About
I am a Professor and Head of BioMEMS, Organic and Silicon Electronics Group at Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics with expertise in semiconductor materials and devices. The semiconductors research underpins future technologies in Net Zero, artificial intelligence and quantum and is an area of global strategic significance. My Group has portfolio of research in advanced More than Moore fields, entailing: (i) Smart sensors for automotive and medical sector; (ii) Smart energy for power electronics and transition to Net Zero via renewable energy sources; (iii) Energy harvesting for sensor networks, Internet of Things (IoT) and avionics; and (iv) Wearable and flexible electronics for medical sector, consumer and IoT. The Group’s research portfolio has been growing in recent years, especially on Net Zero technologies and Sensors for Healthcare.
My core research activity has largely been focused on understanding and engineering electronic materials, in particular oxide/semiconductor interface to facilitate an unprecedented level of scaling of silicon chips. I have established a substantial track record in the area of nanometre thin high-k dielectrics and played a pivotal leadership role in collaborative efforts to achieve ultimately scaled gate stack in the European PULLNANO and NANOSIL projects. The research work on the gate stack for the 22 nm CMOS technology node has been recognized as a significant achievement in the European Commission final review in 2009. I have coordinated a number of research projects, mainly funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with a contribution of ~£2 million. I have led activity on innovative germanium devices for their industrial production target in 2018. I have been working on novel concepts for harvesting infrared and solar energy by engineering double and triple insulator resonant tunnelling diodes in 28.3 THz rectenna arrays. My recent work focuses on next-generation semiconductors (GaN, SiC, diamond) for space applications, in particular development of Schottky barrier diodes and transistors that can operate with high efficiencies at high frequencies for space-based solar power. I have over 20 PhD students graduated. I have published more than 180 scientific papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings and delivered over thirty talks at premier international conferences in Europe and the USA.
I am a Steering Committee member of the EPSRC eFutures Network+ on electronic systems for emerging challenges (2019-2026), a Senior Member of IEEE (since 2014) and a member of the European SINANO Network of Excellence in nanoelectronics (since 2008). I serve on Advisory Board of Semiconductors Future R&D project funded by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) (2023-2025), on Strategic Advisory Board of Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing Hub led by Cardiff University (2020-2030), on IEEE International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) "More Than Moore" for Energy Harvesting, as well as on the panel of prestigious IEEE Andrew S. Grove Award Committee for outstanding contributions to solid-state devices and technology (2023-2026). In the last two years, I have been involved in International On Semiconductors (ICOS) European project with leaders in Europe, India, USA, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
I advocate for a sustainable, renewable energy transition and have hosted in 2022, Electronics for Sustainable Societies, the EPSRC eFutures Network+ conference, attracting critical mass of national and international research leaders in this field.
I have spearheaded, via eFutures+ network, Women’s Pilot Programme (2023-present), with four events to date, including in Liverpool, Edinburgh, Belfast, and Fermanagh, which has been cited by EPSRC as a flagship Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) project.
Prizes or Honours
- Senior Member (Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers , 2014)
- Chartered Engineer (Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2014)
- Fellow (Higher Education Academy, UK, 2013)
- Best oral presentation in Electronics (PREP 2004 Conference Organising Committee, UK, 2004)