Active Colloidal-Quantum-Dot Light Emitting Devices: QD Laser and QD LEDs

About the Project

Realization of electrically pumped lighting and lasing with colloidal quantum dots will have a revolutionary impact on many disciplines including display, photonics, optical communication, chemical sensing, and medical diagnostics. Due to broadly tunable emission wavelengths and facile particle size-control and viable processability, colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are promising materials for attaining these goals. In this PhD project, we will use non-toxic QDs (InP/ZnS or CuInZnS3) with specially engineered structures to demonstrate LED and Laser devices that can be implemented into various applications such as optical communication, display or lighting.

Moreover, this project will also evolve different types of photonics or optics engineering. For instance, we will make QD LEDs that can be operated as both a light source and an optically pumped laser. Such photonics structures feature a distributed feedback resonator integrated into a bottom LED electrode, which can help us to obtain good confinement of a waveguided mode within the QD medium as well as demonstrate low-threshold lasing even with an ultrathin (about three QD monolayers) active layer. Through this project, the students will be well trained in the state-of-the-art solution-processed QD optoelectronics as well as fundamental laser physics.

For more information, or if there are any questions, please contact Dr Bo Hou HouB6@cardiff.ac.uk

The typical academic requirement is a minimum of a 2:1 physics and astronomy or a relevant discipline.

Applicants whose first language is not English are normally expected to meet the minimum University requirements (e.g. IELTS 6.5 Overall with 5.5 minimum in sub-scores).

How to apply

Applicants should apply to the Doctor of Philosophy in Physics and Astronomy.

Applicants should submit an application for postgraduate study via the Cardiff University webpages including:

• your academic CV
• Your degree certificates and transcripts to date including certified translations if these are not in English
• a personal statement/covering letter
• two references, at least one of which should be academic. Your references can be emailed by the referee to physics-admissions@cardiff.ac.uk

Please note: We are do not contact referees directly for references for each applicant due to the volume of applications we receive.

In the "Research Proposal" section of your application, please specify the project title and supervisors of this project.

In the funding section, please select that you will be self-funded or include your own sponsorship or scholarship details.

Once your application is submitted, we will review it and advise you within a few weeks if you have been shortlisted for an interview.

Funding Notes

This project is offered for self-funded students only, or those with their own sponsorship or scholarship award.