Doctoral Studies

Advanced Nanotechnologies and Microtechnologies - Field

Brief description of field

The field of "Advanced Nanotechnologies and Microtechnologies" provides students with skills and knowledge about nanotechnology materials and structures generally suitable for nanoelectronics and nanophotonics. This includes both the preparation and characterization of nanostructures (specifically semiconductor nanostructures, metallic and magnetic nanostructures, oxide superconductors and magnetic materials, nanotubes, nanofibres, supramolecules and nanoelectronic components beyond the boundaries of Moore's Law, etc.). Biological and medical applications of these materials and products (e.g., biosensors, nanodots, etc.) are also part of this study field.

Cooperating institutions

In order to guarantee the qualitative level of the field of study, Faculty of Science cooperates with  CEITEC MU, CEITEC BUT and other domestic and foreign institutions. The cooperation concerns mainly research in several branches of condensed matter physics, as well as the membership  in commissions and tutoring. Examples of the institutions are listed below:

• Technical University of Brno,
• Institute of Scientific Instruments, ASCR, Brno,
• Institute of Physics of Materials, ASCR, Brno,
• Institute of Physics, ASCR, Prague,
• J. Kepler University Linz, Austria,
• Technical University Berlin, Germany,
• CNRS  Grénoble, France,
• Universitaet Stuttgart, Germany,
• CNR Bari, Italy,
•  KIST Seoul, Korea.

Profile of a typical graduate

The graduate will acquire professional knowledge and skills necessary for solving various scientific problems that may be present in research and development institutions as well as in the industry. Students will be able to apply and use their acquired knowledge and skills for further developing this field in their future workplaces (academic and research institutions, and institutions of applied science) and will contribute to the institutional competitiveness. This study program allows students to gain sufficient competence for cooperating in development, design, and research teams. The graduates will gain skills and abilities that will allow them to carry out scientific research on an international level.

Requirements for applicants

(A) Technical requirements:

• Interest in scientific work in physics and ability of physical reasoning.
• General knowledge of physics at the extent of standard master degree in physics or related area.

(B) Language requirements:

• Ability to study physical literature in English. Ability to conduct written and spoken communication on technical themes in English and possibly in other world laguuages.

(C) Other requirements:

• Discourse on the visions of the applicant about the topic of the PhD project.

Classification of the entrance exam and the necessary scores:

• Part  (A) … 40 points out of the maximum of 60.
• Part  (B) …  20 points out of the maximum of 40.
• Part  (C) … not classified.

Study requirements and completion of studies

Individual Study Plan

The individual study plan is drawn up by the supervisor, with regard to the topic of the dissertation. In the context of the plan, the PhD candidate completes prescribed courses directly related to the topic of the thesis, as well as general courses aiming at the formation of his/her professional profile.

• Completion of prescribed courses offered by the Faculty of Science MU and other scientific institutions.
• Teaching at the Faculty of Science MU, usually that involves leading a practical course.
• Internship in foreign or domestic institution.
• Detailed understanding of the subject of the thesis, and good basic knowledge of published literature in this field.
• Achieving original research results and publications.

Content and scope of the state doctoral examination, required knowledge

• A general overview of the Condensed Matter Physics. The extent is defined individually, respecting the theme of the PhD project.
• Detailed knowledge in the areas of:
  • crystalline structure and amorphous solids,
  • electronic and vibrational states of condensed matter,
  • X-ray and optical methods.

Doctoral dissertation requirements

• Typically it contains a comprehensive overview of the given field of interest and its issues.
• It must contain the student's own results, presented comprehensibly and in sufficient detail.
• The student's own contributions must be clearly separated from theresults of others and the rest of the text.
• Usually, it should also contain an evaluation of further research possibilities in the given field.

PhD Theses Topics: Five recent examples:

• Teoretické studium elektronové struktury vysokoteplotních supravodičů a jiných materiálů se silně korelovanými elektrony.
• Chemická syntéza nanočástic slitin kovů s řízenou morfologií a složením.
• Elektronové vlastnosti oxidových heterostruktur.
• Plazmochemická depozice funkčních povlaků pro biomedicínské aplikace.
• Predikce fázových diagramů nanoslitin metodami CALPHAD a ab-initio.

Individual study plan

List of members of doctoral committee

List of supervisors

Commission for state doctoral exams and defenses

List of current doctoral topics