A five-year, £10.4 million research programme funded by the EPSRC has been launched in the UK to strengthen national capability in semiconductor materials. The EXPRESS programme is led jointly by the University of Warwick and the University of Southampton and focuses on supporting the development of next-generation transistor and optoelectronic devices.
The programme will investigate new electrochemical approaches combined with novel precursor chemistry to grow transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which are advanced layered semiconductors. These materials have potential applications in ultra-low-power electronics, neuromorphic computing, photonic circuits, and quantum technologies.
Professor Julie Macpherson of the University of Warwick’s Department of Chemistry, who leads the programme from Warwick, stated that TMDCs have potential for future transistor and optoelectronic devices, but producing them reliably at scale with high levels of crystallinity remains a major challenge. The programme brings together expertise across chemistry, physics, and electronics to explore new ways of controlling material formation.
The research team will examine a novel electrodeposition methodology guided by specially designed molecules to control how the materials assemble and grow. This method is intended to enable TMDCs to be grown directly within three-dimensional electronic structures, avoiding complex transfer steps and allowing more reliable testing of their properties.
Professor Gill Reid of the University of Southampton, the lead from that institution, said layered 2D semiconductors offer potential for faster, more energy-efficient devices. The programme is exploring an electrodeposition-based method to precisely control the growth of these layered materials, with the aim of making semiconductor chips easier to produce. She noted that the breadth of expertise across the EXPRESS team supports the programme.
In addition to advancing semiconductor technologies, the EXPRESS programme will support and train early-career researchers to help build UK capability in advanced materials and electronics.
