Mr Ben Thornley

I completed my Masters in Materials Science at Oxford University, and in my final year researched silver and novel silver-alloy nanowires for transparent conducting electrodes on third-generation solar cells. I then started as a PhD student at the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride in October 2023, funded by the Ernest Oppenheimer Studentship.

Processing-Structure-Property relationships in porous nitride semiconductors are only loosely understood, despite the deployment of these materials in increasing numbers of device applications. The sub-surface electrochemical/photo-electrochemical porosification process, developed and patented in Cambridge, has already proven invaluable in the preparation of DBRs.

The ambition of my PhD is to dispel uncertainties in the underlying porosification mechanism and the effects of processing and material parameters on resulting pore morphology. Having formed a framework for structure control, I will then explore the use of porous nitrides for composites via infiltration of other materials.