Research Topics

From absorbed light to optoelectronic function

We study how excited states form, move and disappear in emerging semiconductors—and how local structure, disorder and interfaces shape that journey from absorbed light to optoelectronic function.

Solution-processed semiconductor samples emitting different colours under ultraviolet illumination

A connected programme

Photophysics Materials Optoelectronics

Our programme combines experimental semiconductor physics, photoluminescence spectroscopy and microscopy to connect microscopic processes with material and device behaviour.

  1. 01

    Photophysics

    Follow generation, relaxation, transport, trapping and recombination after optical or electrical excitation.

  2. 02

    Materials

    Use composition, dimensionality, disorder and interfaces to access distinct physical regimes.

  3. 03

    Optoelectronics

    Connect microscopic pathways to light harvesting, emission, detection and optical communication.

Current research directions

Questions across time, space and structure

The directions below overlap deliberately: a local structural change can reshape an excited-state pathway, which in turn changes a macroscopic device response.

Dynamics

Excited states: from generation to recombination

How do photoexcited states relax, transfer energy, become trapped and ultimately recombine?

The competing pathways unfold from picoseconds onwards and determine whether absorbed energy is lost, transported or emitted as light. We investigate these dynamics in halide perovskites, nancrystals, organics, and related structures using steady-state, time-resolved and ultrafast optical spectroscopy.

Representative work: picosecond transients in perovskite nanodomainsRelated funded programmes

Transport

Transport, diffusion and spatial photophysics

How far and how efficiently do carriers and excitons move—and where does their behaviour change across a sample?

Spatial averaging can conceal grain-to-grain variation, local loss channels and anisotropic transport. Photoluminescence, hyperspectral and photocurrent microscopy let us correlate spectra, dynamics and transport with position, while computational analysis helps interpret the resulting multidimensional data.

Methods perspective: photoluminescence microscopy of optoelectronic materials

Diagram showing optical excitation, carrier diffusion and confocal photoluminescence detection
Spatially resolved photoluminescence links local emission to carrier motion and recombination.

Local environments

Disorder, defects, heterogeneity and interfaces

Why can nominally identical regions of a semiconductor follow different photophysical pathways?

Energetic disorder, traps, compositional variation, grains and interfaces create local environments that can dominate macroscopic response. We compare local optical signatures with structural or compositional information to distinguish intrinsic behaviour from processing-dependent heterogeneity and to understand interfacial recombination.

Representative work: dynamic nanodomains and macroscopic properties

Photoluminescence intensity map showing nanoscale emitting regions in a halide perovskite
Local emitters reveal photophysical behaviour hidden by ensemble averaging.

Structure–property relationships

Dimensionality and composition as design variables

How do chemical composition and structural dimensionality reshape electronic states and light emission?

Solution-processed semiconductors offer unusually flexible structure–property relationships. Our work spans halide perovskites and perovskite-inspired materials, layered organic–inorganic systems, colloidal nanocrystals and organic semiconductors. In low-dimensional perovskites, spacer molecules, metal substitution and phase composition can tune confinement, anisotropy, energy transfer and broadband emission.

Perspective: broadband luminescence in perovskite-inspired materials

Scientific graphic comparing three-, two-, one- and zero-dimensional perovskite structures with their emission spectra
Structural dimensionality changes the electronic landscape available to excited states.

Function

From microscopic processes to optoelectronic function

How do local photophysical processes become the measurable response of a working optoelectronic structure?

We connect recombination, transport and optical coupling to photovoltaics, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors and routes towards visible-light communication. Measurements under operating conditions help identify where device behaviour originates, while photonic structures provide another way to control emission directionality or spectral response.

Representative work: resonant-cavity narrowband perovskite photodetectors

Graphical summary of a resonant-cavity perovskite photodetector with tuneable narrowband response
Device architecture and optical coupling translate material response into spectral function.

Explore our research

Questions, capabilities, outputs and support

Research Topics presents the scientific programme. The connected pages document how we investigate it, what it produces and how substantive projects are supported.

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