PhD Engineering Studentship: Space-Time Coded Arrays for THz Communications (2025)

A 3.5 year PhD Engineering studentship under the supervision of Dr Mohammad Neshat.

What you get

As a recipient of this studentship, you will receive: 

  • a tax-free stipend at the standard rate for 3.5 years- currently £20,780 pa for 25/26 

  • a fee waiver at the UK or international rate for 3.5 years 

  • a one-off Research and Training Support Grant of £2,000 

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

PhD project

Future generation of wireless communications, also known as 6G, will rely on THz bands, which offers unprecedented possibilities. Current front-end architectures are not mainly suitable for THz band applications, as they would be either too expensive or impractical. Space-time coded arrays are one of the concepts that can be exploited to mitigate the complexity and cost of the front-end architecture in THz band. Space-time coded arrays enable different adjustments in 4 dimensions, namely space and time, on the waves that interact with the array, depending on the particular communications or sensing application. 

This project aims to design and analyze a coding meta-surface that can be dynamically controlled in space and time. The goal is to use such meta-surface as part of a transmitter front-end to modulate/steer an interacting THz carrier wave for sending data.  

Objectives 

  • Developing a fast-switching scheme that can be integrated into the unit cells of the meta-surface 
  • Designing unit cells with changing state to affect phase/amplitude of the interacting wave 
  • Design and analysis of the whole meta-surface and the associated state control unit 
  • Establishing a point-to-point connection to transmit data from the meta-surface to a receiver, and examining the received signals 
  • Improving the entire system to achieve the optimal performance in data rate and beam steering capability 

Eligibility

This scholarship is available to UK and international applicants. 

Applicants are typically expected to hold at least an upper second-class (2:1) undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in a related field. However, those who do not meet this requirement may still be considered if they hold a relevant postgraduate qualification or can demonstrate sufficient professional experience to compensate. 

The Ò»±¾µÀ believes that the diversity of its staff and student community isfundamental to creative thinking, pedagogic innovation, intellectual challenge, and theinterdisciplinary approach to research and learning. We celebrate and promote diversity,equality and inclusion amongst our staff and students. As such, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. 

Number of scholarships available

1

Deadline

30 June 2025 23:59

How to apply

Apply online for a full time PhD in Engineering (SEP2025) using our step-by-step guide. 

Please ensure you application includes the following: 

  • Degree certificates and transcripts (undergraduate and postgraduate, if available) 

  • CV 

  • Two academic references or referee contact details, including at least one reference from an academic institution if you have been a student within the last 5 years

  • A clear indication that you are applying to the Space-Time Coded Arrays for THz Communications studentship in the finance section 

Contact us

For general enquiries, please email phd.engineering@sussex.ac.uk.

For project specific queries, please email m.neshat@sussex.ac.uk.

Timetable

Application deadline: 30th June 2025, 23:59 GMT

Entry date: 22nd September 2025

Availability

At level(s):
PG (research)

Application deadline:
30 June 2025 23:59 (GMT)

Countries

The award is available to people from these specific countries: