PhD Studentship - Defects, Disorder and Dynamics in Topological Insulators and the Implications for Functional Next Generation Quantum Devices

Funding

A highly competitive EPSRC Quantum Technologies Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship offering the award of fees, together with a tax-free maintenance grant of £19,237 per year for 3.5 years. Training and support will also be provided.

Lead Supervisor’s full name & email address

Dr Andrew Burnett – a.d.burnett@leeds.ac.uk

Co-supervisor name(s)

Dr Joshua Freeman – j.r.freeman@leeds.ac.uk

Topological insulators (TIs) are an emerging class of materials that are generating considerable interest worldwide with potential for many device applications as part of next generation quantum technologies. To enable this, it is necessary to develop a detailed understanding of how the specific growth conditions affect the final properties of these materials. This project will apply solid-state density functional theory calculations and advanced ab-initio MD methods to explore the influence of structural ordering on the anharmonicity of bulk phonon properties of these materials. When coupled with experimental data, this project with apply the result to further train neural network-based machine learning models, with the aim of developing predictive tools for the rational design of future materials.

Please state your entry requirements plus any necessary or desired background

First or Upper Second Class UK Bachelor (Honours) or equivalent

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