Professor John David

PhD, BEng

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Personal Chair

Headshot of John David
Profile picture of Headshot of John David
j.p.david@sheffield.ac.uk

Full contact details

Professor John David
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Profile

I obtained my BEng and PhD degrees in Electronic Engineering from the ±¬ÁÏTV in 1979 and 1983, respectively.

After that, I undertook a number of postdoctoral positions within the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering at Sheffield eventually managing the characterisation activities of the SERC Centre for III–V Semiconductors. In 2001 I left to join Marconi Optical Components, Caswell before returning the following year as a Senior Lecturer. In 2004 I became Professor of Semiconductor Materials and Devices, and between 2009 to 2013 served as Head of Department. Between 2002 -2004 I was a IEEE LEOS Distinguished Lecturer and I am currently a Fellow of the IEEE and IET.

My research is focused on two areas;

The characterisation of III-V semiconductor materials and devices, especially that containing Bismuth and on the understanding and development of avalanche photodiodes. The addition to Bismuth offers a possible route to extend the wavelength of many optical structures, such as photodiodes and solar cells. I use characterisation techniques such as X-ray double crystal diffraction and photoluminescence to study semiconductor structures containing bulk and quantum wells of GaAsBi and , and then correlate this to current-voltage, capacitance-voltage and photocurrent spectra of fabricated devices.

I also study how, under very high electric-fields, electrons and holes in a semiconductor gain energy and create further carriers through a process of impact ionisation. This process can lead to destructive breakdown in power electronic devices but can also be utilised to amplify weak optical signals, giving rise to avalanche photodiodes (APDs).

I study the theory behind the ionisation process via different modelling techniques and also look experimentally at the ionisation coefficients in different semiconductor materials and device structures. The aim of my research is to develop APDs capable of operating at very high speeds for next generation telecommunication networks, and also APDs that are very sensitive.

Research interests
  • Impact Ionisation and breakdown in semiconductors
  • Photodiode and avalanche photodiodes
  • Bismuth-containing alloys
Publications

Journal articles

  • Ong DS, Jin X, Yeoh KH, Tan AH, Choo KY & David JPR (2026) . Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 59(2), 025103-025103.
  • Ong DS, Tan AH, Jin X & David JPR (2025) . Semiconductor Science and Technology, 40(12), 125011-125011.
  • Modak M, Mirza MMA, Yi X, Tian Q, Saalbach L, Fleming F, Kirdoda J, Dumas DCS, Jin X, Smith C , Tegg L et al (2025) . Advanced Photonics Research, 6(9).
  • Harun F, Richards RD & David JPR (2025) . Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 3020.
  • Basta G, Blain T, Taylor-Mew J, Sik Han I, Hopkinson M, David JPR, Shien Ng J & Hing Tan C (2025) . IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 1-7.
  • Jin X, Zhao S, Craig AP, Tian Q, Gilder L, Yi X, Carmichael M, Golding T, Tan CH, Marshall ARJ & David JPR (2024) . Optica, 11(12), 1632-1638.
  • Liu Y, Jin X, Jung H, Lee S, Harun F, Ng JS, Krishna S & David JPR (2024) . Applied Physics Letters, 125(22).
  • Kirdoda J, Mirza M, Smith C, Dumas D, Coughlan C, McCarthy C, Mowbray H, Fleming F, Yi X, Saalbach L , Muir D et al (2024) . ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2024-02(32), 2330-2330.
  • Tao X, Jin X, Gao S, Yi X, Liu Y, Rockett TBO, Bailey NJ, Harun F, Adham NA, Tan CH , Richards RD et al (2024) . ACS Photonics, 11(11), 4846-4853.
  • Jung H, Lee S, Jin X, Liu Y, Ronningen TJ, Grein CH, David JPR & Krishna S (2024) . Communications Materials, 5(1).
  • Jin X, Lewis HIJ, Yi X, Xie S, Liang B, Huffaker DL, Tan CH & David JPR (2024) . Applied Physics Letters, 124(25).
  • Fleming F, Yi X, Mirza MMA, Jin X, Kirdoda J, Dumas DCS, Saalbach L, Modak M, Muir DAS, Smith C , Coughlan C et al (2024) . Optics Express, 32(11).
  • Ronningen TJ, Kodati SH, Jin X, Lee S, Jung H, Tao X, Lewis HIJ, Schwartz M, Gajowski N, Martyniuk P , Guo B et al (2023) . Applied Physics Letters, 123(13).
  • Jin X, Lewis HIJ, Yi X, Xie S, Liang B, Tian Q, Huffaker DL, Tan CH & David JPR (2023) . Optics Express, 31(20), 33141-33149.
  • Sreerag SJ, Sharma AS, Rockett TBO, David JPR, Richards RD & Kini RN (2023) . Applied Physics A, 129(8).
  • Campbell JC, David JPR & Bank SR (2023) . Photonics, 10(7).
  • Lewis HIJ, Jin X, Guo B, Lee S, Jung H, Kodati SH, Liang B, Krishna S, Ong DS, Campbell JC & David JPR (2023) . Scientific Reports, 13.
  • Jung H, Lee S, Liu Y, Jin X, David JPR & Krishna S (2023) . Applied Physics Letters, 122(22).
  • Singh R, O'Farrell T, Biagi M, Penty RV & David JPR (2023) . Journal of Lightwave Technology, 41(17), 5577-5587.
  • Jin X, Zhou W, Zhao Y, Tian Q, Yi X, Tao X, Craig A, Modak M, Marshall A, Xu Y , Wang G et al () . ACS Photonics.
  • Harun F, Rusli JR, Richards RD, Abdul Rahman MG & David JPR () . Solid State Phenomena, 343, 99-104.

Conference proceedings

  • Kirdoda J, Mirza MA, Modak M, Yi X, Tian Q, Saalbach L, Fleming F, Dumas DCS, Smith CK, Jin X , Tegg L et al (2025) . 2025 IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC) (pp 1-2), 9 December 2025 - 13 December 2025.
  • Zhao Y, Jin X, Zhou W, Yi X, Tian Q, Tao X, Craig A, Fleming F, Modak M, Marshall A , Xu Y et al (2025) . 2025 IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC) (pp 1-2), 9 December 2025 - 13 December 2025.
  • Modak M, Yi X, Saalbach L, Fleming F, Muir D, Buller GS, Mirza MMA, Kirdoda J, Dumas DCS, Smith C , Paul DJ et al (2025) . Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems: Technology and Applications XXII (pp 12-12), 15 September 2025 - 19 September 2025.
  • Yi X, Jin X, Liang BL, Lewis H, Tian Q, Tan CH, Xie S, Li Q, Yan Z, Buller G & David JPR (2025) . Optical Components and Materials XXII (pp 34-34), 25 January 2025 - 31 January 2025.
  • Millar RW, Mirza M, Smith CK, Kirdoda J, Dumas DCS, McCarthy C, Fleming F, Yi X, Modak M, Saalbach L , Muir D et al (2025) . Optical Components and Materials XXII (pp 19-19), 25 January 2025 - 31 January 2025.
  • Modak M, Yi X, Saalbach L, Mirza MMA, Jin X, Fleming F, Kirdoda J, Dumas DCS, Tian Q, Muir DAS , Smith CK et al (2025) . Silicon Photonics XX (pp 24-24), 25 January 2025 - 31 January 2025.
  • Modak M, Yi X, Saalbach L, Fleming F, Muir DAS, Mirza MMA, Kirdoda J, Dumas DCS, Smith C, McCarthy C , Mowbray H et al (2024) . Emerging Imaging and Sensing Technologies for Security and Defence IX (pp 17-17), 16 September 2024 - 20 September 2024.
  • Yi X, Saalbach L, Fleming F, Modak M, Muir D, Buller GS, Mirza MMA, Kirdoda J, Dumas DCS, Smith C , Coughlan C et al (2024) . Infrared Sensors, Devices, and Applications XIV (pp 12-12), 18 August 2024 - 23 August 2024.
  • Tan CH, Blain T, Cao Y, Taylor-Mew J, White B, Collins X, Ng JS & David J (2024) . Optical Sensing and Detection VIII, Vol. 12999. Strasbourg, France, 7 April 2024 - 7 April 2024.
  • Tan CH, Blain T, Taylor-Mew J, Cao Y, White B, Collins X, Ng JS & David J (2024) . Infrared Technology and Applications L (pp 19-19), 21 April 2024 - 26 April 2024.
  • Liu Y, Jin X, Lee S, Jung H, Lewis H, Guo B, Kodati S, Schawrtz M, Gerin C, Ronningen TJ , Campbell J et al (2024) . Optical Components and Materials XXI, Vol. 12882. San Francisco, California, United States, 27 January 2024 - 27 January 2024.
  • Harun F, Richards RD & David JPR (2023) . 2023 IEEE Regional Symposium on Micro and Nanoelectronics (RSM) (pp 40-43), 28 August 2023 - 30 August 2023.

Preprints

  • Jung H, Lee S, Jin X, Liu Y, Ronningen TJ, Grein CH, David JPR & Krishna S (2024) , arXiv.
Teaching interests
  • EEE124 -Introduction to Energy
  • EEE225 - Analogue and Digital Electronics
  • EEE6216 -Energy Efficient Semiconductor Devices
  • MEC316 - Renewable Energy
Professional activities and memberships
  • Fellow of the IEEE
  • Fellow of the IET

Links

Semiconductor Materials & Devices