Shah Group
Application-Led Materials Development
Dr Vishal Shah
Associate Professor
Dr Shah joined the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick in 2017 and is part of the PEATER group (Power Electronics Applications and Technology in Energy Research). He has been working in the (ultra) wide bandgap (UWBG) materials research activity and his research interests are driven by the application-led materials development. He has over 15 years’ experience developing semiconductor materials and technologies for numerous application areas including power electronics, quantum technology, photovoltaics, CMOS, MEMS and sensing.
Dr Gerard Colston
Researcher
Dr Colston completed his PhD on the epitaxial growth of cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) in 2018 and joined the PEATER group in the School of Engineering as a part time Research Fellow in 2022. His research focuses on epitaxial growth of silicon carbide by CVD and his areas of expertise extend to material characterisation and microfabrication processing. Gerard supports various research projects within the group focusing on both 3C-SiC and 4H-SiC and is a co-supervisor to some of the PhD students.
Kushani Perera
PhD Student (2022 - Present)
Kushani joined the Warwick Silicon Carbide group in 2022, focusing on her research to improve the electrical properties of 3C-SiC. A key part of her work involves developing an in-house Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) technique for analysing electrically active defects in silicon carbide devices. Her research also explores the development of doping in both 4H-SiC homoepitaxy and 3C-SiC on silicon heteroepitaxy. She has prior experience working as a research assistant at Warwick WMG on lithium-ion battery development, following the completion of her M.Sc. in Physics of Materials at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Kelly Turner
PhD Student (2022 - Present)
Kelly joined the group in 2022 as a PhD student, to work on developing fabrication processes for SiC superjunctions. Her primary focus is on process characterisation for trench-filling epitaxy on 4H-SiC. Before joining the group, Kelly graduated with a degree in Chemistry from the University of Manchester and later completed a research Master’s in surface science at the University of St Andrews. She also has experience working in a commercial lab producing medical electrodes.
Mustafa Akif Yildirim
PhD Student (2023 - Present)
Akif joined the group in 2023, his research focuses on advancing silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor technology by improving the performance and reliability of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices. He studies the impact of high-κ dielectric materials and novel plasma processing techniques for power electronics, aiming to enhance their electrical properties and long-term stability.
Arash Estiri
PhD Student (2023 - Present)
Arash Joined the group in 2023, after completing a Bachelor's and Master’s degree in Metallurgy and Welding, followed a double degree Erasmus Mundus Master’s program in materials for nanotechnology and ultrafast spectroscopy at Grenoble-INP (France), TU Darmstadt (Germany), and EPFL (Switzerland) respectively. His PhD research focuses on defect detection and reduction in SiC, employing advanced synchrotron and lab-based X-ray techniques. Outside of his academic pursuits, he stays active at the gym and explores personal development through fitness, cultural engagement, and by learning languages.
Athul Rathnakar
PhD Student (2024 - Present)
Athul holds a master’s degree in Physics and has prior industry experience as a Yield Engineer at GlobalFoundries, where he worked on optimizing semiconductor manufacturing processes. Athul joined the group in 2024 to pursue a Ph.D. in silicon carbide (SiC) research. His work focuses on developing an innovative electrochemical etching method for SiC, a material known for its exceptional properties but challenging chemical resistivity. He utilises advanced spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, which enable precise characterization and validation of etching standards. The ultimate goal of his research is to advance energy-efficient and reliable SiC technologies, with potential applications in wafer fabrication and device manufacturing for power electronics, paving the way for a sustainable and high-performance future.
Andrew Graham
PEATER Technician
Andrew joined the PEATER group at the University of Warwick in 2018 with responsibility for maintenance and day-to-day running of the Silicon Carbide (SiC) epitaxial facility. His previous experience had been at QinetiQ Ltd. in epitaxial growth of Cadmium Mercury Telluride (CMT) and electron beam lithography. More recently he has been involved with maintenance of cleanroom infrastructure and a range of other laboratory equipment, always with the aim of continual improvement in reliability and reproducibility.
