Welcome to our research group! We are a small team of researchers, who are all interested in the use of ultrafast spectroscopy and microscopy for optoelectronic characterisation and the application of low-dimensional materials in next-generation devices. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in becoming part of the team or would like to collaborate, we look forward to working with you!

Jessica Louise Boland

Group Leader, Principal Investigator

Dr Jessica Boland is a UKRI Future Leader Fellow and Senior Lecturer of Functional Materials and Devices in the Department of Materials at the University of Manchester. She is a member of the Photon Science Institute and Atoms to Devices theme within Henry Royce Institute and is the technical academic lead for the CUSTOM facility. She obtained an MPhys with Professional Experience from the University of Exeter in 2013, before completing a PhD in Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Oxford in 2017. She then carried out a Humboldt fellowship at the University of Regensburg, Germany, before taking up a lectureship position at the University of Manchester in 2018, originally in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Email me: jessica.boland@manchester.ac.uk

Research profile: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/jessica.boland.html

Dr Xinyun Liu

Postdoctoral Researcher

A collaborative and passionate physics award-winning postgraduate researcher with a strong academic background in semiconductor engineering and characterization. Expert in THz-IR spectroscopy and highly experienced in electronic and mechanical design.

I graduated with PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University of Manchester in 2025. For my current projects, I utilize state-of-art near-field and far-field spectroscopic techniques, including s-SNOM, ultrafast THz spectroscopy, FTIR, etc., to study the topological insulators and ion implanted samples. The novel spectroscopic tools allow us to study the surface of samples in a contact-free, non-destructive, high-resolution way.

I am also interested in FEM simulation, 3D printing and scientific visualization.

Email me: xinyun.liu-2@manchester.ac.uk

Research profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xinyun-liu-b816b4233/

Dr George Greaves

Postdoctoral Researcher

George is a Research Associate working on the EPSRC project Direct Writing of Nanodevices: A Sustainable Route to Nanofabrication. This project seeks to demonstrate a new, sustainable and cost-effective method for producing the electronic devices that underpin today’s society. The method is based on the decomposition of molecular precursors into semiconductors under ion beams. His role in the project is to characterise the devices using nanoscale THz and infrared spectroscopy and imaging, evaluating their potential for applications in computing, telecommunications, energy generation, and medical imaging.

George has deep expertise in nanoscale spectroscopic imaging, having completed a PhD on this topic at Imperial College London, where he also did his undergraduate studies. Under the supervision of Professor Chris Phillips, his PhD project saw him explore use cases for scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) in biomedical imaging, with an emphasis on chemically mapping the interactions between cells and nanoparticles used as therapeutic and diagnostic agents.

George has also had spells working as an analytics and sustainability consultant, and was a finalist at the UK Green Business Awards 2025 for Sustainability Report of the Year!

Outside of work, George can usually be found learning about and implementing permaculture principles in his garden or at local permaculture projects.

Email me: george.greaves@manchester.ac.uk

Research profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-greaves-12a99453/

Abdul Mannan

Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr Mannan is currently working as research associate in Dr Boland research group in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Manchester. His current research focus is on studying the fundamental physical phenomena and elucidate ultrafast carrier dynamics in novel functional materials such as topological insulators (i.e. Bi2Te3) to facilitate coherent controlled THz emission sources, along with designing and optimizing the terahertz emission spectroscopy systems. He obtained a M.Sc. Electrical Communication Engineering degree from the University of Kassel, Germany in 2015, before completing a PhD in Engineering at the University of Osaka in 2022 as Japanese government (MEXT) scholar under the supervision of Prof. Masayoshi Tonouchi. He then worked as researcher at institute of laser Engineering, Osaka, before joining the University of Manchester in 2022. He enjoys clean room fabrication of novel functional materials and optical experiments with high power ultrafast lasers. He is always open for collaborative research with his peers. He like travelling, cooking, and photography as his favourite hobbies.

Email me: abdul.mannan@manchester.ac.uk

Dr Yahya Saboon

Postdoctoral Researcher

Yahya’s research project focuses on terahertz characterisation of nanomaterials and their application in devices. He is co-supervised by Prof. Matthew Halsall.

Yahya was a PhD student who joined the THz group in January 2022. As a research member of the team, Yahya’s research area focuses on characterisation of III – V nanowire semiconductors and 3D semimetal materials via terahertz spectroscopy and microscopy.

Prior to joining the terahertz group at the University of Manchester, Yahya has obtained his MSc in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from the University of Glasgow, in 2019. While at Glasgow, Yahya undertook his MSc graduation project titled ‘Integration of Photovoltaic Devices into 3D Printed Object’ under the supervision of Dr Steven Neale.

Outside the fascinating world of photonics and other relevant PhD research activities, Yahya is also a coffee lover and a football fan. Moreover, I have also developed a habit of programming recently, aiming to polish my skills and broaden my horizons on several computer languages such as Matlab and Python, in my spare time.

Email me: yahya.saboon@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

Research profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yahya-saboon-3606599a/

Yinghong Huang

PhD Student ( Main supervisor)

Yinghong (Ying) joined the group in 2023 through the EPSRC Compound Semiconductor Fabrication CDT, where she explores the fascinating world of low-dimensional nanomaterials — from the visible spectrum all the way to THz waves — using both near-field and far-field characterisation.

She also teams up with the National Physical Laboratory to push the limits of far-field THz studies. With a solid background in semiconductor physics and data analysis. Before joining the group, Ying completed her Master’s on multi-beam laser interference lithography simulations for quantum dot fabrication under Prof. Mark Hopkinson from the University of Sheffield.

Outside research, she is a snowboarding person with lots passion on films, music, art projects and travel.

Email me: yinghong.huang@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

Research profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yinghong-huang-9ab460189/

Siv Sachin S D

PhD Student ( Main supervisor)

Siv Sachin S D

Siv is a PhD student who joined the group in April 2023. He completed his master’s from IISER Thiruvananthapuram, his final year thesis titled as ‘Non-destructive evaluation and CDW studies using THz spectroscopy’ under the supervision of Prof. Rajeev N Kini. His research focuses on s-SNOM of low-dimensional materials, with particular interest in plasmonic materials and 2D-nanochannel devices. He is co-supervised by Prof. Radha Boya and Dr. Ashok Keerthi from The University of Manchester. Outside of studies, he is a musician and a huge sports and movie buff.

Email me : sivsachin.shajideepa@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

Research profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivsachinsd

Rishav Bose

PhD Student ( Main supervisor)

Rishav Bose joined the Terahertz Characterisation Group in October 2025 as part of the EPSRC CDT in Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing. His research focuses on imaging exciton polaritons in compound semiconductors using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM), in collaboration with NPL, where he is co-supervised by Nathaniel Huáng.

Prior to starting his PhD, he completed a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering at Manipal University Jaipur, India and a Master’s in Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark, specialising in automation and robotics. He then worked in Denmark on personal food computers and medical devices, focusing on firmware and control systems, which sparked his interest in device-level electronics and led him into semiconductors.

He joined the CDT in September 2024 and completed his MSc project on “Investigation of the Impact of Temperature on Exciton-Polaritons (EP) Modes in Compound Semiconductors”.

Outside of research, he enjoys playing bass guitar, climbing, cooking, baking, and watching Manchester United matches.

Email me : rishav.bose@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk