PhD Studentship: Dimensionality Tuning and Quantum Engineering in Exotic 2D Materials

Experimental low-temperature physics involving nanofabrication, high pressure measurements, extreme magnetic field and milliKelvin temperature tuning of exotic low dimensional materials with hands-on experiments & development and opportunities for travel to international facilities. This project is supported by the large investment of a URKI Future Leaders Fellowship to identify, synthesise and explore new 2D materials, searching for exotic quantum functionalities to form new sustainable electronics and new types of computing. 2D materials are the future. Graphene was just the beginning, and the possibilities before us now are endless.

Our group aims to identify new unstudied new 2D materials, synthesise them and understand the full range of their properties. This means subjecting crystals of interesting new compounds to ultra-high pressures and magnetic fields, all at temperatures orders of magnitude below those of interstellar space and studying their magnetic, structural and electrical properties.

As a student, unusually for the field, you will experience all parts of this wide endeavour: synthesis of single crystals and of nanoscale devices in a cleanroom environment, advanced characterisation using pressure cells and cryogenic equipment developed in-house, and visits to large-scale facilities for neutron and X-ray diffraction. This range of experience will give you flexibility and independence in a future research career, whether within the academic system or outside. You will gain experience in laboratory skills, hands-on design and manufacture of components, advanced data analysis and programming skills.

You will work as part of a cohesive friendly team and as a part of the wider condensed matter group here at Birmingham, with a close-knit structure and exposure to other groups and ideas. The (Transition Metal)P(S,Se)₃ materials, many of which have yet to be studied, form the focus of this research project. These ‘magnetic graphene’ materials bring magnetism and strong quantum mechanical effects to the domain of 2D materials and comprise exciting new building blocks for exotic new quantum engineering. We seek to control their properties and discover new phases of matter beyond the as-grown crystal properties by controlling the role of dimensionality (2D vs. 3D vs.2.5D?) in electronic and magnetic states. We do this via ultra-high-pressure measurements using opposed diamonds, and you will be a key part of adding in the capability to measure monolayers, bilayers and trilayers of single atomic thickness – and then applying pressure to these nanoscale delicate devices to control their behaviour yet further. This is an ambitious new direction just getting off the ground in the field and we aim to be at the forefront of the exciting new physics this will unlock.

Please see the formal application link attached. You are encouraged to email Dr Matt Coak at m.j.coak@bham.ac.uk to arrange a discussion first. You are advised to get in touch early to register interest, as the position may close if an ideal candidate is found before the formal deadline. https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/physics/quantum/condensed-matter/groups/coak-group 

The School of Physics and Astronomy is an Institute of Physics Juno Champion since 2014 and holder of the Athena SWAN Silver Award. We welcome applications from all qualified applicants, and encourage applications from traditionally under-represented groups in physics and astronomy including, but not limited to, women and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic.

Additional Funding Information

This position is funded through a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. Domestic students will be fully funded. International funding is awarded by the University on a case-by-case basis.

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