On Friday 30th September the School of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Lincoln hosted our first ever PGR symposium event. We invited alumni who are currently PGR students at other institutions to give a short (10-15 minute) presentation about their research projects alongside some of our own PhD students. 

The second speaker was Harry Finch who is currently in his final year studying for a PhD in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics at the University of Liverpool. His research is on so-called high-k materials – materials with a high dielectric constant relative to SiO₂ – for gate dielectrics in devices such as field effect transistors.

In his talk, Harry started by explaining how high k materials may enable the further miniaturisation of devices. He then talked about how he has used x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the high-k material Sc₂O₃, in particular to examine the interface between Sc₂O₃ and GaN or SiC. In the Q&A session Harry also discussed the scalability of the various sputtering methods used to deposit these technologically important materials.