Dr Ned Thaddeus Taylor - University Of Exeter

Interfaces (the join between materials) are the Achilles' heel of all devices. They are both the source of most of the unique physics exploited in our modern technology, and the weakest point in a device. As such, we find ourselves in a curious situation where interfaces define both the efficiency and operational limits of most devices that govern our daily lives. However, device research and development focuses, instead, on design and optimisation of individual materials. Neglecting the impact of interfaces on devices can result in materials that initially seem promising being revealed as impractical for real-world applications. Overall, this leads to longer development cycles, extending the time to transition from concept to market. This oversight is caused by two factors: firstly, interfaces are complex; secondly, interfaces are prohibitively expensive to model. This is all further compounded by the difficultly to characterise them experimentally. To combat the challenges of understanding interfaces, Dr Taylor and his team will explore the operational limits of interfaces prevalent in modern devices – oxide and metal interfaces. By utilising a combination of first principles and machine learning approaches, this project will identify trends between interfaces and show how such methods could be used to predict operational limits of devices. This project will lead to the faster development of devices and subsequent improvement in their efficiencies.