GDM001- From Local Symmetry Breaking to Functional Inorganic Semiconductors

How does the atomic-scale structure of a material control its electronic and optical properties? This project will investigate a new class of inorganic semiconductors in which subtle displacements of atoms can break local symmetry and create new functionality.

Ternary chalcogenides such as AgBiS₂ and AgSbTe₂ are promising materials for photovoltaics, thermoelectrics and emerging optoelectronic technologies. Recent work has revealed unexpected nonlinear optical responses in these materials, suggesting that their local structure may be very different from the conventional picture. Understanding and controlling this hidden symmetry breaking could provide new ways to engineer their electronic, optical and transport properties.

You’ll combine materials synthesis with advanced optical and structural characterisation, using techniques including second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy and spectroscopy, diffraction, optical spectroscopy and electronic transport measurements. You will explore how chemical composition and atomic structure influence local symmetry, and establish design principles for developing improved functional materials.

The project sits at the intersection of materials chemistry, condensed-matter physics, nonlinear optics and device engineering, with potential applications in photovoltaics, thermoelectrics, nonlinear photonics, neuromorphic computing and next-generation memory technologies.

You’ll gain interdisciplinary training in materials synthesis, advanced optical spectroscopy, structural analysis and quantitative structure–property relationships, working across the complementary expertise of the Di Martino, Hoye and Clarke research groups.

We welcome applicants from physics, materials science, chemistry, engineering or related disciplines. You don’t need to have experience in all of these techniques - curiosity, creativity and enthusiasm for interdisciplinary research are most important.