Current PhD Opportunities

Our PhDs are organised by our research groups. For more information on each of these groups, please visit the Research section.

Observational Astrophysics

Supervisor

Dr Samantha Oates

Description

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are brief, intense flashes of gamma-rays that are accompanied by longer-lasting emission in the X-ray to radio wavelengths. The duration of the gamma-ray emission may be as short as a few milliseconds or may last for as long as a few hundred seconds, during which the GRB ‘outshines’ all objects in the known universe.

GRBs are divided, based on the duration of their gamma-ray emission, into two classes, 'long' and 'short', which are associated, respectively, with the collapse of massive stars or the mergers of two compact objects (either two neutron stars or a neutron star and black hole). Short GRBs have been associated with gravitational waves.

The search for the electromagnetic counterpart (EM), the GRB afterglow or kilonova, of gravitational wave (GW) events has led to large areas of sky being observed, leading to the detection of a variety of serendipitous optical/UV transients that are considered contaminants from EM searches to GW events, which may be interesting transients in their own right.

Some open questions in this area of research are: What are the environments GRBs explode into? What are the central engines and the structure of the jets? Have GRBs or their environments evolved with cosmological time? Can GRBs and their correlations be useful as cosmological probes? What are the optical/UV contaminants in the searches for the EM counterparts to GWs? The PhD student will have the opportunity to explore these types of questions. They will be able to join international collaborations such as Swift, LSST, STARGATE, and ENGRAVE.

Please contact Dr Samantha Oates for further information. This PhD project represents just one component of the research performed by the wider Astrophysics group at Lancaster University. For more general information about PhD study in Physics at Lancaster please contact our postgraduate admissions staff at py-pgadmiss@lancaster.ac.uk.

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for a funded studentship, please submit your application by 31^st January 2025.

Supervisor

Dr Mathew Smith

Description

The Universe is currently undergoing a period of rapid accelerated expansion. This discovery, suggesting that 75% of the energy budget of the Universe is unexplained represents the biggest mystery in physics today. Type Ia supernova, as bright, highly homogenous, explosions, are excellent measures of distance. Visible to vast distances, these cosmic light-bulbs are ideal measures of how the size and content of the Universe has evolved over the last 10 billion years. This PhD project aims to expand the use of these events to probe new aspects of cosmology. Specifically, the student will exploit data collected by the international Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) collaboration to maximise our understanding of type Ia supernova to produce a detailed 3D map of the nearby Universe.

This project represents a leap forward in this field; more than ten thousand discoveries are now made each year, compared to several hundred collected in the last twenty. The student will develop machine learning tools to separate type Ia supernovae from other variable sources, and use high performance computing techniques to measure the cosmological parameters using forward modelling techniques.

The student will work closely with a team of international researchers in France, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and the USA to measure the 3D distribution of matter which will improve our understanding of Dark Energy and General Relativity.
Lancaster University has a leading role in multiple state-of-the-art supernova experiments including DES, LS4, LSST, 4MOST, Euclid, ZTF and JWST. As the PhD develops, the student will be encouraged to join and collaborate on projects based upon their own interests.

Please contact Dr Mathew Smith for further information. This PhD project represents just one component of the research performed by the wider Astrophysics group at Lancaster University. For more general information about PhD study in Physics at Lancaster please contact our postgraduate admissions staff at py-pgadmiss@lancaster.ac.uk.

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for a funded studentship, please submit your application by 31^st January 2025.

Supervisor

Dr Mathew Smith

Description

Explosive astrophysical transients are uniquely powerful probes for understanding the fundamental evolution of the Universe at all cosmic scales: from the expansion history and growth of structure, measured using type Ia supernovae; down to the star-formation histories of galaxies in a cycle that drives cosmic nucleosynthesis.  This PhD project aims to uncover and explain the rarest of astrophysical explosions. Our understanding of this picture is rapidly evolving: the extremes of the transient population now differ in luminosity and time-scale by many orders-of-magnitude, but no plausible physical explanation exists for either.

Starting in 2026, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will revolutionise astrophysics: millions of new transients will be discovered each year. Combining these discoveries with high-cadenced photometric and spectroscopic data from projects lead by Lancaster astrophysics (LS4; TiDES), the student will develop unsupervised machine learning tools to identify ‘one in a billon’ events in real-time. Combining multi-wavelength observations with stellar populations, we will identify everything from the most luminous transients, to stars that vanish as black holes.  

The student will work at the forefront of multiple international collaborations, alongside experts in the USA and Europe, to pin down the stars and environments that produce the extremes of stellar death.  Lancaster University has a leading role in multiple state-of-the-art supernova experiments including DES, LS4, LSST, 4MOST, Euclid, ZTF and JWST. As the PhD develops, the student will be encouraged to join and collaborate on projects based upon their own interests. 

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for a funded studentship, please submit your application by 31^st January 2025.

Theoretical Particle Cosmology

Project Supervisor

Professor Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Description

Cosmic Inflation in the early Universe Cosmic Inflation is a period of superluminal expansion of space just after the Big Bang. It is fixing the initial conditions of the Universe history, in that it makes the Universe large and uniform. Additionally, inflation generates quantum-mechanically the controlled violation of uniformity necessary for the build-up of structures such as galaxies and galactic clusters. Inflation is under new light due to the recent cosmological data, such as the Planck CMB observations. Several families of inflationary models are now excluded, while new research on the favoured models overlaps with concerns over the stability of the electroweak vacuum (Higgs inflation) and the UV completion of gravity (R^2 inflation). The discovery of gravitational waves has ignited new interest in detecting primordial gravitational waves, quantum generated during inflation, which are a smoking gun for inflation theory, and motivates forthcoming observations (e.g. the Einstein Telescope). Observations of primordial gravitational waves may reveal the history of the early Universe, especially if there are periods when the Universe is dominated by a stiff fluid, which enhance the primordial gravitational radiation. Such a period is a natural ingredient of quintessential inflation scenarios.

Quintessential Inflation and Dark Energy Observations suggest that the Universe at present is engaging anew in a period of late time inflation, determined by a mysterious substance called dark energy, which makes up about 70% of the density budget of the Universe today. Dark energy can be modelled similarly to primordial inflation, through a substance called quintessence. Quintessential inflation is the effort to economically treat dark energy and primordial inflation in a common theoretical framework. As such, quintessential inflation connects not only with primordial inflation data but also with imminent future dark energy observations (e.g. EUCLID), which can provide information on early Universe physics at very high energies, well beyond the reach of Earth based experiments. Moreover, quintessential inflation can exploit the famous scale mystery, whereby the scale of electroweak physics, which is explored in collider experiments such as the LHC, is roughly the geometric mean of the Planck energy scale, which is associated with gravity, and the dark energy scale. This implies that observations in the early and late Universe can be used to shed some light on particle physics phenomenology.

Primordial Black Holes are a natural outcome of many inflationary scenarios, as they can be formed by rare spikes in the spectrum of primordial density perturbations, generated by inflation. Primordial Black Holes can be the Dark Matter in the Universe, which makes up about 25% of the Universe budget at present. They could also seed the supermassive black holes which reside at the centres of galaxies and are responsible for Active Galactic Nuclei. Their formation depends not only on the details of inflation but also on the conditions in the post-inflation Universe. If they are small enough, they are expected to evaporate through the emission of Hawking radiation, which could heat the Universe after inflation but might also have many other effects on the CMB radiation. After the direct observations of binary black hole mergers, there is intense interest in exploring the cosmology of Primordial Black Holes.

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for a funded studentship, please submit your application by 31^st January 2025.

Apply Here

Applying for postgraduate study

Space and Planetary Physics

Supervisor

Professor Jim Wild

Description

The earth’s magnetic field presents an obstacle to the solar wind, the stream of magnetised sub-atomic particles constantly flowing away from the Sun. A cavity in the solar wind, known as the magnetosphere, is formed inside which the geomagnetic field and plasma of terrestrial origin dominate. The size and shape of the magnetosphere is highly variable, with the location of the boundary (the magnetopause) being controlled by various factors, including the pressure exerted by the solar wind and magnetic reconnection between the magnetospheric magnetic field on one side of the boundary and the interplanetary magnetic field embedded in the solar wind on the other side of the boundary. At 1 AU (the distance of the Earth from the Sun), the solar wind typically flows with speeds between 300-400 km s^-1, but during intervals of high-speed solar wind flow, it can exceed 700 km s^-1. Such variation in the flow speed, combined with significant variations in solar wind density, mean that the dynamic pressure exerted on the magnetosphere can vary between 1-10 nPa, compressing the dayside magnetopause earthward by tens of thousands of kilometres during periods of enhance solar wind dynamic pressure.

Since the beginning of the space age, several satellite missions have been used to study the location of the magnetopause and its dependence on a subset of upstream solar wind conditions. This has led to the development of various empirical models that describe the location of the magnetopause. Many of the measurements have come from spacecraft orbiting close to the Earth’s equatorial plane and the models assume that the magnetopause has a hyperbolic shape and is cylindrically symmetric about the Earth-Sun line to describe the magnetopause location. However, this is almost certainly not the case since the geomagnetic field is structured differently in the latitudinal and longitudinal directions such that the magnetosphere is unlikely to have a perfectly circular cross section.

In this project, you will exploit a 20+ year dataset from the European Space Agency’s Cluster mission to study magnetopause locations under the full range of solar wind conditions experienced in the last two decades. The Cluster mission consists of four identical spacecraft each equipped with a suite of field and particle sensors. Crucially, the spacecraft orbit the Earth in inclined (polar) orbits meaning their trajectories intersect the magnetopause across a much wider range of locations compared to satellites in equatorial orbits. You will be able to investigate the shape and size of the magnetopause, develop new magnetopause models and investigate how these compare to pre-existing models based on alternative datasets.

As a PhD student in Lancaster’s Space and Planetary Physics (SPP) group you will conduct cutting-edge research in the company of world-leading scientists. You will develop and exploit skills in computer-based data analysis and interpretation of satellite data products. To facilitate this will receive a programme of training in the scientific and technical background required to conduct your research, and in the written and oral presentation skills required to disseminate your results to the international scientific community and general audiences. Applicants should hold a minimum of a UK honours Degree at 2:1 level or equivalent in a subject such as Physics or Geophysics.

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for a funded studentship, please submit your application by 31^st January 2025.

Experimental Particle Physics

High Energy Physics

PhD Projects in Detector Development

PhD Projects on the Neutrino Programme

Accelerator Physics

Supervisors

Dr Jonathan Gratus (Lancaster University, Physics) and Professor Graeme Burt (Lancaster University, Engineering)

Description

Particle-in-cell (PIC) codes are essential for the numerical simulation of charged particles in both conventional accelerators and plasmas. They are used extensively for understanding of the physics and design of future machines. A typical code may have to track billions of particles and may need to run on high performance computer clusters.

We are investigating a revolutionary new method which promises to dramatically reduce the computation needed for simulations. This method increases the dynamical information of each particle while reducing the total number of particles.

To aid in this task we need an enthusiastic PhD student to incorporate the new dynamical equations into existing PIC codes and compare the results with standard simulations. Our principle focus will be on klystrons.

The student will become a member of the Cockcroft Institute and will participate in the Cockcroft Institute Education and Training Programme, whereby they will participate in a lecture programme over the first 2 years of study in addition to their work on their project. The candidate should have at least a 2:1 or equivalent in maths, physics or engineering and have a solid understanding of mathematical concepts and theory. However, applicants who have gained experience in relevant fields through non-traditional routes are strongly encouraged to apply. We welcome applications from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, candidates who are in the first generation of their family to go to university, candidates who have been in care or who have been a young carer, and candidates from a low-income background

Funding and eligibility: This is competitively funded. UK and other students are eligible to apply, although overseas students may be required to secure additional funding.

Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Jonathan Gratus (j.gratus@lancaster.ac.uk) for more information.

How to apply

Cockcroft Institute, PhD-opportunities

Lancaster University PhD opportunities

Anticipated Start Date: October 2025 for 3.5 Years

Low Temperature Physics

Non-Linear and Biomedical Physics

Supervisor

Professor Aneta Stefanovska

Description

The lungs and the heart can be perceived as a pair of coupled oscillators. One of the coupling pathways is relatively well understood and results in variations in the frequency of the heart beat caused by the amplitude of respiration. It is known as respiratory sinus arrythmia. The coupling mechanism is also known in physics as amplitude-to-frequency coupling. The resultant variation of the heart rate has mainly been studied within the framework of random walks in statistical physics. Here we propose an approach to the problem based on non-autonomous dynamics.

To investigate possible coupling mechanisms, data-sets recorded in various earlier studies by the group will be utilised. Data from both the awake and anaesthetised states, and at various ambient temperatures in the awake state, will be used to investigate all possible coupling scenarios. The results will then be used to build a model of cardio-respiratory interactions as coupled non-autonomous oscillators. In formulating the model, mechanisms such as intermittent synchronization will be considered and phase-reduction methods will be applied. We will seek to develop analytically the link between theoretical phase reduction methods for time-variable systems with phases assigned by e.g. the wavelet transform (as extracted via ridges or nonlinear mode decomposition). From here, we will then apply data analysis methods to numerical simulations of systems exhibiting the various finite-time-dynamical phenomena that will be uncovered from the data, to determine the couplings, for which we will then provide a theoretical formulation.

The model will be used to optimise the level of cardio-respiratory interactions in subjects with assisted respiration, e.g. due to asthma, or in subjects with tetraplegia. The final result of the project will be an algorithm that may be built into a system being developed by our industrial partner.

During the project the student will learn time-series analysis methods for nonlinear, nonautonomous systems, theory of oscillatory nonautonomous systems and become familiar with the physiology of the cardio-respiratory system. The potential outcome of the project will be an algorithm that may be used in practical applications, with potential to improve the quality of life for many individuals. It is suitable for candidates with a strong theoretical background that seek to be challenged by a real-world application and to make a practical impact.

The applicant will be expected to have a first or upper second-class degree in physics, applied mathematics or natural sciences, or the equivalent.

Interested candidates should contact Professor Aneta Stefanovska for further information.

Supervisors

Professor Aneta Stefanovska

Dr Dmitry Zmeev

Professor Peter McClintock

Description

Turbulence is ubiquitous in the real world and affects almost every aspect of our daily lives, including transport, energy production, climate, and biological processes. Despite its universal importance, turbulence is not well understood. Richard Feynman called it the "most important unsolved problem of classical physics". Turbulence is hard to understand at a fundamental level because of the complexity of turbulent motion of the fluid over an extremely wide range of length scales. Quantum mechanics often makes complex problems conceptually simpler, and quantum turbulence (QT) in superfluids is a prime example. At low temperatures, superfluids are the closest attainable approximation to an ideal fluid in that they can flow without friction, are (almost) incompressible, and their vortices are quantised, making all of them identical. Like classical turbulence, QT is a non-equilibrium phenomenon: remove the driving force, and it decays – though perhaps not completely in superfluid ⁴He due to residual quantised vortices pinned metastably to the walls. The creation of QT in the superfluid usually seems to be "seeded" by such remanent vortices.

An experiment is being developed to investigate the creation and expansion of QT in superfluid ⁴He held within a pill-box shaped vessel fixed to a high-Q torsional oscillator at millikelvin temperatures. Tiny changes in the oscillator’s resonant frequency and damping will yield information about remanent vortices, the pinning of their ends to the vessel’s walls, and the critical velocities needed for their expansion and creation of QT. In a second experiment, a levitated superconducting sphere will be moved in a controlled way through the superfluid to explore the mechanisms of QT creation in even closer detail.

These experiments will produce a vast profusion of data, which will require detailed analysis by state-of-the-art methods of analysis for turbulent and non-autonomous dynamics, and methods to extract information about the QT. The student can contribute to all aspects of this collaborative research project, but will be expected to take a particular responsibility for data analysis. The methods which they will learn, develop and apply will also have very wide applications across science, technology, finance and the social sciences. The enterprise is supported by a new £1.2M research grant from EPSRC.

The applicant will be expected to have a first or upper second-class degree in physics, applied mathematics or natural sciences, or the equivalent.

Interested candidates should contact Professor Aneta Stefanovska for further information.

Supervisors

Professor Aneta Stefanovska

Professor Peter McClintock

Dr Dmitri Luchinsky

Description

For a billion years, life has been crucially dependent on ion channels for selective control of the fluxes of ions into and out of biological cells, with evolution fine-tuning each kind of channel to be optimal in its particular role. Very recently, humans have fabricated artificial channels and pores from solid state materials, aiming to emulate and extend many of the functions of biological channels in more robust formats. A whole new sub-nanoscale technology has started to develop, with applications to e.g. fuel cells, water desalination, gas and isotope separation, lithium extraction, DNA sequencing, water pumps, field effect ionic transistors, and “blue energy” harvesting.

Not surprisingly, artificial channels are still, in general, much less efficient than biological ones. For example, they are less selective to particular ionic species and the fluxes they pass tend to be smaller. They are difficult to design, partly because there is still no satisfactory general theory of how an ion permeates through a channel. Hence design usually relies on experiments and heavy-duty molecular dynamics simulations, coupled with trial-and-error – which is slow, and therefore inefficient and expensive, because the parameter space is huge.

We therefore propose a different approach, building on our 2015 discovery of Coulomb blockade in biological ion channels, on our new statistical physics theory of the ionic permeation process, and on our recent and ongoing numerical simulations of pores and channels in artificial membranes. There is probably a great deal to learn from how Nature has “designed” biological channels through evolution over hundreds of millions of years, so that biomimetic approaches are likely to be useful in the understanding and design of artificial channels.

The aims of the project are to develop theory and numerical tools that enable the prediction and control of free energy landscapes, selectivity and conductivity of artificial nanodevices. These methods will be applied to the design and optimization of nano-pumps, nano-sensors, and energy-harvesting nanodevices. It is expected that the successful applicant will use molecular dynamics and Brownian dynamics simulations to verify and validate the results obtained.

We are looking for a student with enthusiasm for theoretical physics and with some prior experience of computational and numerical work.

The applicant will be expected to have a first or upper second-class degree in physics, applied mathematics or natural sciences, or the equivalent.

Interested candidates should contact Professor Aneta Stefanovska for further information.

Quantum Nanotechnology

Supervisor

Professor Manus Hayne

Project

Computers are based on the von Neumann architecture in which the processing and memory unit are largely separated, requiring information to be shuffled to and fro, which is inefficient and creates a bottleneck. This is particularly disadvantageous for activities that are memory intensive, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

An alternative is in-memory computing [1, 2], in which certain algorithms are performed within the memory unit. This is less flexible than the traditional von Neumann approach, but has huge potential in terms of computational time and energy saved for memory intensive tasks involving operations that are performed huge numbers of times. These could be common logical functions such as AND and OR, or matrix-vector multiplications which comprise between 70% and 90 % of the deep-learning operations in speech, language and vision recognition [2]. Many conventional and emerging memory technologies have been investigated for in-memory computing, such as SRAM, DRAM, flash, phase change memory, resistive RAM, and very recently MRAM [3]. However, memory technologies with very fast, low-energy switching, high endurance (and low disturb) are required to fulfil the potential of in-memory computing and compete with the conventional CMOS-based approach [1].

ULTRARAM™ is a patented Lancaster memory technology with a non-volatile storage time of at least 1000 years, an endurance in excess of 10 million program/erase cycles, non-destructive read, low disturb, a switching energy that is 100 times lower per unit area than DRAM, and intrinsic sub-ns switching speeds [4]. It has huge potential as a conventional memory, but also for in-memory computing.

The PhD project will be the first to investigate ULTRARAM™ for in-memory computing. The research will involve modelling (at different scales), and designing, fabricating and testing some simple ULTRARAM™ for in-memory computing circuits to show proof of principle.

This PhD is offered in collaboration with Quinas Technology. Funding for UK students is available on a competitive basis.

[1] ‘Memory devices and applications for in-memory computing’, A. Sebastian et al., Nature Nanotechnology, 15, 529 (2020) [Link]

[2] ‘In-memory Computing for AI Applications’, E. Eleftheriou, 16^th International Conference on High-Performance and Embedded Architectures and Compilers, 18-20 January 2021 [YouTube]

[4] ‘A crossbar array of magnetoresistive memory devices for in-memory computing’, Jung et al., Nature 601, 211 (2022) [Link]

[3] ‘ULTRARAM: a low-energy, high-endurance, compound-semiconductor memory on silicon’, P. D. Hodgson, D. Lane et al. [Link]

Supervisor

Dr Samuel Jarvis

Description

Project summary – The goal of this PhD project is to develop highly ordered and structurally stable molecular devices. The growth of thermally and mechanically stable molecular nanostructures is a major challenge for retaining the quantum mechanical properties of molecules in real-world and demanding environments. This is especially important in nanoelectrical devices where heat and stress can damage the molecular structure, causing device failure. This PhD project aims to overcome this challenge by developing new methods for step-by-step (atom-by-atom) on-surface synthesis of covalently stabilised molecular wires and devices. Achieving this goal will address a major outstanding challenge in translating functional molecular polymers to technologically relevant materials.

Background – Thin-film molecular layers are exceptionally important for introducing high degrees of functionality to materials. Molecules can be designed with a multitude of different physical properties, ranging from high electrical conductivity, catalytic activity, tuneable optical properties, and much more [1]. These properties are determined by the electronic structure of a molecule, making them well suited for applications in quantum technologies. In particular, on-surface polymerization restricted to one and two dimensions has received considerable recent attention [2]. Not only does covalent cross-linking of molecules greatly increase their stability, on-surface polymerization also enables the growth of unique molecular structures often otherwise impossible to synthesize, including graphene nano ribbons used as molecular wires [3].

At present, the vast majority of molecular nanoscale synthesis is limited to catalytically active metal substrates, where the catalyst metal is required to activate the polymerisation reaction. This results in strong surface coupling causing molecular distortion, orbital broadening, and electrical short-circuits, thus detrimentally affecting molecular properties and severely restricting their application in physical devices. In order to fully realise nanoscale molecular devices, we must instead fabricate molecular wires directly on semiconducting substrates such as SiO₂, where they can be directly integrated into nanoelectronic devices. To do this, we will build on recent findings [4] highlighting the potential to fabricate nanoscale molecular structures directly on surfaces using so-called atomic quantum clusters (AQCs).

Project Outline – This project will explore methods to direct the assembly and growth of functional molecules into nanoscale structures and devices. We will study how single molecules with well-defined quantum mechanical properties can be ‘linked’ together into rigid 1D molecular wires or 2D molecular networks, starting with porphyrin and graphene nanoribbon based wires. Single molecule and atomic scale properties will be studied with images of their detailed atomic and electronic structure (with resolution better than 0.1nm). The resulting molecular structures will provide an exciting playground to develop our fundamental understanding of quantum behaviour and molecular interactions at the atomic scale, and ultimately, provide new routes for developing nanoscale electronic devices such as field effect transistors (FETs) [5].

The selected student will have the opportunity to become trained in a broad range of techniques to study a variety of nanoscale materials. This will involve advanced scanning probe microscopy methods capable of imaging single atoms and characterising nanoscale electronic and chemical properties. This work will take place in world-leading facilities including Lancaster’s Quantum Technology Centre and the award winning IsoLab, providing some of the most advanced environments for characterisation in the world. You will work in a vibrant research group, whose research has been shortlisted for the Times Higher Education award for ‘STEM project of the year’ in 2019. You will also become highly trained in nanoscale material fabrication, ultra-high vacuum technology, X-ray spectroscopy, clean room usage, device testing, and use nano-fabrication tools to prepare devices for integration with embedded systems. Students are also expected to publish high impact journal publications and present their work at international meetings and conferences, and will receive opportunities and training for personal and research development.

Interested candidates should contact Dr Samuel Jarvis for further information.

[1] T. Kudernac, S. Lei, J. A. A. W. Elemans, and S. De Feyter, Chem. Soc. Rev. 38, 402 (2009).

[2] L. Grill and S. Hecht, Nature Chemistry, 12, 115 (2020).

[3] P. Ruffieux, S. Wang, B. Yang, C. Sánchez-Sánchez, J. Liu, T. Dienel, et al., Nature 531, 489 (2016).

[4] L. Forcieri, Q. Wu, A. Quadrelli, S. Hou, B. Mangham, N.R. Champness, D. Buceta, M.A. Lopez-Quintela, C.J. Lambert, S.P. Jarvis, Nature Chemistry (under review), (2022).

[5] J.P. Llinas, A. Fairbrother, G.B. Barin, W. Shi,. K. Lee, S. Wu, et al., Nature Communications, 8, 633 (2017).

Supervisor

Dr Samuel Jarvis

Project summary – The goal of this PhD project is to help realise a new generation of switchable molecular devices with the potential to fulfil societal needs for flexible energy harvesting materials, low-power neuromorphic computing, smart textiles, and self-powered patches for healthcare. The possibility of creating these exciting materials derives from a series of world firsts by the supervisory team, demonstrating that room-temperature quantum interference effects can be scaled up from single molecules into molecular layers with the potential to translate quantum interference effects into technologically relevant materials.

Background – Thin-film molecular layers are exceptionally important for introducing high degrees of functionality to materials. Molecules can be designed with a multitude of different physical properties, ranging from high electrical conductivity, catalytic activity, tuneable optical properties, and much more [1]. These properties are determined by the electronic structure of a molecule, making them well suited for applications in quantum technologies. In particular, a technique called on-surface polymerization has received considerable recent attention due to its ability to create unique and stable 1D and 2D molecular structures with an exciting range of quantum mechanical properties [2]. This project is an exciting opportunity to realise these new materials as part of a recently awarded £7m programme of research bringing together a world leading team in molecular electronics [3].

Project Outline – This project will explore methods for surface growth and characterisation of molecular thin films designed to optimise thermoelectric and memristive properties. The successful candidate will develop new methods to prepare highly ordered molecular films including the use of on-surface reactions that can be used to link together molecules with well-defined quantum mechanical properties into rigid 1D molecular wires or 2D molecular networks. Single molecule and atomic scale properties will be studied with Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM) which provide images of their detailed atomic and electronic structure (with resolution better than 0.1nm). The resulting molecular structures will provide an exciting playground to develop our fundamental understanding of quantum behaviour and molecular interactions at the atomic scale, and ultimately, provide new routes for developing nanoscale molecular electronic devices.

The selected student will have the opportunity to become trained in a broad range of techniques to study a variety of nanoscale materials. This will involve advanced scanning probe microscopy methods capable of imaging single atoms and characterising nanoscale electronic and chemical properties. This work will take place in world-leading facilities including Lancaster’s Quantum Technology Centre and the award winning IsoLab, providing advanced environments for atomic scale characterisation. You will also become highly trained in nanoscale material fabrication, ultra-high vacuum technology and X-ray spectroscopy. Students are also expected to publish high impact journal publications and present their work at international meetings and conferences, and will receive opportunities and training for personal and research development.

[1] T. Kudernac, S. Lei, J. A. A. W. Elemans, and S. De Feyter, Chem. Soc. Rev. 38, 402 (2009).

[2] L. Grill and S. Hecht, Nature Chemistry, 12, 115 (2020).

[3] https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/7m-award-for-quantum-engineering-of-energy-efficient-organic-smart-materials.

For more information, please visit the QMol website

Supervisor

Professor Oleg Kolosov

Project description

Fully funded PhD position on Quantum phenomena and energy conversion in two‐dimensional materials and nanostructures. UK-Greece collaboration in European Research Council (ERC) Project.

The new PhD project is announced at Lancaster University in collaboration with the National Graphene Institute. The project focuses on the exploration of cutting-edge fundamental and applied science of “mixed physics” phenomena – electromechanical, electronic, thermal and thermoelectric - in the explosively expanding area of novel nanostructured two-dimensional materials (2DMs) and their heterostructures.

The recently discovered 2DMs – one atom thick van der Waals-bound perfect atomic layers such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD’s) - MoS2, Nb2Se3, InSe, etc, open unique possibilities for novel electronics, sensors and energy generation and storage. This class of materials offers unique and nature-leading physical properties – relativistic type electron mobility, the highest to the lowest known thermal conductivities, exceptional flexibility while recording strength in mechanical properties, etc.

The project focuses on the largely unexplored area of 2DM’s where physical phenomena of different nature meet – mechanical and electrical, thermal and electronic, mechanical and thermal, initiating beyond-state-of-the-art performing thermoelectrics, nanoscale actuators, super-efficient electronics, memories and sensors. For example, the highest known in nature thermal conductivity of graphene allows to precisely channel nanoscale heat in advanced processors, new TMD heterostructures have unique potential as advanced thermoelectric materials, and exceptional mechanical stiffness and low density of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, coupled with low losses, allows to design in quantum nanoelectromechanical sensors with ultimate sensitivity limited only by the quantum mechanics laws.

The successful applicant will work at Lancaster University Physics Department within one of the world-leading groups in the exploration of physical properties of 2DM’s using scanning probe microscopy (SPM) where novel phenomena of geometrical thermoelectricity (GTE) in graphene and unique nanomechanics of domains in 2D materials heterostructures were discovered.

The project will target the manufacture of novel 2DM nanostructures including nanoconstrictions, heterostructures, suspended membranes and superconductor – 2DM devices using the state-of-the-art e-beam lithography equipped Lancaster Quantum Technology Centre facilities of National Graphene Institute and National Physical Laboratory. The developed nanostructures are studied using state-of-the-art SPMs combined with ultra-high frequency ultrasonic excitation, GHz range Laser Doppler vibrometry and super-sensitive optical interferometry, and microwave superconductor transport techniques, utilising world-leading European Microkelvin Platform (EMP) and ultra-low-nose IsoLab facilities housed at Lancaster Physics.

The Physics Department is holder of Athena SWAN Silver award and Institute of Physics JUNO Championship status and is strongly committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our department.

Contact

Professor Oleg Kolosov o.kolosov@lancaster.ac.uk for any additional enquiries. You can also apply directly stating the title of the project and the name of the supervisor.

Supervisor

Professor Manus Hayne

Project description

It is obvious that physical scaling of the transistors underpinning digital electronics has ultimate limits. As these have been approached, increasing the size of the chip had been used to maintain Moore’s law [1]. However, this is bounded by wafer size, and has expensive yield and geometry issues. Furthermore, power constraints have restricted clock speeds for years, and there is concern about the huge amounts of electricity that computing, especially datacentres, consumes [2]. Capacity cannot exponentially increase indefinitely, but radical new approaches are nevertheless required for information and communication technologies of the future.

The PhD project will further develop a patent-pending alternative approach to digital logic [3] that abandons the CMOS paradigm underpinning computing. Practical implementation of digital logic requires pairs of devices that display complementary, or opposite, behaviour, i.e., the same input will turn one device on and its complementary partner off. This is currently achieved by pairs of nMOS and pMOS (MOS = metal oxide semiconductor) field-effect transistors, hence CMOS, where C stands for complementary. In our concept, logical complementarity, and hence function, is achieved by a single device where an electron reservoir is sandwiched between two normally-off channels. Application of a positive gate voltage to the top of the device will pull the electrons to the top channel, turning it on, whilst the bottom channel remains off. Similarly, application of a negative gate voltage to the top of the device will push the electrons to the bottom channel, turning it on, whilst the top channel remains off. This device has a number of intrinsic advantages over CMOS, it is twice as compact, highly symmetric and expected to have lower dissipation.

The feasibility of the concept has been demonstrated via simulations and prototype devices in an existing PhD project. The scope of the new work involves next steps such as fabrication and testing of more complex logic gates and circuits, scaling of devices, low-temperature testing and integration with ULTRARAM™ [4].

This PhD is offered in collaboration with Quinas Technology. Funding for UK students is available on a competitive basis.

[1] ‘Moore’s law’, Wikipedia [Link].

[2] ‘How to stop data centres from gobbling up the world’s electricity’, N. Jones, Nature 561, 163-166 (2018) [Link].

[3] ‘Logic gate’, M. Hayne and J.J. Hall, patent pending PCT/GB2023/051493 (2022).

[4] ‘ULTRARAM: a low-energy, high-endurance, compound-semiconductor memory on silicon’, P. D. Hodgson, D. Lane et al. [Link]

Supervisor

Professor Manus Hayne

Project description

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are high-speed, compact (low-cost) laser diodes used in laser printing, datacoms and other applications. Their implementation in the Apple iPhone X for facial recognition and motion sensing was soon replicated by other smartphone manufacturers, stimulating a growth in the VCSEL market from $775M in 2015 to an expected $4.7bn in 2024, a compound annual growth rate of 22% [1]. Nevertheless, many consumers and thus manufacturers, don’t like the small cut-out section at the top of the screen that is necessary for the implementation of the VCSEL arrays, preferring to place the VCSEL below the screen. However, achieving this requires VCSELs that emit beyond 1380 nm. Indeed, there are a host of telecoms-related and other applications such as LiDAR that have yet to benefit from VCSELs that emit in the telecoms range (1260 to 1625 nm).

VCSELs work by implementing the mirrors required for the laser cavity in repeated alternating layers of GaAs and Al_xGa_1-xAs, which have differing refractive indices, to make distributed Bragg reflectors that exploit interference effects. The use of GaAs/Al_xGa_1-xAs is strongly preferred as there is minimal lattice mismatch, despite the refractive index contrast, allowing ~100 layers to be grown with high quality. The problem is that the conventional method of extending the wavelength, via the introduction of In into the quantum wells in the active region, generates strain that limits the emission to wavelengths below 1000 nm.

The project will build on successful collaborative work between IQE and Lancaster developing telecoms wavelength GaSb quantum ring (QR) VCSELs [2]. The objective is to push the emission wavelength beyond 1380 nm and will involve the design, growth, processing and testing of individual VCSEL devices and VCSEL arrays.

This PhD is offered in collaboration with IQE. Funding for UK students is available on a competitive basis.

[1] ‘Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSELs) market’, Transparency Market Research [Link].

[2] ‘Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser’, M. Hayne and P. Hodgson US, Europe, Japan and S Korea patent [Link].

Supervisor

Professor Benjamin Robinson

Project summary: This is an experimental project, based in the Department of Physics at Lancaster University. You will study the electrical and thermoelectric properties of thin films of molecular materials assembled on electrode surfaces to help realise a new generation of molecular devices with the potential to fulfil societal needs for flexible energy harvesting materials.

Background: Green thermoelectricity - the sustainable generation of electricity from waste heat - has the potential to be a key enabling technology in the roadmap to the UK’s target of net zero greenhouse gases by 2050 and a pillar of the efforts to build a viable circular economy by contributing to emerging UK green-industries.

Waste heat generated by information and computing technologies (ICT) is expected to reach 30% of electricity consumption by 2025 and is widely recognised as being unsustainable. If thermoelectric (TE) energy harvesters could be developed, which perform well at relatively low temperatures (<150^oC), then waste heat from ICT could be converted back into useful electricity. Energy harvested from the environment and sources such as the human body could also be used to power the internet of things and wearable devices, with engineered thermal management relevant to applications in healthcare, fashion and high-performance clothing.

This project will contribute to these technological challenges and the associated societal and economic benefits by helping to realise large area, thin-film materials and devices on rigid and flexible substrates, designed for TE energy harvesting and cooling. This overarching research challenge will be met, in part, by utilising quantum interference (QI), which introduces additional dynamical range by suppressing current flow at low bias and allows fine control of electrical and thermal conductance.

The project’s goals are aligned with the recently awarded, Lancaster-led, £7.1M EPSRC programme grant, Quantum engineering of energy-efficient molecular materials (QMol) (https://molecularelectronics.org)

Project Outline: This project will focus on the thin film growth of novel organic/organometallic compounds by molecular self-assembly and Langmuir-Blodgett deposition and their subsequent characterisation by a range of surface science techniques including scanning probe microscopy.

The project is predominantly experimental, and you will gain interdisciplinary expertise spanning materials design, thin film fabrication, and nanoscale characterisation. You will benefit from Lancaster’s molecular thin film fabrication capabilities and a suite of state-of-the-art scanning probe microscopes to explore the physical processes of thermal and electrical transport in deposited ultra-thin structures. The compounds will be supplied by colleagues in the Departments of Chemistry at Oxford University and Imperial College, London. There will also be opportunities for you to work with colleagues from the Department of Physics at Imperial College to translate your thin films to practical device architectures.

Research Environment: You will benefit from a vibrant working environment and will be part of the QMol consortium incorporating partners across nine leading Universities and 11 industry partners. Through QMol, you will have the opportunity to develop skills in interdisciplinary working through close collaboration with colleagues studying the theory of quantum transport and device fabrication, as well as industry partners from both SMEs and multinational corporations.

You will be trained and supported in other academic skills such as the preparation of high-impact journal publications, and presenting your work at international meetings and conferences, and you will receive opportunities and training for personal and research development. In addition, you will have the opportunity to join in local and national outreach and engagement activities.

Lancaster University is a leading UK university, and the Physics Department at Lancaster University is one of the top in the UK for research. REF2021 rated 98% of our research outputs as world-leading or internationally excellent. The Department is ranked 4th in the UK for Physics in the Guardian University League Tables 2023.

The Department is committed to family-friendly and flexible working policies. We are also strongly committed to fostering diversity within our community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We hold an Athena SWAN Silver award and Institute of Physics Juno Champion status. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our department.

The Candidate: This project will ideally suit a candidate who has an interest in interdisciplinary experimental nanoscience. Knowledge of nanomaterials or experience in either quantum transport, scanning probe microscopy and/or self-assembly of organic monolayers would be advantageous but not compulsory as full training in a wide variety of techniques will be given. You will need to be highly motivated and be able to work as part of a team, ensuring that key milestones are reached. You will be expected to lead discussions and give regular research updates in person with the group leader and in wider research group meetings with the project consortium. The ability to plan your own workload and keep accurate scientific records is important.

General eligibility criteria: This is a highly interdisciplinary project operating at the interface of Physics, Chemistry and device engineering.  Applicants would normally be expected to hold a minimum of a UK Honours degree at 2:1 level or equivalent in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science or a related area.

Enquiries: Interested applicants are welcome to get in touch to learn more about the PhD project. Please contact Professor Benjamin Robinson, for more information

Supervisors

Professor Benjamin Robinson (Physics)

Project summary: This is an experimental project, based in the Department of Physics at Lancaster University. You will study the electrical switching properties of thin films of organometallic materials assembled on compatible electrode surfaces and in devices capped by 2D films of graphene to help realise a new generation of memristive switching devices with the potential to fulfil societal needs for next generation AI.

Background:

The advance of artificial intelligence (AI) represents the largest market opportunity in the history of humankind, estimated to be anywhere between USD 3.5 and 5.8 trillion. However, it also represents a grave environmental challenge. As a typical example, hundreds of millions of daily queries on ChatGPT can cost around 1 GWh each day, equivalent to the daily energy consumption for about 33,000 UK households. This trend is unsustainable, and new approaches are needed now.

The fundamental limitation of modern computing is the rate of data transfer between a processing unit and memory, known as the von Neumann bottleneck. This data transfer not only limits computational speed but is also highly energy intensive. To overcome this bottleneck there is a global demand for new technologies for brain-inspired, neuromorphic, computing within memory.

Memristors are one of the most promising technologies for achieving in-memory computation. Short for “memory resistors”, memristors are considered the fourth fundamental passive circuit element, alongside resistors, capacitors, and inductors. However, in contrast to traditional volatile memory technologies like RAM, which lose data when power is lost, memristors are a class of non-volatile memory, whose resistive state is maintained even when no external power is applied.

This project will contribute to the technological challenges of realising stable, efficient memristive elements formed of highly ordered thin films of organometallic molecules with highly tunable switching mechanisms.

You will need to be highly motivated and be able to work as part of a team, ensuring that key milestones are reached. You will be expected to lead discussions and give regular research updates in person with the group leader and in wider research group meetings with the project consortium. The ability to plan your own workload and keep accurate scientific records is important.

Enquiries: Interested applicants are welcome to get in touch to learn more about the PhD project. Please contact Professor Benjamin Robinson, for more information.

Supervisor

Professor Oleg Kolosov

Project details

The new PhD project in fundamental and applied physics is announced at Lancaster University Quantum Technologie Centre (LQTC) in collaboration with the National Scientific Research Centre “Demokritos” (NCSRD) in Athens, Greece, and National Graphene Institute (NGI), UK, the birthplace of Graphene, as part of the announced collaborative European Research Council project.

The challenging and high-reward PhD project will target fundamental physics in two-dimensional (2D) materials, their nanostructures, and 2D-3D materials devices developing novel principles of advanced quantum and nanoscale energy management devices. In particular, the project will investigate largely unexplored fundamental links between electronic and phononic heat transport, electrical and nanomechanical phenomena, and thermal-electrical-mechanical energy conversion in the 2D nanostructures. The project outcomes will lead to highly efficient thermoelectric and electrocaloric devices, beyond-state-of-the-art on-chip cooling, and highly sensitive photons and phonons detectors, approaching quantum limits.

The successful applicant will work in experimental research at Lancaster University Quantum Technology Centre (LQTC) in one of the world-leading groups in the exploration of physical properties of 2DM’s using scanning probe microscopy (SPM), in direct interaction with NCSRD in Athens, the world leader in molecular beam epitaxy synthesis of 2D materials, and National Graphene Institute producing unique 2D material hetero and nanostructures. The applicant will have the opportunity to spend some time in Athens and at NGI, and collaborate with leading experimental and theoretical scientists in the field. The applicant is expected to have an excellent academic record in the Physics, Material Science or Electrical Engineering, with good experience in advanced experimentation, and good analytical skills.

The Physics Department is in the top 10 of UK Physics Departments (#4 by Guardian and Sunday Times rating and #7 by Good University Guide). It is a holder of Athena SWAN Silver award and Institute of Physics JUNO Championship status and is strongly committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our department.

Applicants are expected to have the equivalent of a first (1) or upper second (2.1) degree class in Physics or Astrophysics, supplemented by a relevant Master's-level qualification. Potential applicants are invited to apply to the physics department stating the title of the project and the name of the supervisor.

Contact Professor Oleg Kolosov for any additional enquiries

Funding note

The funding for this project is restricted to UK residents and will cover national and international secondments to the NGI and NCSRD in Athens.

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