New Horizons in Quasicrystals

This PhD project deals with the atomic scale characterization of growth of thin films on surfaces of quasicrystals using surface science techniques such as Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM), Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), and X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS).

The project aims to explore the possibility of growing simple quasicrystalline structured in wider range of materials with multiple scales. Particularly, the candidate will search for the structures that are useful for both fundamental studies and potential applications, especially in the field of magnetism and electron transport. Such investigations include, for example, the growth of functionalised molecules on quasicrystal surfaces to create magnetic arrays of quasicrystalline structures with 4-fold symmetry or the deposition of plasmonic materials in Fibonacci patterns to form arrays of nanostructures; these have potential to alter and enhance electron transport properties important in device applications.