Academic projects search

Since the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000 for the discovery and the development of conductive polymers, organic electronics has emerged as a promising technology for the development of a next generation of innovative and smart electro-optical functional devices. Despite the great potential of organic electronic materials and devices, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) for display and lighting applications are currently the only technology that has reached the performance level suitable for a large-scale commercialization. Other organic electronic devices such as solar cells, photodetectors, field-effect transistors (FETs) and thermoelectric generators still need substantial research efforts to improve their properties and realize their full potential for a variety of applications including the Internet of Things, energy harvesting, healthcare and wearable electronics. 

Strong light-matter coupling has been explored in organic semiconductors leading to the observations of polariton condensation and high-efficiency polaritonic emission at room temperature.1 In the recent years, a variety of novel organic optoelectronic device architectures has emerged to exploit the unique features of this strong coupling regime. This research has led to the demonstration of optically-pumped organic polariton lasers,2 highly efficient polaritonic OLEDs with narrow band emission,3 organic polaritonic photodetectors with spectrally extended responsivity4 and polaritonic organic solar cells with reduced photon energy losses.5 Few recent works have also suggested the possibility to use strong coupling for boosting the conductive properties of organic thin films.6 While past research efforts to enhance organic electrical conductivity have been mainly focused on the development of novel materials, recent advances in nanostructured plasmonic metamaterials7 allowing to control the strength of the light-matter interactions could open exciting and still unexplored opportunities to improve the conductive properties of organic electronic devices. 

The successful PhD candidate will investigate the influence of innovative plasmonic metamaterial nanostructures on the electrical and electro-optical properties of novel strongly-coupled organic electronic device architectures. The results will provide new important guidelines to boost electrical conductivity and open a completely new toolbox to improve the performance of organic optoelectronic devices. The student will learn and apply a broad range of organic device fabrication and characterization techniques, work in a state-of-the-art cleanroom and use a cryogenic probe station to study the temperature dependence of the electrical properties of organic electronic materials. This project represents a unique opportunity for a motivated PhD student to work at the forefront of an interdisciplinary and timely research topic, and to gain strong expertise in different areas of research, from the engineering and characterization of advanced organic electronic architectures to the photophysics of organic conjugated materials and the physics of plasmonic metamaterials. 

To be eligible, applicants should hold or expect to receive a minimum 2:1 Honours degree (or the international equivalent) in physics, material science or any related disciplines. The successful candidate should be highly motivated to undertake multidisciplinary research and demonstrate enthusiasm for research, the ability to think and work both independently and in team, excellent analytic and communication skills. Previous experiences in organic electronics will be considered advantageous. The student will work in a new laboratory at the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of St Andrews, interacting with faculty members, postdoctoral researchers and other postgraduate students involved in the well-equipped Organic Semiconductor Centre. A PhD scholarship of the University of St Andrews is available for Home/EU and international students. Note that non-UK applicants must imperatively meet English language entry requirement (IELTS with a minimum overall score of 6.5 or the equivalent).  The scholarship will cover 3.5 years of stipend and fees, and the School will cover costs associated with any required visa. The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. 

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made by email to Dr Jean-Charles Ribierre (jr43@st-andrews.ac.uk).

[1] J. Keeling, S. Kena-Cohen, Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 71, 435 (2020).
[2] S. Kena-Cohen, Nature Photon. 4, 371 (2010); M. Wei et al., Laser & Photon. Rev. 15, 2100028 (2021).
[3] A. Mischok et al., Nature Photon. 17, 393 (2023).
[4] E. Eizner et al., ACS Photon. 5, 2921 (2018).
[5] V.C. Nikolis et al., Nature Comm. 10, 3706 (2019).
[6] E. Orgiu et al., Nature Mater. 14, 1123 (2015) ; K. Nagarajan et al., ACS Nano 14, 10219 (2020), A. Thomas et al., https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.01459; F. J. Garcia-Vidal et al., Science 373, eabd0336 (2021).
[7] P. Wang et al., Chem. Rev. 122, 15031 (2022); P. Huo et al., Adv. Opt. Mater. 7, 1801616 (2019).  

This project is to develop models of resolved star formation on galactic scales. This will involve modelling a full galactic potential and how it drives the formation of molecular clouds and the onset of gravitational collapse and star formation. feedback from ionisation and supernova will be included to assess molecular cloud lifetimes and star formation efficiencies.

Extensive layers of diffuse ionized gas are observed in the Milky Way and other galaxies. This project will study the structure, ionization, heating, and dynamics of diffuse ionized gas using our newly developed radiation hydrodynamics codes that incorporate feedback processes including photoionisation, stellar outflows, and supernovae. Output from our 3D rad-hydro simulations will be compared with emission line observations of the diffuse ionised gas.

Evaporative cooling is an essential stage in the creation of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in atomic gases. Recently we suggested [1] that holographic optical traps can be used to increase the evaporation efficiency, leading to larger BECs. In this PhD project you will implement this scheme, which will result in a simplified apparatus for the productions and subsequent manipulation of BECs.

[1] http://pra.aps.org/abstract/PRA/v84/i5/e053410

This project will use (and futher develop) our new radiation hydrodynamics codes to syudy the effects of stellar feedback on the structure, dynamics, and star formation rates in star forming regions (parsec sizescales) and the interstellar medium (kiloparsec sizescales). Feedback processes that are readily incorporated into our codes include photoionisation, radiation pressure, dust heating, stellar outflows, and supernovae. In addition to studying these processes in star forming regions, the new numerical codes are also applicble to numerical studies of galactic outflows and the impact of feedback processes and leakage of ionising radiation into the intergalactic medium.

Informal enquiries to Kenny Wood: kw25@st-andrews.ac.uk

Our knowledge of exoplanet atmospheres is undergoing a paradigm change following the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). High-quality spectroscopic observations of exoplanet atmospheres necessitate a careful reassessment of model assumptions that were sufficient in the pre-JWST era, in order to ensure the reliable inference of atmospheric properties (e.g. the chemical composition, temperature profile, and aerosol properties).
In this MSc (res) project, you will investigate new ways to improve state-of-the-art models of exoplanet spectra. You will also have the opportunity to apply these models to JWST observations of giant exoplanets, which will allow you to measure the atmospheric properties of worlds around other stars.

• The Centre for Exoplanet Science

Transition metal oxides host a wide range of physical properties and functionalities, making them an ideal platform for implementing potential future devices. The aim of this project is to establish novel ways to manipulate the local properties of transition metal oxides by using a scanning tunneling microscope to enable writing device structures at the atomic scale into the surface of the material. To establish the properties of these written device structure, you will first use scanning tunneling spectroscopy, but later also explore possibilities to contact the written structures macroscopically to study transport through these and enable actual device operation. While initial studies will be performed on bulk material, at later stages of the project, thin-film samples grown by reactive oxide molecular beam epitaxy will be used.

Many gravitational microlensing events involve binary (or multiple) systems, which can be any combination of stars, stellar remnants, brown dwarfs, and planets. Yet, there is quite a lack of systematic studies on what microlensing observations can tell us about the demographics of such systems. This now becomes an even more promising topic as not only photometric but also astrometric microlensing signatures are observed.

This project can take different directions in line with the main interests of the student, where specific questions could include a) the overlapping mass regime between planets and brown dwarfs, b) close binaries, or c) the yet unresolved question why so few binary-source events have been identified (with potential implications on the derivation of planet population statistics).

This project would be eligible for funding including: STFC DTP scholarships administered by the University. (Must be within STFC remit.)

Most stars form in clusters, where energetic feedback from massive (proto)stars – including outflows, ionization, heating, and winds – shapes the environment and impacts accretion. The relative importance of different feedback processes is a key outstanding issue in our understanding of massive star formation.

The aim of this project is to conduct a large-scale observational study of the role and physics of feedback in young massive (proto)clusters, using ALMA and Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations of "Extended Green Objects (EGOs)". The PhD project will focus on imaging and analyzing ALMA observations of the EGO-10, a sample of typical young, massive star-forming regions that exist in a specific evolutionary state where active outflows dominate their infrared appearance.

This project would be eligible for funding including: STFC DTP (Must be within STFC remit.)

Water is one of the most miraculous gifts to humankind. Our present-day lifestyle, industrialization, farming practices, medical care and warfare activities have given rise to a wide range of contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs). They enter our environment through various pathways, accumulate leading to hazardous effects on ecological and human health.  Optical chemical sensors have a huge potential in sensitive, convenient, cost-effective and real-time environmental monitoring of pollutants. They make use of optical parameters like absorbance; Raman spectrum; and fluorescence intensity, wavelength, lifetime and quantum yield for detection of contaminants. Variation in any of these parameters in presence of specific contaminants gives detectable optical signals for detection.

This project, will develop trace optical sensors for industrial contaminants, and pharmaceuticals in water bodies. Experimental work will include clean-room fabrication of thin-film sensors, optical characterisation of their response to different contaminants, and testing the sensors in real-world environments.

• Organic Semiconductor Centre