Physics Department News
Allotropes of Phosphorus with Remarkable Stability and Intrinsic Piezoelectricity
We construct a class of two-dimensional (2D) phosphorus allotropes by assembling a previously proposed ultrathin metastable phosphorus nanotube into planar structures in different stacking orientations. Three of them are dynamically stable semiconductors with strain-tunable band gaps and intrinsic piezoelectricity. This may have potential applications in nanosized sensors, piezotronics, and energy harvesting in portable electronic nanodevices.
Warwick Physics ranked as 7th in the UK
The University of Warwick has been ranked top 10 in the UK, and the leading university in the West Midlands, according to the latest UK University league table - with the Physics department placing at #7.
The new table “TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk 2019 rankings” was published on Wednesday 25th April.
Warwick is ranked ninth this year, maintaining its record of having never finished outside of the UK’s top ten universities in this table.
Towards optimal experimental tests on the reality of the quantum state
The New Journal of Physics has selected George Knee's paper "Towards optimal experimental tests on the reality of the quantum state" (DOI:10.1088/1367-2630/aa54ab) as one of their Highlights of 2017, recognising high-quality publications which have been well-received by the community.
New research could literally squeeze more power out of solar cells
A team led by Marin Alexe has published new research in the journal Science that could literally squeeze more power out of solar cells by physically deforming each of the crystals in the semiconductors used by photovoltaic cells. The paper entitled the “Flexo-Photovoltaic Effect” was written by Professor Marin Alexe, Ming-Min Yang, and Dong Jik Kim.