51福利

We study quantum devices through low-temperature electronic transport measurements. Our goal is control at the level of single charge, single flux quantum, single photon and single phonon, enabled by fundamental physical phenomena such as superconductivity, the Josephson effect, flux and charge quantisation, and quantum entanglement.

The ability to control and measure quantum states in nanoscale solid-state devices makes them a promising platform for new quantum technologies. Applications include quantum computing and quantum simulation, quantum encryption, quantum metrology, and novel sensors operating beyond the standard quantum limit.

Work within this activity includes:

• Quantum Metrology
  Superconducting and hybrid charge pumps for accurate definitions of the ampere.
• Graphene & 2D Materials
  Transport phenomena in 2D materials, including hydrodynamic flow and the superconducting proximity effect.
• Ultralow temperature thermometry and devices
  Developing the techniques required to undertake quantum transport measurements at electron temperatures below one millikelvin.
• Semiconductors
  Transport properties of narrow band-gap semiconductor heterostructures and nanostructures.
• Nanoelectromechanics
  Using nanoscale cantilevers to probe properties of quantum fluids.

Team

• Professor Yuri Pashkin
• Professor Rich Haley
• Professor Manus Hayne
• Dr Sergey Kafanov
• Dr Leonid Ponomarenko
• Dr Jon Prance
• Dr Viktor Tsepelin

Research involves the design, fabrication and characterisation of novel quantum devices that exploit the properties of III-V compound semiconductor nanostructures such as quantum dots, nanowires, quantum wells and superlattices.

A key aspect of our research is the use of advanced epitaxial growth, including:

• narrow band-gap semiconductors, such as GaSb, InAs and InSb
• self-assembled and site-controlled nanostructures
• droplet epitaxy
• hydrogenation of semiconductors
• dilute nitrides
• mismatched materials with atomically abrupt interfaces on GaAs and silicon substrates

We are developing a variety of photonic and electronic devices, including:

• mid-infrared LEDs and lasers for environmental gas sensing
• solar cells and thermo-photovoltaic devices for renewable energy generation
• GaSb quantum ring lasers for telecommunications
• low-noise photodetectors for focal plane arrays and thermal imaging
• low-voltage non-volatile memories

Our research is frequently carried out in collaboration with industry partners, including IQE, CST, Amethyst, SELEX, Huawei and others, as well as many academic groups worldwide.

Team

• Professor Tony Krier
• Professor Manus Hayne
• Professor Robert Young
• Dr Andrew Marshall
• Dr Qian Zhuang

We explore physical phenomena in advanced materials at the micron, nano and atomic scale. Our activities include:

• the development of functional 'smart' surfaces realised via novel molecular self-assembly methods
• nanoscale device characterisation
• atomic resolution imaging
• instrument development and biomaterial analysis

We develop new materials with targeted chemical, electrical, thermal and catalytic properties such as self-assembled molecular networks and novel 2D material - organic film heterostructures fabricated using a wide range of atomically precise molecular assembly techniques and spanning environments from highly controlled ultra-high vacuum conditions to liquid-phase molecular self-assembly and Langmuir-Blodgett deposition.

Underpinning this research are a wide range of characterisation methods and a long-standing interest in new instrument development. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is unparalleled in its ability to provide spatial resolution at the atomic and nanoscale. Our suite of SPM instruments is dedicated to high-resolution imaging, nanomechanical mapping, electrical measurement and scanning thermal microscopy, which we combine with optical spectroscopy, high-speed interferometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, synchrotron radiation studies and electronic structure calculation providing access to the full spectrum of materials properties.

Team

• Professor Oleg Kolosov
• Dr Sam Jarvis
• Professor Benjamin Robinson

Our research straddles three main disciplines: material science, quantum optics and information security. Through the hybridisation of these fields, we are driving a unique research activity; investigating the application of light-matter interfaces in low-dimensional structures for physical security applications.

We divide our research into the following themes:

• Developing components for optical quantum information processing (QIP) using low-dimensional semiconductor structures. The scalability and low-cost of semiconductor systems make them ideal for producing scalable quantum technologies.
• Harnessing the unique properties of nanostructures embedded in devices for identity provision and authentication. At the atomic level, no two objects are identical. We're developing technologies that produce east-to-read signatures based on this uniqueness, for security applications.
• Quantum light emission from heterostructures of two-dimensional materials, and associated applications. Solid-state lighting and two-dimensional materials were both the subject of recent Nobel prizes in physics. The combination of the two is driving an exciting research field.

Team

• Professor Robert Young
• Professor Manus Hayne
• Professor Benjamin Robinson

Supervisor

Professor Manus Hayne

Project

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 existing PhD projects. 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 .

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for funding, please submit your application by 31st January 2027.

[1] ‘Moore’s law’, Wikipedia [].

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

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

[4] ‘ULTRARAM: a low-energy, high-endurance, compound-semiconductor memory on silicon’, P. D. Hodgson et al., Adv. Electron. Mater. 8, 2101103 (2022) []

Supervisor

Professor Manus Hayne

Project description

Optical fibres are the backbone of the global communications infrastructure that underpins the data transmission society depends on, but optical fibres have preferred wavelength ranges, the telecoms O and C bands, at ~1310 and ~1550 nm, respectively. This requirement severely limits the choice of compound semiconductors that can be used, i.e., those with suitable band gaps, so conventional telecoms emitters (lasers) are based on InP and close alloy variants. At shorter wavelengths, e.g., ~850 nm used for short distance communication (datacoms), where optical-fibre absorption losses are higher, GaAs-based devices are preferred. A small amount of In added to GaAs to form InGaAs allows emission to wavelengths as long as 1000 nm, but GaAs-based devices have significant benefits. GaAs wafers are larger, more robust and cheaper that InP, which is commercially beneficial. There is also an important technical advantage. GaAs and AlAs have almost identical lattice constants but a significant refractive index contrast, which means that they can be used in alternating layers to build distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) based on interference effects. Pairs of DBRs are used to form the optical cavity that is the basis of cheap and efficient vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), which are ubiquitous in datacoms, and also used in a range of other applications such as laser printers, computer mice, bar code readers and smart device facial recognition. The key issue is that extending the advantages of GaAs-based devices to telecoms wavelengths has long proven very challenging.

We are developing a new family GaAs-based photon sources that operate at telecoms wavelength, based on emission from GaSb quantum rings (QRs) in GaAs. QR emission at room temperature is naturally in the (shorter end of the) telecoms band at room temperature, but it is an unusual choice because GaSb in GaAs is a so-called type-II system, meaning that electrons and holes are physically separated in the GaAs and GaSb respectively, with poor wave function overlap and intrinsically weak radiative recombination: they don’t shine brightly. However, we have shown that embedding the QRs in an optical cavity formed by a pair of DBRs strongly enhances the radiative recombination at the resonant wavelength of the cavity, allowing the development of telecoms wavelength QR VCSELs [1] and single-photon LEDS (SPLEDs), the latter of which is intended for use in quantum key distribution (QKD).

This PhD will be dedicated to the further development of the design, fabrication and testing of QR SPLEDs and VCSELs. It will involve improving output efficiency and purity (SPLEDs) and extending the emission wavelength from ~1310 nm to ~1550 nm. Much of the research will be performed in-house at Lancaster, but some aspects of device fabrication and testing may be undertaken in collaboration with partner institutions.

This PhD is offered in collaboration with , a new, high-profile spinout from Physics at 51福利.

Funding for UK students is available on a competitive basis for online applications received before the end of January 2027.

[1] S. O. Jones et al., ‘GaSb quantum-rings for vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers emitting at telecommunications and mobile sensing wavelengths’, , 2024, San Francisco, California, US, Proc SPIE 12904, Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XXVIII; 129040J (2024).

[2] G. Acar et al., ‘Towards GaSb/GaAs quantum-ring single-photon LEDs: recent progress and prospects’, , 2024, San Francisco, California, US, Proc SPIE 12906, Light-Emitting Devices, Materials, and Applications XXVIII; 1290609 (2024).

Supervisor

Dr Andrew Marshall

Description

Applications are invited for a research PhD in the School of Physics and Astronomy and Quantum Technology Centre at 51福利, UK. The project will focus on the study and development of novel type II superlattice (T2SL) infrared photodetectors aligned with the technology interests of Leonardo UK. This is part of a successful and long-standing collaboration, which has already produced focal plane chips with
good imaging performance in the midwave infrared (see images).

The successful applicant will build on the group’s existing expertise in the growth, fabrication and characterisation of InAs/InAsSb T2SLs. They will gain state of the art experience in the growth of III-V quantum structures by molecular beam epitaxy and the cleanroom fabrication of commercially relevant photodetectors and focal plane arrays. Through iterative modelling, growth, fabrication and characterisation, they will build detailed understanding in the design and optimisation of T2SLs for LWIR imaging.

This PhD project will be supported Leonardo UK a major UK technology company and globally leading producer of infrared sensors and cameras. Senior engineers at Leonardo will provide supervisory input and an application focus for the project. Leonardo’s involvement will provide a pathway to application of the project’s findings, making the student’s work highly relevant to future technologies. The experience of working closely with an industrial partner will also give the successful applicant excellent professional development and enhance their career prospects.

The PhD candidate will join Dr Marshall’s thriving research group with fellow students and researchers sharing their knowledge in related fields. The Lancaster School of Physics and Astronomy has a world-leading research profile and longstanding record of ranking highly in UK research assessments.

Enquiries should be directed to Dr Andrew Marshall a.r.marshall@lancaster.ac.uk .

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for funding, please submit your application by 31st January 2027.

Supervisor

Dr Samuel Jarvis

Description

Project summary

Graphene nanoribbons offer an exciting route to electronic devices whose properties are designed through the arrangement of individual atoms. In this experimental PhD, you will explore how to grow these remarkable materials from molecular building blocks, image their atomic structure and develop them towards a new generation of transistors on silicon-based platforms. The project brings together quantum physics, atomic-resolution microscopy and nanoscale fabrication, with the ambition of creating smaller, more energy-efficient electronic devices.

Background

Graphene nanoribbons are narrow strips of carbon whose electronic behaviour depends strongly on their width and the precise structure of their edges. Building them from carefully designed molecules allows exceptional control over these features. However, growing the right ribbon in the right place remains a major challenge. Established synthesis methods often rely on catalytic metal surfaces, requiring the ribbons to be transferred onto insulating substrates before they can be incorporated into devices. Growing them directly on silicon-compatible surfaces would open new possibilities for integrating molecular-scale structures into electronics.

Our approach uses some of the smallest possible metal catalysts: clusters containing only a few atoms. Recent advances in our group have established methods for depositing these clusters on surfaces and shown that they promote key reactions needed for nanoribbon formation. This PhD will build on that foundation to investigate how individual catalysts enable growth and how we can use them to create longer, more precisely controlled ribbons.

Project outline

You will use scanning tunnelling microscopy and non-contact atomic force microscopy to investigate catalysts, molecular building blocks and growing nanoribbons at successive stages of reaction. These experiments will reveal how atomic structures change as bonds form, helping you understand what promotes successful growth and what produces defects. Combining these images with X-ray spectroscopy and theoretical insight, you will develop growth strategies for silicon-compatible surfaces, including silicon dioxide on silicon. Our ultimate aim is to fabricate transistors in which graphene nanoribbons grown directly on silicon-based substrates form the conducting channel. You will explore how to connect the ribbons to source and drain electrodes and use a gate voltage to control current flow, investigating how ribbon structure, defects and interactions with the substrate affect transistor performance.

You will work alongside PhD students and researchers exploring materials atom by atom, in a group whose research has featured at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Based in Lancaster’s George Pickett IsoLab, purpose-built for exceptionally sensitive measurements, you will receive practical training in advanced microscopy, ultrahigh-vacuum methods, spectroscopy and data analysis, with opportunities to develop cleanroom fabrication and device measurement skills through the Quantum Technology Centre. Our collaborations with universities, industry and Diamond Light Source will introduce you to researchers with different expertise and approaches to solving problems. We will support you to develop your own ideas, publish your findings and present your work at international conferences. Training will build on the experience you bring; previous experience of these specialist techniques is not required.

For an informal discussion about the project and life in the group, please contact Dr Samuel Jarvis.

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for funding, please submit your application by 31st January 2027.

Supervisor

Dr Samuel Jarvis

Description

Project summary – Molecules that switch and remember offer exciting possibilities for energy-efficient electronics. In this experimental PhD, you will assemble carefully designed molecules into functional materials with potential applications in memory devices, with the ambition of reducing the energy demands of computing and AI. Using advanced microscopy, you will investigate these materials with single-molecule resolution and discover how their structure influences their electrical behaviour. The project brings together molecular electronics, materials chemistry and quantum physics.

Background – We are facing an urgent global energy challenge. The International Energy Agency projects that data centre electricity use will almost double from 485 TWh in 2025 to 950 TWh by 2030, roughly equivalent to Japan’s total annual electricity consumption, while demand from AI-focused data centres will triple. Meeting this challenge requires technologies that can deliver greater computing power while consuming far less energy. Molecular electronics offers an exciting possibility: using carefully designed molecules as the active components of a new generation of electronic devices. A major source of energy consumption in conventional computers is moving data between memory and processors. Molecular memristors—devices that change their electrical resistance and retain a memory of their previous state—could help overcome this limitation by enabling computation where information is stored. Developing these materials could underpin low-power, brain-inspired computing and help make AI more sustainable.

You will begin with promising porphyrin- and thiophene-based molecules whose electronic properties can be tailored through chemical design. These molecules can also exploit quantum interference, using the wave-like behaviour of electrons to enhance or suppress current. The challenge is to translate these properties into materials that switch reliably and remember their electrical state.

Project outline – You will prepare molecular layers on surfaces and investigate how their organisation and electronic properties change with molecular design and preparation conditions. Ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunnelling microscopy (UHV-STM) in Lancaster’s George Pickett IsoLab will allow you to explore these materials molecule by molecule, revealing arrangements and local electronic behaviour that are hidden in measurements averaged over a whole device. Combining this insight with atomic force microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy and electrical measurements, you will investigate how molecular packing, charge state and contact with electrodes influence switching and memory. You will explore the roles of quantum interference and chemical changes in controlling conductance, and test how these relate to switching voltage, retention and reproducibility. Working with synthetic chemists and theorists, your findings will guide the development of molecular materials for reliable, low-energy memory devices.

The project builds on Lancaster’s role in the £7 million QMol programme, connecting molecular synthesis, theory, materials characterisation and device research across Lancaster, Oxford, Imperial College London, Liverpool and STFC. You will work alongside PhD students and researchers with complementary expertise, receiving practical training in molecular assembly, advanced microscopy, spectroscopy, electrical characterisation and data analysis. We will support you to develop your own ideas, publish your findings and present your work at international conferences. The project will suit students drawn to physics, chemistry or materials science who enjoy practical experiments and want to understand how molecular behaviour can create new technologies. Training will build on the experience you bring; previous experience of molecular electronics or the specialist techniques is not required.

For an informal discussion about the project and life in the group, please contact Dr Samuel Jarvis.

Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for funding, please submit your application by 31st January 2027.

Supervisor

Professsor Edward Laird

Description

Atomic clocks are the most precise scientific instruments ever made, and are key to advanced technologies for navigation, communication, and radar. The most accurate atomic clocks cost millions of pounds and take up entire rooms, but some of the fastest development is at the other extreme: miniature atomic clocks for portable electronics. The need for these clocks has never been greater: a temporary loss of the time standard distributed by GPS, which could happen following a solar storm or deliberate jamming, is estimated as over a billion pounds per day.

We are developing a new type of clock that could fit on a chip. Present-day atomic clocks are based on atomic vapours confined in a vacuum chamber. Our new approach is to use electron and nuclear spins in endohedral fullerene molecules – nature’s atom traps – whose energy levels offer an exquisitely stable frequency reference. To make this novel approach work, we must overcome a range of physics and engineering challenges, including detecting spin resonance from a small number of spins, understanding the physics that determines the strength and sharpness of the signal, and miniaturizing the control electronics. The reward will be a completely new technology with a wide range of civilian and military uses.

We are looking for a candidate who has a strong interest in applying quantum physics in new technology and is motivated to develop the new and demanding electronic measurement techniques that will be necessary. Our project is in close collaboration with a local technology company, Teleplan Forsberg. You learn important and marketable skills in quantum electronics, radio-frequency engineering, and miniaturisation.

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Funding is available on a competitive basis. To be considered for funding, please submit your application by 31st January 2027.