van der Waals Epitaxy for Advanced and Flexible Optoelectronics

The project aims to investigate the growth of compound semiconductors directly on 2-dimensional material templates, via the so-called van der Waals epitaxy. The unique properties of 2-D materials combined with the excellent properties of compound semiconductors as optoelectronic materials allows the tailoring of their functionalities to meet a variety of applications. Flexible solar cells, which could be integrated to fabrics or building products, and lasers that require very small drive currents will be demonstrated. Additionally, a novel photon management concept, the Anderson localisation effect, will be utilised to control the interaction between photons and material to improve device efficiencies.