Final Exam (Dissertation Defense) Souvik Bhattacharya, Ph.D. Candidate
- Event Type
- Other
- Sponsor
- Department of Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering
- Location
- Supercon 1002, Materials Research Laboratory, 104 S Goodwin Ave
- Date
- Dec 3, 2025 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
- Speaker
- Souvik Bhattacharya, Ph.D. Candidate
- Contact
- Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering
- nuclear@illinois.edu
- Phone
- 217-333-2295
- Originating Calendar
- NPRE Events
Final Defense Announcement
Souvik Bhattacharya
Candidate for Doctor of Philosophy
The Grainger College of Engineering
Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Time: 2:00PM
Location: Supercon 1002, Materials Research Laboratory, 104 S Goodwin Ave
Plasma engineering of defect-induced optical phenomena in ultrawide bandgap semiconductors
Diamond and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are two special ultrawide bandgap semiconductors endowed with distinctive properties such as optical transparency, biocompatibility, high thermal conductivity, high breakdown voltages, and tolerance to high temperature and radiation. These properties are attractive for applications in high power and high frequency electronics, especially in extreme environments. Importantly, their bandgaps of ~5.5 eV and ~6 eV, respectively, are instrumental in their ability to host optically-active atomic defects known as color centers that function as room temperature solid-state single photon emitters, which positions these materials as key emerging platforms for integrated quantum photonics. However, there remain critical issues regarding the engineering, functionality, and control over their optical defects as well as the synthesis of the two materials themselves, which hinders their development in a wide range of technological applications. Furthermore, the challenge to synthesize and engineer these materials means that the full range of influence defects can exert on the optical and electronic properties of these materials remains relatively unknown. Plasmas have shown promise as a processing tool for defect engineering and synthesis via energetic species that could be used to either fabricate different types of defects or overcome fundamental thermodynamic or kinetic limitations in their synthesis. This thesis work explores emerging light-matter phenomena induced by defects in diamond and hBN, while also demonstrating plasma-based strategies for materials synthesis and modification.
Souvik Bhattacharya is a Ph.D. candidate in Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering, advised by Prof. R. Mohan Sankaran. Prior to joining UIUC, he obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. His doctoral research centers on developing plasma-based strategies to synthesize and engineer diamond and hBN while also studying their properties using various nanoscale spectroscopic and imaging techniques.