Dr Paloma L dos Santos

I received my PhD degree in Physics from Durham University in September 2018. Following that, I was one-year PDRA at St Andrews University, then one-year PDRA at Cavendish Laboratory (University of Cambridge), where I also took a maternity break. In 2022, I re-joined Durham University for another year PDRA and in April 2023, I became a lecturer at Sheffield University.

My research expertise is on organic (carbon-based) semiconductor materials and devices, in special, energy-efficient organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). OLEDs as one of the leaders of the display revolution over the past decade, have shown huge advantages over other popular technologies, such as Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), as they provide better contrast ratios, wider viewing-angles, can be mechanically flexible and consume less power. Current commercial products utilizing OLED technology includes bendable smartphones, rollable TVs and smart vision VR glasses. Yet, this fascinating technology still faces big challenges regarding energy conversion, operational lifetime, and colour purity.

I am particularly interested in understanding the optoelectronic mechanisms of materials that convert electrical energy into light efficiently and use them to build novel devices that consume less power than commercial ones.

I am very enthusiastic about my research, teaching and promoting a dynamic, cross-disciplinary, multicultural and supportive work environment.