School of Physics & Astronomy

Role(s): Academic

Current research

My research is concerned with the fundamental physical properties of III-V semiconductor nanostructures and devices including those based on Gallium Arsenide and Gallium Nitride. Electronic transport and optical, particularly ultra-fast, techniques are used to study the interaction of electrons and holes with lattice vibrations (phonons). Of particular interest is electron-phonon interaction in multilayered semiconductor strucures, e.g. superlattices. These structures can be used to generate, manipulate and detect coherent nanoacoustic waves (sound waves with nanometre wavelength). Such waves may find applications in the probing and imaging of nanostructures and controlling light including millimetre waves. Through design of novel superlattice structures that can both amplify phonons due to the electron-phonon interaction and confine phonons in an acoustic cavity we can build a saser device (the equivalent of a laser, but for THz sound instead of light). This work is carried out in collaboration with theoretical physicist colleagues in Dresden and Kiev.

For more details see the semiconductor physics web pages

Current Teaching

F33SO2: Laser Physics and Matter-Light Interactions