Researcher Summary
My main research interests are the electronic structure and transition intensities of visible and UV transitions within 4fN configurations and between the 4fN and 4fN-1 5d configurations of lanthanide (rare-earth) ions in various compounds. These materials have complex spectra with sharp lines and so an extremely detailed comparison between theory and experiment is possible.
In addition to their intrinsic scientific interest, lanthanide compounds have technological applications, being widely used in fluorescent lamp and TV phosphors, laser materials, and fibre-optical amplifiers.
Recent research has focused on the dynamical properties of excited states of lanthanide ions, probed by laser and x-ray techniques. We have also developed techniques to relate ab-initio calculations to spectroscopiec energy-level models.
Our current focus is on the understanding of materials that have potential for quantum-information applications, and on nanoparticles for biomedical imaging.
