Research Assistant in Mixed Signal Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs)

Research Assistant in Mixed Signal Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs)

About Tyndall
Tyndall National Institute (www.tyndall.ie) is an international leader in semiconductors, photonics and deep-tech research and innovation. As a leading collaborative European research institute, Tyndall is a key actor and hosting partner in the delivery of the ‘Chips for Europe Initiative’ (EU Chips Act).
Tyndall is Ireland’s leading research and innovation organisation and it is the national focal point for excellence in deep-tech research, development and graduate training at the convergence of nanotechnology, microelectronics, photonics, electronics and AI. Tyndall is recognised as an international research leader in semiconductor, chip and digital technologies, particularly as applied to the fields of Information & Communications, Health & Life Sciences, Agritech & Food Security, Energy and Climate Mitigation, emerging fields such as quantum, and novel computing paradigms.

The Institute’s key objective is to see frontier research activities having a significant impact on economic development and societal challenges in Ireland, Europe and beyond. Central to Tyndall’s mission is delivering economic impact through research excellence in partnership with industry and academia. With an annual turnover of more than €50m, the Institute has a community of over 600 researchers, engineers, support staff, postgraduate students, interns and industry researchers-in-residence.

With significant committed Irish government support, Tyndall will grow to be 1,000 people by 2030, with approximately 750 researchers, including 250 PhD students. A new 17,000 m2 research building is under development adjacent to the Cork headquarters and there are developing plans to expand Tyndall’s existing Dublin research labs and to establish other research sites within Ireland.

Tyndall’s expansion is also supported by recent national and EU funding wins for significant (M€10’s) additional research equipment across a range of areas such as semiconductor processing, microscopy, quantum technologies, heterogeneous integration, ultra-high speed optical communications and RF through THz characterisation.

About the Team
Microelectronics Circuits Centre Ireland (MCCI) (www.mcci.ie)
MCCI is Ireland’s national Microelectronics Circuits Research Centre. MCCI has a team of over 90 researchers and engineers hosted across Tyndall National Institute, UL and UCD, collaborating on more than 50 research projects. Funded by Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, its focus is to generate innovative technologies. Specifically, MCCI’s mission is to carry out industry-led, world-class Analog, Mixed-Signal, RF and Power Management integrated circuit research and deliver high impact research, IP and trained people to industry.

MCCI’s Power Research Theme
is focused on creating advanced technology, integrated power systems, with a emphasis on power converter implementation in CMOS and FD-SOI technologies, employing both on-chip (PwrSoC) and in-package (PwrSiP) packaging approaches. These systems exploit the capabilities of next-generation commercial components, such as 20–100 MHz thin-film cobalt-based magnetic materials. Alternatively, the systems are based on the technologies and expertise being created by Tyndall’s co-located research groups, in areas such as III-V devices, solid-state electrochemical storage cells/sensors, or micro-power energy harvesting transducers spanning thermoelectric, UV PV, MEMS piezo, or electromagnetic domains. Gate-driver technologies for higher-power systems employing Si DMOS, GaN, or SiC power switching bridges are also a research theme.
MCCI wishes to offer a twelve-month fixed-term research assistant role in the area of mixed-signal system implementation on CMOS and/or FD-SOI, for integration with our PMIC platforms.

About the Role
The role involves modelling, design, simulation, and testing of mixed-signal Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs) and internal building blocks to maximize energy transduction from a wide power range, spanning from µW-level ambient energy harvesters—such as photovoltaic (PV), thermoelectric generators (TEG), and piezoelectric vibrational sources—to multi-watt point-of-load (PoL) integrated voltage regulators (iVRs). The harvested and converted energy is delivered to both energy storage devices and regulated system supply voltages.

The systems will be developed for Tyndall’s ultra-low-power buck-boost power conversion IC platform. The IC will act as the central controller for technology showcase designs, such as highly integrated energy-source-in-package (eSiP) solutions. These designs will form the basis for next-generation energy-harvesting or ultra-long-life battery-powered sma