Letters / Motivation Letter for Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering at TU Delft [2]

"Requirement:
A clear and relevant essay in English (1,000 - 1,500 words) addressing the following:

Your motivation for choosing this MSc programme.
Why you are interested in TU Delft and what you expect to find here.
If this MSc programme has specialisation(s), which specialisation interests you the most and why?
Describe your hypothetical thesis project: what kind of project would you prefer? What would you want to explore? Please limit your answer to three possible topics.
Summarize in a maximum of 250 words your BSc thesis work or final assignment/project. Please include information about the workload"

Your motivation for choosing this MSc programme.

Dear Members of the Selection Committee,

I am writing to express my strong interest in applying for the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, following the Microelectronics track, at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). Having recently earned my Bachelor's degree in Physics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), I am eager to deepen my knowledge in electronics and apply my enthusiasm and passion for this field at TU Delft.

Throughout high school, I developed a strong affinity for physics and mathematics, which is reflected in my academic performance in relevant courses during my Bachelor's program. As a consequence, I have developed a strong foundation in Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Electricity and Magnetism, in which I was a grading assistant, and Electromagnetism. During my second year of physics studies, I realized that engineering aligned more closely with my interests. After researching various engineering disciplines, I was particularly captivated by electrical engineering, especially electronics, due to the profound impact that chips have in our lives in any aspect, from everyday communication and computing to space and nuclear exploration. Therefore, I wholeheartedly committed my time and effort in the Electronics and Computers track of the Physics Department and in relevant activities.

My Bachelor's degree has introduced me to the world of electronics by offering an adequate range of subjects in semiconductor physics and fundamental electronic devices, IC topologies for amplification and energy supply, along with a variety of laboratory and theoretic courses in circuits with BJTs and operational amplifiers. Regarding the digital systems, I was taught about Boolean algebra and logic gates, combinational and sequential circuits, Finite State Machine, and the basis of a CPU, memory, and data management in computers.

One of the most rewarding experiences during my studies was my involvement with the Aristotle Space and Aeronautics Team (ASAT) for 1.2 years, which consists of student members and focuses on the construction of UAVs and Rockets for student competitions along with R&D projects. Apart from enhancing my soft skills and learning the importance of collaboration, I worked as a hardware engineer of aeronautics department in developing a PCB (the SensorBoard v3.0). The objective was to develop a measurement system that collects important variables during test flights for the optimization of the aerodynamic design. The design centered on a 32-bit ARM microcontroller and was developed using the EasyEDA platform. Additionally, I undertook a personal project in STM32CubeIDE, where I programmed the SensorBoard v3.0 to control the color of its RGB LED for the Thessaloniki International Fair 2022.

Another enjoyable project was the development of an RFID system during "Electronic Circuits: Laboratory course". This was an optional assignment where I chose to experiment with Arduino UNO, in team with a classmate, by completing a project about a system that proceeds with a certain operation when an RFID tag is identified by the RFID reader (RC522). The design was implemented on a prototyping board.

Why you are interested in TU Delft and what you expect to find here.

It is somewhat apparent how I found out about TU Delft, since it is ranked among the best universities for Electrical and Electronics engineering; however, little did this contributed to the development of a strong desire to continue my studies at TU Delft. Firstly, the most engaging reason was that although the program provides a wide spectrum of microelectronic fields, from analog and digital ICs to quantum and bioelectronics, the majority of the profiles remain highly specialized. This proves that not only do TU Delft's students have immense options about their field of interest, but they become experts in their field as well.

Apart from the program overview, which is additionally really guided for example, the homologation program that should be followed for the course "Structured Electronic Design" of the Analog profile, TU Delft has also remarkable research infrastructures. This can be identified by its facilities and the 7 research groups. Personally, even though there are many research groups that are really tempting, the Electronic Circuits and Architecture group is of my great interest. This is because it is involved in courses that I totally want to attend, and more importantly they conduct research in projects, which I would definitely want to contribute my current capabilities and those which I will acquire providing my maximum effort.

Furthermore, it is hard not to mention the strong connection that TU Delft has formed with exciting companies such as NXP, TNO, and SiTime, which provide TU Delft graduates with a massive spectrum of business lines to be involved, from consumer electronics to space and defense electronics.

If this MSc programme has specialisation(s), which specialisation interests you the most and why?

Considering that my aspiration is to become a well-rounded professional capable of developing innovative analog integrated circuits or digital ones, it was inevitable that the profiles which took my greatest attention over the 8 suggested were the analog circuit design and the digital systems. Not only are these profiles highly specialized which gives me the affirmation that I can indeed achieve my academic goals, but there are certain courses that intrigue me substantially as well.

Following "Digital IC Design II" and "Processor Design Project", you can acquire hands-on experience in complex digital VLSI design, which is a mandatory skill that a professional designer has to master, and gain insight into the ways to improve the performance of a processor, which is a common objective in most cases. In addition, you can improve your collaborative and presentation skills in those courses. When it comes to Analog Circuit Design, I consider the "Structured Electronic Design" one of the most valuable courses due to its teaching method. This is because I agree with the mindset that analog design is not only about learning new topologies and their possible applications, but rather more importantly, forming a way to approach a given problem in order to achieve the best possible outcome.

Describe your hypothetical thesis project: what kind of project would you prefer? What would you want to explore? Please limit your answer to three possible topics.

Delving deeper into the Electronic Circuits and Architecture group, I find appealing the xxx project of xxx assistant professor about the development of an open-source Wi-Fi demonstrator in an FPGA platform, in which I am motivated to conduct my master thesis. I consider this project really contemporary, since more and more IoT devices are being developed nowadays, and thus a reliable Wi-Fi network is crucial for enhancing the communication between the devices and allowing more services to flourish.

Another fascinating topic which I am willing to research during my thesis is topologies around timing technology, such as Phase-Locked Loops. Although the impact that timing systems have on our lives is often disregarded, their contribution cannot be questioned, since this technology can be found in nearly any sector.

Summarize in a maximum of 250 words your BSc thesis work or final assignment/project. Please include information about the workload

The last project that I worked on was in my bachelor thesis, in which I studied and designed a Charge Sensitive Preamplifier (CSA) for the detection of photons and particles in High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments. The CSA is an analog integrated circuit which receives a current signal at its input and provides an amplified and inverted voltage signal at its output. The CSA is the first stage of the front-end electronics, and in particular, it interconnects the detector with the following readout electronics.

In the beginning of my thesis project, I studied about two of the most common detectors for HEP experiments, which are the strip and pixel detectors. Afterwards, I investigated the types of noise which mainly affect the CSA design. Entering the core of the thesis project, I was handed a CSA schematic which I had to understand its working principle and calibrate certain MOSFETs in order to achieve the expected waveforms. The amplification stage of the CSA was a folded cascode amplifier, along with a cascode current source to further increase the gain. Lastly, I verified the layout design by comparing the simulations before and after its completion. I designed the layout in 0.18um CMOS process by XFAB, using Cadence's Virtuoso design platform. I would like to share that choosing to conduct my optional thesis, which was worth 8 ECTS, was one of the greatest decisions, since it gave me more insight into integrated circuits.

Closing

Finally, I would like to state that I am a self-motivated individual when it comes to enriching my knowledge in electronics, which is what I am most passionate about. Therefore, I am currently exploring FPGA design, and I decided to attend a course on digital signal processing to lay stronger foundations for my future studies. I am excited to engage people with passion about their work, and I believe that TU Delft can offer me this environment. I am willing to work on innovative projects in collaboration with other colleagues aiming to have an impact in our world. Considering that we are the generation that will inherit this world, I strongly believe that we have to develop the will to make it better.