About
Prof. Smith did his undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge and a DPhil in Physics at Oxford on the "Ultrafast Dynamics of a Semiconductor, GaSb, and a High Temperature Superconductor, YBa2Cu3O7-d". He has held an EPSRC Advanced Fellowship (Early Career) and led a flagship EPSRC Basic Technology grant. He is now part an EPSRC programme grant (ADEPT) which is exploiting electrodeposition to deposit infrared detectors, phase change memory and thermoelectric devices.
Research
Research groups
Current research
Prof. Smith uses advanced optical spectroscopic methods, particularly resonance Raman spectroscopy and ultrafast spectroscopy techniques, to study a range of nanomaterials. Currently he is studying 3 atom thick monolayers and heterostructures consisting of two monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides. Resonance Raman spectroscopy allows him to probe optically dark, large wavevector excitons in these structures using double resonance processes. In addition the ability to associated particularly vibration frequencies with partricular materials allows him to probe the hybridisation of exciton and trions, both intralyer and interlayer, in heterostructures. In addition to the transition metal dichalcogenides he is studing extreme nanowires, 1-3 atoms in diameter, which can be formed inside the inner cavity of single walled carbon nanotubes.
Research projects
Completed projects
Publications
Supervision
Current PhD Students
Teaching
Prof. Smith is one of two admissions tutors for Physics and Astronomy. He is currently the course coordinator for Intro to Nano a second year course which is the students first opportunity to explore the fascinating effects which occur when the dimensions of objects are reduced to 2-2000 atoms.