Kagome metals: From Japanese basket to next generation electronic devices. This project aims to investigate a new material that is very promising for electronic devices that can operate faster, and be more energy efficient than today’s silicon-based technology. Kagome metals have topological non-trivial nature and can pass current without resistance, making them ideal for next-generation electronic devices. This project aims to grow Kagome metals in the ultra-thin layers needed to realise this p ....Kagome metals: From Japanese basket to next generation electronic devices. This project aims to investigate a new material that is very promising for electronic devices that can operate faster, and be more energy efficient than today’s silicon-based technology. Kagome metals have topological non-trivial nature and can pass current without resistance, making them ideal for next-generation electronic devices. This project aims to grow Kagome metals in the ultra-thin layers needed to realise this potential, make devices and study their electronic properties. Expected outcomes of the project will include showing Kagome metals can form the basis of ultra-low energy electronic devices, as well as having future applications in high-temperature fault-tolerant quantum computing.Read moreRead less
Enabling diamond nanoelectronics with metal oxide induced surface doping. This project aims to use diamond for radio frequency power electronics. This builds on the investigator’s success in controlling diamond surface conductivity using transition metal oxides. Diamond is highly desirable for building high-power, high-frequency electronic devices, particularly for use in electrical power control/conversion and telecommunication. The lack of effective and stable doping methods has impeded the re ....Enabling diamond nanoelectronics with metal oxide induced surface doping. This project aims to use diamond for radio frequency power electronics. This builds on the investigator’s success in controlling diamond surface conductivity using transition metal oxides. Diamond is highly desirable for building high-power, high-frequency electronic devices, particularly for use in electrical power control/conversion and telecommunication. The lack of effective and stable doping methods has impeded the realisation of this prospect. This project expects the high performance and technically viable device technologies will enable diamond electronic devices for applications in telecommunications, radars and the next-generation electricity grid.Read moreRead less
New physics with strongly correlated and spin-orbit-coupled electrons. This project aims to identify new physics in quantum magnets and emergent phenomena in solids where the electrons are strongly coupled and intertwined in a complex manner. As a consequence, quantum effects are dramatically enhanced and, in certain situations, force the electrons to split into different exotic particles. This project expects to identify suitable physical systems, candidate materials and appropriate conditions ....New physics with strongly correlated and spin-orbit-coupled electrons. This project aims to identify new physics in quantum magnets and emergent phenomena in solids where the electrons are strongly coupled and intertwined in a complex manner. As a consequence, quantum effects are dramatically enhanced and, in certain situations, force the electrons to split into different exotic particles. This project expects to identify suitable physical systems, candidate materials and appropriate conditions required for the experimental observation of this phenomena with neutron scattering methods. The advanced materials and exotic particles identified in this project will inform the development of next generation technologies, becoming the quantum bits in future quantum computers.Read moreRead less
Unravelling how liquids wet surfaces with new dynamic measurements. This project aims to transform our understanding of how liquids wet surfaces in order to provide a step-change in advanced material design. This will be achieved by developing a unifying theory of surface wetting by integrating new microscale models of dynamic wetting with new macroscale automated measurement techniques capable of rapidly generating large datasets, to determine precisely how surface chemistry and surface roughne ....Unravelling how liquids wet surfaces with new dynamic measurements. This project aims to transform our understanding of how liquids wet surfaces in order to provide a step-change in advanced material design. This will be achieved by developing a unifying theory of surface wetting by integrating new microscale models of dynamic wetting with new macroscale automated measurement techniques capable of rapidly generating large datasets, to determine precisely how surface chemistry and surface roughness influence wetting. Expected outcomes include predictive models of surface wetting across multiple scales, and robust high-throughput measurement methods informing optimal design of next-generation materials for all applications where liquids and surfaces interact.Read moreRead less
Iron-based high-temperature topological superconductors. Because of topological non-trivial nature and zero resistance, topological superconductors are very promising in the application of future electronic devices. This project aims to achieve intrinsic and robust topological superconductors at high-temperature by engineering iron-based superconductors via precisely controlling the defects, chemical doping, interface and substrates. Expected outcomes of this project will include high-temperatur ....Iron-based high-temperature topological superconductors. Because of topological non-trivial nature and zero resistance, topological superconductors are very promising in the application of future electronic devices. This project aims to achieve intrinsic and robust topological superconductors at high-temperature by engineering iron-based superconductors via precisely controlling the defects, chemical doping, interface and substrates. Expected outcomes of this project will include high-temperature iron-based topological superconductors as new material platforms for the study of exotic properties of topological superconductivity and future application in high-temperature fault-tolerant quantum computing. Read moreRead less
The nature and fate of quasiparticles in correlated quantum matter. The revolution in electronics and the Information Age were enabled by powerful theories based on the concept of the quasiparticle, an object composed of many particles such as electrons. This Fellowship aims to unravel the behaviour of new complex materials by investigating the nature of quasiparticles beyond the current paradigm. The key innovation is the use of trapped atoms, which allows new quantum theories and computational ....The nature and fate of quasiparticles in correlated quantum matter. The revolution in electronics and the Information Age were enabled by powerful theories based on the concept of the quasiparticle, an object composed of many particles such as electrons. This Fellowship aims to unravel the behaviour of new complex materials by investigating the nature of quasiparticles beyond the current paradigm. The key innovation is the use of trapped atoms, which allows new quantum theories and computational tools to be developed and precisely tested. The new knowledge generated by the Fellowship will advance a range of fields, including condensed matter physics, and could ultimately underpin a new generation of quantum devices featuring robust data memories, where information can be efficiently stored and extracted.Read moreRead less
Few-body correlations in many-particle quantum matter. This project aims to develop theories of quantum matter by investigating the connection between microscopic few-particle correlations and macroscopic quantum phenomena. The growing class of strongly correlated quantum systems that defy a conventional explanation creates a pressing need for this approach. This project will use the clean and tuneable cold-atom system, where microscopic properties are precisely known, to directly verify new spe ....Few-body correlations in many-particle quantum matter. This project aims to develop theories of quantum matter by investigating the connection between microscopic few-particle correlations and macroscopic quantum phenomena. The growing class of strongly correlated quantum systems that defy a conventional explanation creates a pressing need for this approach. This project will use the clean and tuneable cold-atom system, where microscopic properties are precisely known, to directly verify new spectral techniques. A greater understanding of quantum correlations is expected to advance several fields including condensed matter physics, and could underpin quantum devices where energy can be efficiently stored and rapidly extracted.Read moreRead less
Carbon Cybernetics: Next generation tools for neuroscience. The scope for technology that communicates directly with the human nervous system, is enormous. For fundamental study, the age of bionics is upon us. Biology has ways of recognising when a foreign body is present, thus implanted devices need to be camouflaged from the body's immune system. Today's bionic devices fail because they are rapidly rejected. We will use the element of biology, carbon, to construct a new class of technology for ....Carbon Cybernetics: Next generation tools for neuroscience. The scope for technology that communicates directly with the human nervous system, is enormous. For fundamental study, the age of bionics is upon us. Biology has ways of recognising when a foreign body is present, thus implanted devices need to be camouflaged from the body's immune system. Today's bionic devices fail because they are rapidly rejected. We will use the element of biology, carbon, to construct a new class of technology for future implants. Using a combination of permanent diamond and flexible carbon fibres we will create materials that are invisible to the immune system and last for decades. Seamlessly connecting our thoughts and actions with the power of human electronics. Read moreRead less
Sulfur-based materials for infrared optics and thermal imaging. This project aims to investigate novel sulfur polymers for use in infrared optics and thermal imaging. Current thermal imaging lenses are made in energy-intensive processes from expensive semiconductors and toxic chalcogenide glasses. In contrast, highly abundant elemental sulfur can be converted into polymers that are highly transparent to mid- and long-wave infrared light, providing a promising low-cost alternative. In developing ....Sulfur-based materials for infrared optics and thermal imaging. This project aims to investigate novel sulfur polymers for use in infrared optics and thermal imaging. Current thermal imaging lenses are made in energy-intensive processes from expensive semiconductors and toxic chalcogenide glasses. In contrast, highly abundant elemental sulfur can be converted into polymers that are highly transparent to mid- and long-wave infrared light, providing a promising low-cost alternative. In developing this technology, expected outcomes include novel methods to manufacture polymers from low-cost sulfur and their use as lenses for thermal imaging. Significant benefits are expected, such as access to low-cost, recyclable materials for thermal imaging required in surveillance, diagnostics, and spectroscopy.Read moreRead less
Plasmonic nanoparticle catalysis for nitrogen-based synthesis. Light can generate an optical force to capture small objects. This requires intense light – a laser, which limits optical trapping in catalysis applications. This project aims to apply plasmonic nanoparticles with normal-intensity light to take advantage of plasmonic-generated optical forces for catalytic chemical synthesis. The optical trapping/releasing of small molecules is highly selective and responsive to molecule structure and ....Plasmonic nanoparticle catalysis for nitrogen-based synthesis. Light can generate an optical force to capture small objects. This requires intense light – a laser, which limits optical trapping in catalysis applications. This project aims to apply plasmonic nanoparticles with normal-intensity light to take advantage of plasmonic-generated optical forces for catalytic chemical synthesis. The optical trapping/releasing of small molecules is highly selective and responsive to molecule structure and so presents a great opportunity to radically alter chemical synthesis pathways, which will be illustrated with reactions on liquid-solid and gas-solid interfaces. This highly innovative strategy will be used to discover new nitrogen-based syntheses which are both fundamentally and industrially important.Read moreRead less