids that alter their geometry when subjected to tensile or compressive forces, leading to measurable resistance changes. By applying the gauge factor equation, this resistance change can be translated into strain. 

Despite their widespread use, strain gauge materials have seen little advancement over the past 50 years. The industry continues to rely on Nickel-Copper alloys as the primary sensing material, with gauges produced using traditional wet-etched photolithography techniques. These methods typically yield grid structures with line widths between 10 and 50 µm.   

This PhD project offers an exciting opportunity to pioneer the development of next-generation strain gauge materials. The focus will be on exploring novel materials, such as oxides, advanced alloys, graphene, and organic conductors, to enhance the sensitivity, manufacturability, and cost-effectiveness of strain gauges. 

This project will be focused on delivering: 

1. Higher gauge factors (3+) and therefore increased sensitivity
2. Thermal Coefficient of Resistivity (TCR) properties that are easily matched to base sensor materials
3. Easy to manufacture – printable, dry etched, etc
4. Low cost
5. Repeatable and Reproducible

Advancements in these areas will give a competitive edge when designing next generation sensors – allowing for greater sensitivity and improved safety factors, while maintaining electrical signal integrity. 

This studentship will have access to the advanced facilities at Swansea University’s Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM)

and be part of an exciting new Doctoral Training Initiative called UK Semiconductor Industry Future Skills or UK-SIFS for short. UK-SIFS will create a vibrant, multi-disciplinary cohort experience for all our students and provide highly practical training of substantial value to those interested in careers in the semiconductor and related sectors such as optoelectronics and clean energy. You will also have a chance to work with industrial partners, who will not only deliver training content but also co-supervise research and host secondments. We would particularly welcome appropriately qualified applicants with experience from other industry sectors looking to embark on a new career journey in semiconductors. If you want to undertake cutting edge research in world class facilities closely linked to the rapidly expanding UK semiconductor sector, then UK-SIFS and this PhD project is your opportunity. 

The student will be expected to work at Swansea University’s Bay Campus, with occasional visits to Flintec’s Cardiff R&D site, and travel to their Sri Lanka manufacturing facility on an annual basis.  

The Athena SWAN charter recognises work undertaken by institutions to advance gender equality. The Faculty of Science and Engineering is an Athena SWAN silver award holder and is committed to addressing unequal gender representation. Applications from women and other under-represented groups are particularly welcome.  

Eligibility

Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) in Engineering or similar relevant science discipline.

English Language

IELTS 6.5 Overall (5.5+ each comp.) or Swansea University recognised equivalent.