Hybrid UV-light sensors: from material manufacturing to miniaturized functional devices - ENG 1378

Applications are invited for a 4 year PhD studentship within the EPSRC Thematic Doctoral Programme: Science-informed Manufacturing for Scientific Discovery (SiMDisc)

Project description

Innovative solutions to global challenges require a shift towards transformative material systems and integration technologies. In particular, materials with selective absorption of UV light are highly desirable across several sectors, including healthcare and security. This project brings together the University of Nottingham and the Defence Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) to develop UV light sensing materials and devices with versatile functionalities and compatibility with different platforms, beyond traditional Si-based technologies.

The PhD student will join an interdisciplinary team of scientists at the Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM) and the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham to design, fabricate and study hybrid UV-sensors that combine two-dimensional materials and nanocrystals. These will include graphene layers decorated with optically-active nanocrystals by using an inkjet printing solution and fully printed graphene/perovskite heterostructures. The new structures will create innovative ways of studying and harnessing charge-tunnelling and light-matter interactions for UV sensing.

The PhD student will benefit from training in development of functional materials, studies and optimization of advanced optoelectronic components, and their fabrication using the latest technologies such as high-precision multi-material 3D-printing. They will benefit from links to national and international partners, including the DSTL and collaborators within the EU Graphene Flagship (http://graphene-flagship.eu/) and the European Magnetic Field Laboratory (EMFL, https://emfl.eu/).

Supervisory team: Dr Lyudmila Turyanska (Engineering), Prof Richard Hague (Engineering), Prof Chris Tuck (Engineering), Dr Oleg Makarovsky (Physics and Astronomy), Prof Amalia Patanè (Physics and Astronomy).