Current Research Project:

Novel Functional Behaviour in Nanoscale Ferroelectric

My research focuses on ferroelectric domain walls and their properties. Ferroelectrics are a group of materials that are comprised of domains - regions of homogenous polarisation within the material. The boundary that separates domains of differing polarisation is known as a domain wall. These walls can display novel properties that are distinct from the domains in which they are embedded, the most important for my research being enhanced electrical conductivity. Domain walls are on the order of tens of nanometres in size, which makes them a prime candidate for integration into nanoscale devices. Despite this, the origin of the electrical conduction at these walls is not yet fully understood, therefore the overall goal for my research is to facilitate in a fundamental understanding of this domain wall conduction, both through local electrical measurements and measurements of the electronic band structure using various techniques.

Biography

I started my PhD in 2020, after graduating from the MSci Physics course at QUB in 2019. The final year of this course included a master’s project, which followed a similar theme to my postgraduate research – characterising the conduction at domain walls in ferroelectric materials. Alongside my degree, I have been an active member of the PAMSOC society and a co-founder of QUB FLARE, the space society at Queen’s.

Research interest

• Ferroelectrics
• Domain Walls
• Microscopy