This is an exciting opportunity to make a major contribution to research at the leading edge of advanced ceramic capacitor discovery, joining an EPSRC-funded project within Dr. Lu's Group. This experimentally based project seeks to develop high entropy BiFeO3-based dielectric ceramics for next-generation multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with significantly enhanced energy storage performance and extended operational temperature ranges. Current MLCCs are limited to operating temperatures of 150°C and insufficient energy storage density, creating critical bottlenecks for integration with wide bandgap semiconductors in power electronics. By applying a high entropy strategy, this project aims to achieve unprecedented simultaneous enhancement of energy recoverable density, efficiency, breakdown strength, and operating temperature range from -55 to 250°C. The programme will employ advanced structural characterisation tools and comprehensive functional property measurements to systematically investigate the relationship between composition, entropy level, crystal structure, and energy storage performance.
Holding a PhD (or close to completion) in Materials Science, Physics, or a closely allied discipline, you will have a strong background in dielectrics, ferroelectrics, or functional oxide materials. You will also have experience of ceramic/complex oxide fabrication, processing, and characterisation, with a strong emphasis on electrical property measurement techniques and advanced structure determination methods, including X-ray/neutron scattering and/or electron microscopy, as well as experience in the interpretation of experimental data for advanced crystal structure determination, such as Rietveld refinement or pair distribution function analysis.
We are open to discussing flexible working arrangements.
Contract type: Fixed term (Until 31st May 2029 - to complete specific time limited work)
Working time: 37.5 hours per week
