Banner image: Transmission electron microscopy image of sidewall quantum wells of a nitride nanorod. 

Nanomaterials provide novel properties which are not found in the same material in the bulk form, and these novel properties might be exploited in a vast range of applications, from catalysis to quantum computing.  Our research in this area encompasses a broad range of both top down and bottom up approaches including electron beam lithography of nanodevices, self-assembled growth of nanorods and nanowires, electrochemical etching to form nanostructures.  The properties of such nanostructures are vitally and inextricably dependent on their detailed structure, and hence we also focus on characterisation of this structure, using a range of electron microscopies and other techniques.  Advanced microscopy also provides access to materials properties of individual nanostructures, providing insights which allow engineering of new structures with improved performance.