Diamond Grant for phosphorus research | Gdańsk University of Technology

Krzysztof Pyrchla, a graduate of the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, a PhD student of the International Doctoral School has won the 8th edition of the Diamond Grant competition and will receive 220 000 PLN for the implementation of his first independent research project ‘Research on the impact of deformations on the optoelectronic parameters of phosphorus nanostructures using quantum mechanics methods.’ The aim of the research is to design sensory structures that will be used to build research and measuring devices using phenomena occurring at the nanoscale and enabling, among others measurements of gravitational acceleration or mass of nanoobjects.

 - Measurements of non-electrical quantities are becoming an increasingly important group of measurements in modern metrology and they are increasingly performed using optical methods - says Krzysztof Pyrchla. - A particularly important research problem is the group of mechanical measurements that can in many cases be reduced to measuring strain. In practice, this is a very important field of measurement and it is the project that I carry out that has been devoted to research in its field. Two-dimensional crystals show unusual and rare properties under the influence of deformations. A new and interesting material belonging to this group is the semiconductor - phosphine. Two-dimensional phosphine nanostructures change their optoelectronic properties under the influence of deformations caused by structure stress. The aim of the project is to design a sensory structure using monolayer phosphine with high sensitivity to deformation.

The young scientist explains that the research will be based on quantum mechanics methods. Due to the chemical instability of phosphorus and the high costs of its synthesis, the project effects will be implemented experimentally in the final stages of research, in cooperation with experimental groups in the USA and China.

- The developed sensory structures will be used to build devices using phenomena occurring at the nanoscale, which will constitute an increasingly important group of research and measurement sensors enabling, among others measurements of acceleration due to gravity or mass of nanoobjects - explains the winner of the Diamond Grant.

The scientific supervisor of the Krzysztof Pyrchla project is PhD, DSc, Eng. Robert Bogdanowicz, university professor.

According to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, in the competition under the Diamond Grant program, a team of experts selected 85 winners (there were 243 applicants). They will receive up to 220 000 PLN for the implementation of their first independent research projects, lasting from 12 to 48 months. During the implementation of the project, they will be able to receive remuneration of up to 2.5 thousand. PLN per month. To finance projects of extremely talented uniform Master's students or graduates of BSc  studies, conducting high-level scientific research and possessing outstanding scientific achievements, the Minister of Science and Higher Education allocated a total of PLN 17 million under the Diamond Grant program