Location : Oxford Road, Manchester
Closing Date : 11/03/2019
Salary : £32,236 to £39,609 per annum according to relevant experience
Employment Type : Fixed Term
Faculty / Organisational Unit : Science & Engineering
Division : Photon Science Institute
Hours Per week : Full time
Contract Duration : Available from 1 April 2019 for 2 years

Nitride semiconductors are in the process of revolutionising the efficiency of lighting, significantly reducing energy consumption and the consequent impact on the environment. Currently, InGaN/GaN quantum well structures are typically grown in the wurtzite crystal phase and then used to fabricate highly efficient LEDs emitting in the blue that are combined with a yellow phosphor to make the ‘white’ light suitable for illuminating homes and offices.

A more efficient and controllable approach would be to generate white light by mixing the output of multiple LEDs emitting different colours. However, the efficiency of the current generation of nitride LEDs drops significantly as the emission wavelength increases. This reduction may be associated with the strong polarisation field across the quantum well that forms as a consequence of its wurtzite crystal phase.

This post is funded by a £0.64M grant from the Engineering and Physical Research Science Council to study nitride semiconductor structures in the alternative zincblende crystal phase, which eliminates this polarisation field.

You will join a team of physicists who will work together to understand the optoelectronic properties of this novel material in order to exploit its potential as the basis for efficient LEDs emitting in the green and amber part of the spectrum. The project is a collaboration with the Department of Materials and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, who will grow and structurally characterise the samples, and the University of Cardiff.

You will be responsible for the characterisation of zincblende GaN epilayers and InGaN/GaN quantum well structures using a number of techniques. Low temperature, excitation power dependent photoluminescence experiments will enable the recombination process and its dependence on defect density, microstructure and carrier localisation to be understood. In addition, variable-temperature Hall effect probe measurements will be used to be determine the ionisation energy, free carrier density and mobility; and, Raman spectroscopy will be used to measure the phase purity of the samples.

The School is strongly committed to promoting equality and diversity, including the Athena SWAN charter for gender equality in higher education. The School holds a Silver Award which recognises their good practice in relation to gender; including flexible working arrangements, family-friendly policies, and support to allow staff achieve a good work-life balance. We particularly welcome applications from women for this post. Appointment will always be made on merit. For further information, please visit:

http://www.physics.manchester.ac.uk/about-us/equality-and-diversity/

Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies

Enquiries about vacancy shortlisting and interviews:

Name: Dr David Binks

Email: david.binks@manchester.ac.uk

Technical support:

Email: universityofmanchester@helpmeapply.co.uk

Tel: 0161 850 2004

General enquiries:

Email: hrservices@manchester.ac.uk

Tel: 0161 275 4499

This vacancy will close for applications at midnight on the closing date

Further Particulars and Job Description