New concepts and advanced materials for quantum nanophotonics

After the discovery of two-dimensional (2D) atomically thin carbon crystal, graphene, a very large family of layered 2D “van der Waals materials” came to light, called after the van der Waals forces holding together their atomic planes. There are van der Waals semiconductors, metals,superconductors, insulators, magnetic materials etc. Remarkably, we can easily fabricate such 2D materials in any form from a few-atom thick “monolayer” to thin films up to 100s nm thick. Van der Waals coupling between layers allows stacking different 2D materials in a single structure, enabling new crystals that do not exist in nature, so-called “van der Waals heterostructures”. They, in turn,can be assembled with an accurate control of the relative in-plane rotation (a “twist”) of the stacked layers leading to the idea of “twistronics”. This is currently a large field of research focussing mostly on few-atomic-layer-thick 2D materials.

In this project we will extend the ideas developed for heterostructures and twistronics in atomically thin 2D materials to nanophotonics, an area of research and development dealing with manipulating light using ultra-compact (nanoscale) structures and devices. Our aim will be to develop new optical science and devices for both ultra-compact photonic circuits and for observation and manipulation of optical quantum phenomena, such as single photon emission and new quantum states emerging as a result of strong light-matter interaction.

The student on this project will acquire a range of transferable practical skills from nanophotonics design using photonics industry leading computer simulation package Lumerical to advanced optical microscopy imaging and optical micro-spectroscopy; from sample nano-fabrication using electron- beam lithography to characterisation methods such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

The student will join an active 2D Materials group (currently 6 postdocs and 5 PhD students) led by Prof Tartakovskii, already successfully trained 17 PhD students (100% completion rate). We are an inclusive and friendly international community of researchers who work collaboratively by sharing their knowledge and skills with the entire group. We are a part of an even larger research cluster working on quantum technologies at the University of Sheffield.

If you are interested in applying, click on the Visit Institution Website button, then select in the Postgraduate menu How to Apply option, which will take you to the Postgraduate Online Application Form. Please submit your application here.

Please send your formal and informal enquiries to Alexander Tartakovskii at a.tartakovskii@sheffield.ac.uk. Where appropriate, please include your cv and academic transcript in your communication.