University of Bath
'The University of Bath is regularly rated
in the top 20 universities in the UK.'
Who they are
The University of Bath is regularly rated in the
top 20 universities in the UK. Its research is
internationally-respected, and its students are in demand by
employers because of the high quality of the teaching offered here.
The University has had close connections with industry and the
public and voluntary sectors since its inception in 1966. It has
developed strong links with universities abroad.
Dedicated facilities at the University are
playing a key role in the exploitation of research programmes and
new manufacturing techniques.
What they do
The David Bullet Laboratory in Physics
researches the behaviour of materials when they are made up of
ultra-small components whose dimensions approach the scale of a
nanometre (one billionth of a metre). At such small sizes, the
behaviour becomes dominated by quantum physics, and many strange
and novel phenomena can be observed. Such phenomena are of
fundamental scientific interest and can also be exploited for
technological applications, for example in electronics, in
information technology and in the creation of new sources of
light.
There are several approaches to work in this
field: one is to develop techniques for making small structures out
of larger ones by using nanoscale machining, whilst another is to
start from the opposite direction and to build up the nanoscale
structures from even smaller units, that is, from the molecules
themselves. The different approaches make use of techniques from
physics but also from chemistry and biology. The new facility
contains an array of advanced instruments e.g. electron beam
lithography, dry etching and atomic force microscopy that will
enhance considerably the University's capability in this
cross-disciplinary area.
Bath's major new nanofabrication facility is
looking closely at the physics associated with the quantum
behaviour of electrons confined in ultra-small structures, often
carrying out their experiments at high magnetic fields and very low
temperatures. They are also studying nanostructures produced by
other leading national and international laboratories with which
they have collaborative programmes.