PhD Position MSCA COFUND BEST: "Hybrid PVD/ALD Multilayer Thin Film Deposition to Enhance Dielectric Breakdown Strength of Future High Voltage Electronic Devices for Sustainable Aeronautics"

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description Faced with the urgent challenges of climate change and the need to drastically reduce global CO2 emissions, the electrification of transport has emerged as a key lever for reducing reliance on fossil fuels [1-3]. With 13.9% of transport emissions, aviation is the second biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector after road transport [4], and air-traffic is going to continue to rise over the next decades [5]. Against this backdrop, the aviation industry is reinventing itself around the concepts of the "More Electric Aircraft" (MEA) and, in the longer term, "All Electric Aircraft" (AEA). Historically, the sector has transitioned from onboard network voltages of 14/28 V DC to 115 V AC (400 Hz) networks, and subsequently—on the most recent long-range aircraft programs—to 270 V DC [6]. Ongoing studies are now exploring 800 V DC architectures for power electric propulsion systems ranging from a few hundred kilowatts to the megawatt level [7]. In the longer term beyond 2050, aeronautic aims to move beyond the megawatt range, with onboard voltage levels expected to range 1,000 V to 3,000 V DC [7]. This evolution presents new challenges regarding electrical insulation for onboard AC/DC high-power density conversion systems. Wide-bandgap power semiconductors (GaN, SiC) are central to these issues. Thanks to their high switching speeds and ability to withstand electric