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Join us on Monday 20th February, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the QLM weekly seminar. This week we’re pleased to have Chris Bailey from the Hybrid Photonics group, who will be giving a talk titled “Nanomaterials for Perovskite Solar Cells”. -- Abstract: Despite many fundamental limitations, silicon is ubiquitous as a material for solar cells that convert sunlight to electricity. Many materials are emerging as competitors, offering desirable characteristics such as strong absorption of light, the ability to be manufactured using less energy, and greater compatibility with various device architectures. Such properties allow emerging ‘thin-film’ solar cells to be flexible and semi-transparent, presenting opportunities for unique applications. Perovskite is such a material, with a power-conversion efficiency that has climbed at an unprecedented rate, reaching over 22 % within six years. By combining perovskites with currently available nanomaterials, improved light-harvesting schemes and ultra-thin solar cells could be realised utilising processes such as non-radiative energy transfer, luminescence down-shifting, plasmon resonance, and photon upconversion. -- As always, tea, coffee and cake will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton

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Join us on Monday 11th of December, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the QLM Monday seminar. This week we’re delighted to have Rebecca French from the Integrated Nanophotonics Group, who will be giving their fourth year talk titled “Imaging and Sensing with Multiple Scattering Media”. Full details are below. -- Speaker: Rebecca French Title: Imaging and Sensing with Multiple Scattering Media Abstract: TBC -- As always, tea, coffee and cake/biscuits will be provided. If you are able to bring your own mugs for any hot drinks, please do, as we would like to cut down on the waste produced by the seminars. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton

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Join us on Monday 4th of December, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the QLM Monday seminar. This week we’re delighted to have Andrei Dragomir from the Integrated Atom Chip Group, who will be giving their fourth year talk titled “Enabling Technologies for Quantum-Enhanced Sensors”. Full details are below. -- Speaker: Andrei Dragomir Title: Enabling Technologies for Quantum-Enhanced Sensors Abstract: There is a pioneering wave in regards to translating quantum technologies from the lab to real devices. We present a novel, sophisticated integrated centimetre-scale atom chip designed for ultra-cold atom technologies. The system is formed around a miniaturised vacuum chamber built using microfabrication techniques such as anodic and eutectic bonding and it involves ultra-high vacuum passive pumps, vapour control and electrical feedthroughs. The miniaturised vacuum chambers are 20X25X6mm with a predicted lifetime of 1000 days. Primarily, the system is designed for the miniaturisation of the magneto-optical trap (MOT) a very common device used for creating cold and ultra-cold atoms. Towards this purpose we also present several other solutions for a miniaturised cold atom system such as new trapping geometries, laser stabilisation systems and atom sources. -- As always, tea, coffee and cake/biscuits will be provided. If you are able to bring your own mugs for any hot drinks, please do, as we would like to cut down on the waste produced by the seminars. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton

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Join us on Monday 13th November, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the QLM seminar. This week we’re pleased to have Giacomo Piana, from the Hybrid Photonics Group, who will be giving a talk titled “Carrier Dynamics Study in CH3NH3PbI3 and CH3NH3PbI3-xClx (Lead Iodide Perovskites) Thin Films”. Please find further details below: -- Speaker: Giacomo Piana Title: Carrier Dynamics Study in CH3NH3PbI3 and CH3NH3PbI3-xClx (Lead Iodide Perovskites) Thin Films Abstract: Since the breakthrough paper of 2012 [1], perovskite solar cells have attracted great attention in the PV community. This interest directly converted in a rise of the efficiency over time never seen before between all the existing PV technologies, recently breaking the threshold of 22% [2]. Moreover perovskite solar cells promised so far to have the three key features to be a truly low cost, serious competitor to Si in the PV market. These are high efficiency, low manufacturing cost and high rates of radiative recombination. In particular the last feature can be limited by the competitive process of trapping of the carriers at crystal defects. In our work, we use various spectroscopic techniques, including steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence to investigate the charge carrier dynamics at different excitation densities, temperatures and following the exposition of the films to different ambient environments. We also look at how the results of these investigations relate to the presence of different halide species in the perovskite composition. We complete this analysis with a temperature dependent series of measurements showing how the formation of trap states is related to the crystalline phase of the perovskite film. [1]: M. M. Lee and et al., "Efficient Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Meso-Superstructured Organometal Halide Perovskites," Science magazine, vol. 338, pp. 643-647, 2012. [2]: www.nrel.gov/pv/assets/image/efficiency_chart.jpg -- As always, tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided. If you are able to bring your own mugs for any hot drinks, please do, as we would like to cut down on the waste produced by the seminars. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton

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Join us on Monday 26th June, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the QLM weekly seminar. This week we’re pleased to have Max Carey from the Quantum Control group, who will be giving a talk titled “Atom Interferometry for Dummies”. -- Abstract In a presentation which is part pedagogical in nature, we take an alternative look at atom interferometry from a classical(ish) perspective. We highlight how this approach can be used to predict the phase of atom interferometers in agreement with the quantum picture for applications related to inertial sensing and, by considering our assumptions, explore where the two approaches diverge in their predictions, asking when it is actually necessary to use separation of the quantum wavepacket to make sense of experimental results. The discussion is framed around an example from our experiments on atom interferometric velocimetry of a cold atom cloud. We explain our experimental scheme and, through application of the classical ideas which we develop, demonstrate how the atoms’ velocity distribution shows itself through the interferometer output. -- As always, tea, coffee and cake will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton

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Join us on Monday 26th of March, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the QLM Monday seminar. This week we’re delighted to have Lewis Piper from the Terahertz Laboratories Group, who will be giving their second year talk titled “Terahertz Metamaterials for Enhanced Detection Schemes”. Full details are below. -- Speaker: Lewis Piper Title: Terahertz Metamaterials for Enhanced Detection Schemes Abstract: TBC -- As always, tea, coffee and cake/biscuits will be provided. If you are able to bring your own mugs for any hot drinks, please do, as we would like to cut down on the waste produced by the seminars. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton

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Join us on Monday 22th of May, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the QLM weekly seminar. This week we’re pleased to have Dr Tim Freegarde giving the seminar on scientific writing. Please see below for more details. -- Speaker: Dr Tim Freegarde Title: Scientific Writing Abstract: Scientific papers and research proposals need to be clear, precise and concise. The concepts to be communicated are often complex, and the details and context extensive; yet the available space, and the reader’s patience, are usually limited. Happily, good scientific writing depends largely upon the logic, organization and analysis at which scientists excel. -- As always, tea, coffee and cake will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton

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Join us on Monday 12th June, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the QLM weekly seminar. This week we’re pleased to have Angela De Fazioa from the Laboratory for Inorganic Colloidal Nanocrystals and Applications group, who will be giving a talk titled “Three-dimensional metamaterials made from engineered oligonucleotides and nanoparticles”. -- Abstract The capability of assemble nanoparticles into programmed 2D or 3D structures by using synthetic oligonucleotides has enabled the fabrication of novel nanomaterials with unique physical and chemical properties. In particular, this bottom-up approach allows routes to flexible and precise design of materials with properties that can be controlled by varying the constituent building blocks, combined with programming of the assembly process using advanced ligation techniques. Although great progress has been done in the field and materials of different shapes, with particles of different size, shape and composition have been fabricated, DNA-nanoparticles materials lack in stability, thus limiting their employment in actual devices. Here we present a method to fabricate self-assembled materials based on synthetic oligonucleotides and metallic nanoparticles endowed with enhanced stability thanks to the introduction of a modulable covalent bond within the sequences. This opens the way to a whole new series of possible applications, including the coating of surfaces and the incorporation in hybrid systems. -- As always, tea, coffee and cake will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton

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Join us on Monday 15th of January, at 1pm in the Physics Seminar Room (46/5081), for the first QLM Monday seminar of 2018! This week we’re delighted to have Marilena Kyriazi from the Laboratory for Inorganic Colloidal Nanocrystals and Applications, who will be giving their fourth year talk. Full details are below. -- Speaker: Marilena Kyriazi Title: TBC Abstract: TBC -- As always, tea, coffee and cake/biscuits will be provided. If you are able to bring your own mugs for any hot drinks, please do, as we would like to cut down on the waste produced by the seminars. We look forward to seeing you there! --- QLM Committee QLM Website: http://www.qlm.soton.ac.uk QLM Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405150546265372/?fref=tsQLM Twitter: https://twitter.com/qlmsoton