Professor Jon Heffernan

PhD, BSc

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Professor in Electrical Engineering

National Epitaxy Facility Research Group

Headshot of Jon Heffernan
Profile picture of Headshot of Jon Heffernan
jon.heffernan@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 5165

Full contact details

Professor Jon Heffernan
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Profile

I graduated with a PhD in Physics from Trinity College Dublin in 1994 with a thesis on optical switching for optical computing applications.

From 1994 to 1996 I was a post-doctoral researcher working on the first blue-green laser diodes in collaboration with Sony Corporation. From 1996 to 2013 I was employed in the European research laboratories of Sharp Corporation in Oxford, eventually as Director of Advanced Optoelectronic Devices for the company.

In this seventeen years in industrial research I was involved in the development of three generations of optical storage technology: CD, DVD and Blu-ray.

I also led research and development on LED lighting and display technologies using blue LEDs and novel quantum dot phosphors, and on record-holding Silicon and GaAs-based solar cells. Much of this work was transferred into mass production and commercialised globally.

In 2013 I joined the University of Sheffield as Professor of Semiconductor Materials and Devices and concurrently Director of the EPSRC .


My current research is in the area of Quantum Science and Technology especially the epitaxy of semiconductor quantum dots which are used in developing single photon and entangled photon sources for quantum communications and quantum information processing.

I am also active in manufacturing research for photonics and I am deputy Director of the  with the University of Southampton.

Qualifications
  • PhD, Trinity College Dublin
  • BSc (Physics), Cork
Research interests
  • Epitaxy of novel semiconductors materials and devices
  • Molecular beam epitaxy
  • Semiconductor nanostructures and their applications
  • Nitride-based semiconductors and their applications
Publications

Journal articles

  • Banfi EG, Sala EM, Gajjela RSR, Heffernan J & Koenraad PM (2025) . Journal of Applied Physics, 137(13).
  • Alimi Y, Guilhabert B, Jevtics D, Sala EM, Strain MJ, Groom KM & Heffernan J (2025) . Semiconductor Science and Technology, 40(1).
  • Chan CL, Sala EM, Clarke EM & Heffernan J (2025) . Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 58(2).
  • Sala EM, In Na Y & Heffernan J (2024) . Crystal Growth & Design, 24(22), 9571-9580.
  • Schofield RC, Fu M, Clarke E, Farrer I, Trapalis A, Dhar HS, Mukherjee R, Severs Millard T, Heffernan J, Mintert F , Nyman RA et al (2024) . Nature Photonics, 18, 1083-1089.
  • Phillips CL, Brash AJ, Godsland M, Martin NJ, Foster A, Tomlinson A, Dost R, Babazadeh N, Sala EM, Wilson L , Heffernan J et al (2024) . Scientific Reports, 14(1).
  • Sala EM, Na YI, Godsland M & Heffernan J (2024) . physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters, 18(2).
  • Mitchell CJ, Osman A, Li K, Penadés JS, Nedeljkovic M, Zhou L, Groom KM, Heffernan J & Mashanovich G (2022) . EPJ Web of Conferences, 266, 01008-01008.
  • Gajjela RSR, Sala EM, Heffernan J & Koenraad PM (2022) . ACS Applied Nano Materials, 5(6), 8070-8079.
  • Ovenden C, Farrer I, Skolnick MS & Heffernan J (2022) . Semiconductor Science and Technology, 37(2).
  • Sala DEM, Godsland M, Na YI, Trapalis A & Heffernan J (2021) . Nanotechnology, 33(6).
  • Sala EM, Godsland M, Trapalis A & Heffernan J (2021) . physica status solidi (RRL) - Rapid Research Letters, 15(9).
  • Anderson M, Müller T, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa AB, Huwer J, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2021) . Applied Physics Letters, 118(1).
  • Anderson M, Müller T, Huwer J, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa AB, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2020) . npj Quantum Information, 6(1).
  • Shooter G, Xiang Z-H, Müller JRA, Skiba-Szymanska J, Huwer J, Griffiths J, Mitchell T, Anderson M, Müller T, Krysa A , Stevenson RM et al (2020) . Optics Express, 28(24), 36838-36848.
  • Shooter G, Xiang Z-H, Müller JRA, Skiba-Szymanska J, Huwer J, Griffiths J, Mitchell T, Anderson M, Müller T, Krysa AB , Mark Stevenson R et al (2020) .
  • Trapalis A, Fry PW, Kennedy K, Farrer I, Kean A, Sharman J & Heffernan J (2020) . Materials Letters: X, 7.
  • Sala EM, Na YI, Godsland M, Trapalis A & Heffernan J (2020) . physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters, 14(8).
  • Anderson M, Müller T, Huwer J, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa AB, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2020) . Physical Review Applied, 13(5).
  • Trapalis A, Farrer I, Kennedy K, Kean A, Sharman J & Heffernan J (2020) . AIP Advances, 10(3).
  • Mehrabad MJ, Foster AP, Dost R, Clarke E, Patil PK, Farrer I, Heffernan J, Skolnick MS & Wilson LR (2020) . Applied Physics Letters, 116(6).
  • Müller T, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa A, Huwer J, Felle M, Anderson M, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2018) . Nature Communications, 9.
  • Trapalis A, Farrer I, Kennedy K, Kean A, Sharman J & Heffernan J (2017) . Applied Physics Letters, 111(12).
  • Skiba-Szymanska J, Stevenson RM, Varnava C, Felle M, Huwer J, Müller T, Bennett AJ, Lee JP, Farrer I, Krysa A , Spencer P et al (2017) . Physical Review Applied, 8(1).
  • Trapalis A, Heffernan J, Farrer I, Sharman J & Kean A (2016) . Journal of Applied Physics, 120(20).
  • Dimmock JAR, Day S, Kauer M, Smith K & Heffernan J (2014) . Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 22(2), 151-160.
  • Bennett SE, Smeeton TM, Saxey DW, Smith GDW, Hooper SE, Heffernan J, Humphreys CJ & Oliver RA (2012) . Journal of Applied Physics, 111(5).
  • Tan W-S, Bousquet V, Kauer M, Takahashi K & Heffernan J (2009) . Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 48(7R), 072102-072102.
  • Sénès M, Lagarde D, Smith KL, Balocchi A, Hooper SE, Amand T, Heffernan J & Marie X (2009) . Applied Physics Letters, 94(22).
  • Tan WS, Kauer M, Hooper SE, Smeeton TM, Bousquet V, Rossetti M, Heffernan J, Xiu H & Humphreys CJ (2009) . physica status solidi (a), 206(6), 1205-1210.
  • Xiu H, Thrush EJ, Kauer M, Smeeton TM, Hooper SE, Heffernan J & Humphreys CJ (2008) . physica status solidi c, 5(6), 2204-2206.
  • Rossetti M, Smeeton TM, Tan W-S, Kauer M, Hooper SE, Heffernan J, Xiu H & Humphreys CJ (2008) . Applied Physics Letters, 92(15).
  • Sénès M, Smith KL, Smeeton TM, Hooper SE & Heffernan J (2008) . Physica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures, 40(6), 2066-2068.
  • Tan WS, Kauer M, Hooper SE, Barnes JM, Rossetti M, Smeeton TM, Bousquet V & Heffernan J (2008) . Electronics Letters, 44(5), 351-353.
  • Kauer M, Bousquet V, Hooper SE, Barnes JM, Windle J, Tan WS & Heffernan J (2007) . physica status solidi (a), 204(1), 221-226.
  • Smeeton TM, Sénès M, Smith KL, Hooper SE & Heffernan J (2006) . MRS Proceedings, 955.
  • Xiu H, Costa PMFJ, Kauer M, Smeeton TM, Hooper SE, Heffernan J & Humphreys CJ (2006) . MRS Proceedings, 955.
  • Heffernan J, Kauer M, Windle J, Hooper SE, Bousquet V, Zellweger C & Barnes JM (2006) . physica status solidi c, 3(6), 1379-1382.
  • Smeeton TM, Bousquet V, Hooper SE, Kauer M & Heffernan J (2006) . Applied Physics Letters, 88(4).
  • Kauer M, Hooper SE, Bousquet V, Johnson K, Zellweger C, Barnes JM, Windle J, Smeeton TM & Heffernan J (2005) . Electronics Letters, 41(13), 739-741.
  • Hooper SE, Kauer M, Bousquet V, Johnson K, Zellweger C & Heffernan J (2005) . Journal of Crystal Growth, 278(1-4), 361-366.
  • Bousquet V, Kauer M, Johnson K, Zellweger C, Hooper SE & Heffernan J (2004) . MRS Proceedings, 831.
  • Johnson K, Bousquet V, Hooper SE, Kauer M, Zellweger C & Heffernan J (2004) . Electronics Letters, 40(20), 1299-1300.
  • Heffernan J, Kauer M, Hooper SE, Bousquet V & Johnson K (2004) . phys. stat. sol. (a), 201(12), 2668-2671.
  • Hooper SE, Kauer M, Bousquet V, Johnson K, Barnes JM & Heffernan J (2004) . Electronics Letters, 40(1), 33-34.
  • Bousquet V, Heffernan J, Barnes J & Hooper S (2001) . Applied Physics Letters, 78(6), 754-756.
  • Griffin IJ, Wolverson D, Davies JJ, Emam-Ismail M, Heffernan J, Kean AH, Bland SW & Duggan G (2000) . Semiconductor Science and Technology, 15(11), 1030-1034.
  • Sharma N, Tricker D, Keast V, Hooper S, Heffernan J, Barnes J, Kean A & Humphreys C (1999) . MRS Proceedings, 595.
  • Logue FP, Rees P, Heffernan JF, Jordan C, Donegan JF, Hegarty J, Hiei F, Taniguchi S, Hino T, Nakano K & Ishibashi A (1998) . Journal of the Optical Society of America B, 15(4), 1295-1295.
  • Logue FP, Fewer DT, Hewlett SJ, Heffernan JF, Jordan C, Rees P, Donegan JF, McCabe EM, Hegarty J, Taniguchi S , Hino T et al (1997) . Journal of Applied Physics, 81(1), 536-538.
  • Aherne T, Bradley AL, Doran JP, O'Gorman J, Heffernan JF, Hegarty J, De Neve H, Brys C, Geens G, Van Daele P , Baets R et al (1996) . Journal of Crystal Growth, 159(1-4), 636-639.
  • Rees P, Jordan C, Heffernan JF, Hegarty J, Logue FP, Hiei F, Donegan JF & Ishibashi A (1996) . IEE Proceedings - Optoelectronics, 143(1), 110-112.
  • Rees P, Logue FP, Donegan JF, Heffernan JF, Jordan C & Hegarty J (1995) . Applied Physics Letters, 67(25), 3780-3782.
  • Moloney MH, Heffernan JF, Hegarty J, Grey R & Woodhead J (1993) . Applied Physics Letters, 63(4), 435-437.
  • Heffernan JF, Moloney MH, Hegarty J, Roberts JS & Whitehead M (1991) . Applied Physics Letters, 58(25), 2877-2879.
  • Heffernan JF, Moloney MH, Hegarty J & Roberts JS (1991) . Electronics Letters, 27(8), 659-660.
  • Cizauskas M, Sala EM, Heffernan J, Fox AM, Bayer M & Greilich A () . Physical Review B, 112(16).
  • Taylor PN, Schreuder MA, Smeeton TM, Grundy AJD, Dimmock JAR, Hooper SE, Heffernan J & Kauer M () . J. Mater. Chem. C, 2(22), 4379-4382.
  • Sénès M, Smith KL, Smeeton TM, Hooper SE & Heffernan J () . Physical Review B, 75(12).
  • Sénès M, Smith KL, Smeeton TM, Hooper SE & Heffernan J () . Physical Review B, 75(4).
  • Logue FP, Rees P, Heffernan JF, Jordan C, Donegan JF, Hegarty J, Hiei F & Ishibashi A () . Physical Review B, 54(23), 16417-16420.
  • Heffernan JF, Hegarty J & Planel R () . Physical Review B, 52(11), 7818-7821.

Conference proceedings

  • Martin NJ, Phillips C, Brash A, Godsland M, Foster A, Tomlinson A, Dost R, Babazadeh N, Sala E, Wilson LR , Heffernan J et al (2025) . Integrated Optics: Design, Devices, Systems, and Applications VIII (pp 35-35), 7 April 2025 - 11 April 2025.
  • Mashanovich GZ, Mitchell CJ, Wei C, McQuillan S, Ismaeel R, Heffernan J, Groom KM, Hu T, Yamano D, Thomspon S , Miall D et al (2025) . Optical Interconnects and Packaging 2025 (pp 31-31), 25 January 2025 - 31 January 2025.
  • Mashanovich GZ, Wei C, McQuillan S, Ismaeel R, Lack N, Hu T, Zhou L, Groom KM, Heffernan J, Patey MD , Cardwell CL et al (2024) . Smart Photonic and Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits 2024 (pp 32-32), 27 January 2024 - 1 February 2024.
  • Rowe DJ, Reid L, Wei C, Stirling CJ, Mitchell CJ, Du H, Yan X, Tran DT, Wu Y, Banakar M , Qi Y et al (2023) . 2023 23rd International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (ICTON) (pp 1-4), 2 July 2023 - 6 July 2023.
  • Schofield RC, Fu M, Clarke E, Farrer I, Dhar H, Mukherjee R, Heffernan J, Mintert F, Nyman RA & Oulton RF (2023) . 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) (pp 1-1), 26 June 2023 - 30 June 2023.
  • Mitchell CJ, Osman A, Li K, Panades JS, Nedeljkovic M, Zhou L, Groom KM, Heffernan J & Mashanovich GZ (2023) . Silicon Photonics XVIII (pp 19-19), 28 January 2023 - 3 February 2023.
  • Schofield RC, Fu M, Clarke E, Farrer I, Dhar H, Mukherjee R, Heffernan J, Mintert F, Nyman RA & Oulton RF (2023) Continuously Sustained Bose-Einstein Photon Condensate in a Semiconductor Quantum Well Open Microcavity. European Quantum Electronics Conference Eqec 2023 in Proceedings Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics Europe CLEO Europe 2023 and European Quantum Electronics Conference Eqec 2023 Part of Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics Europe CLEO Europe 2023 and European Quantum Electroni
  • Müller T, Wells L, Anderson M, Shooter G, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa A, Huwer J, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2023) . Optica Quantum 2.0 Conference and Exhibition (pp QM4C.4-QM4C.4), 2023.
  • Müller T, Anderson M, Skiba-Szymanska J, Huwer J, Stevenson M, Krysa AB, Heffernan J, Ritchie D & Shields A (2022) . Quantum Computing, Communication, and Simulation II (pp 44-44), 22 January 2022 - 28 February 2022.
  • Mashanovich GZ, Reid L, Georgiev G, Wei C, Qi Y, Stirling CJ, Osman A, Wu Y, Qu Z, Heffernan J , Groom KM et al (2022) . Integrated Optics: Devices, Materials, and Technologies XXVI (pp 4-4), 22 January 2022 - 28 February 2022.
  • Müller T, Anderson M, Huwer J, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa AB, Stevenson M, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2021) . Quantum Computing, Communication, and Simulation (pp 4-4), 6 March 2021 - 12 March 2021.
  • Stevenson RM, Müller JRA, Shooter G, Anderson M, Skiba-Szymanska J, Müller T, Huwer J, Krysa AB, Farrer I, Ritchie DA , Heffernan J et al (2021) . Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science 2021 (pp FM6D.1-FM6D.1), 2021.
  • Huwer J, Xiang Z, Shooter G, Skiba-Szymanska J, Müller T, Ellis DJP, Anderson M, Müller JRA, Mitchell T, Griffiths J , Stevenson RM et al (2020) . Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (pp FTh1D.1-FTh1D.1), 2020.
  • Fordos T, Clarke E, Patil P, Airey RJ, Babazadeh N, Cemlyn B, Adams M, Henning I & Heffernan J (2019) . 2019 24th Microoptics Conference (MOC) (pp 306-307), 17 November 2019 - 20 November 2019.
  • Huwer J, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA, Shields AJ, Muller T, Xiang Z, Anderson M, Stevenson RM, Skiba-Szymanska J, Ward MB , Farrer I et al (2019) . 2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) (pp 1-1), 23 June 2019 - 27 June 2019.
  • Müller T, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa A, Huwer J, Felle M, Anderson M, Stevenson M, Heffernan J, Ritchie D & Shields A (2019) . Advances in Photonics of Quantum Computing, Memory, and Communication XII (pp 16-16), 2 February 2019 - 7 February 2019.
  • Huwer J, Müller T, Xiang Z, Anderson M, Stevenson RM, Skiba-Szymanska J, Ward MB, Farrer I, Krysa A, Heffernan J , Ritchie DA et al (2019) Network integration and coherent operation of telecom entangled light sources based on semiconductor quantum dots. Optics Infobase Conference Papers, Vol. Part F143-EQEC 2019
  • Muller T, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa AB, Huwer J, Felle M, Anderson M, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2018) . Extended Abstracts of the 2018 International Conference on Solid State Devices and Materials, 9 September 2018 - 13 September 2018.
  • Muller T, Skiba-Szymanska J, Stevenson RM, Varnava C, Felle M, Huwer J, Farrer I, Krysa AB, Spencer P, Ritchie DA , Heffernan J et al (2017) . Quantum Dots and Nanostructures: Growth, Characterization, and Modeling XIV, Vol. 10114. San Francisco, California, United States, 2017 - 2017.
  • Muller T, Skiba-Szymanska J, Stevenson RM, Varnava C, Felle M, Huwer J, Bennett AJ, Lee JP, Farrer I, Krysa A , Spencer P et al (2017) . 2017 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) (pp 1-1), 25 June 2017 - 29 June 2017.
  • Stevenson RM, Skiba-Szymanska J, Varnava C, Felle M, Huwer J, Muller T, Farrer I, Krysa A, Spencer P, Ritchie DA , Heffernan J et al (2016) . Extended Abstracts of the 2016 International Conference on Solid State Devices and Materials, 26 September 2016 - 29 September 2016.
  • Dimmock JAR, Day S, Smith K, Heffernan J & Kauer M (2014) . 2014 IEEE 40th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC) (pp 3417-3421), 8 June 2014 - 13 June 2014.
  • Kauer M, Tan WS, Hooper SE, Barnes JM & Heffernan J (2007) . SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 6473 (pp 64730Y-64730Y)
  • Heffernan J, Kauer M, Hooper SE, Bousquet V, Windle J, Smeeton T & Barnes JM (2006) . SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 6133 (pp 61330O-61330O)
  • Kauer M, Heffernan J, Hooper SE, Bousquet V, Johnson K & Zellweger C (2005) . SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 5738 (pp 245-245)
  • Heffernan J, Kauer M, Johnson K, Zellweger C, Hooper SE & Bousquet V (2005) . physica status solidi (a), Vol. 202(5) (pp 868-874)
  • Klengel S, Caillaud P, Oulton RF, Stavrinou PN, Parry G, Heffernan J & Poole B (2003) Detailed spectral analysis of 2D photonic crystal structures embedded into ridge waveguides. OSA Trends in Optics and Photonics Series, Vol. 88 (pp 988-990)
  • Rees PCT, Heffernan JF, Logue FP, Donegan JF, Jordan C, Hegarty J, Hiei F & Ishibashi A (1996) . SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 2693 (pp 121-121)
  • Rees P, Heffernan JF, Logue FP, Donegan JF, Jordan C, Hegarty J, Taniguchi S, Hino T, Hiei F & Ishibashi A (1996) . Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe (pp CMN7-CMN7), 1996.
  • Heffernan J, Kauer M, Johnson K, Zellweger C, Bousquet V & Hopper SE () . The 17th Annual Meeting of the IEEELasers and Electro-Optics Society, 2004. LEOS 2004., Vol. 1 (pp 280-281)

Datasets

  • Trapalis A, Farrer I, Kennedy K, Kean A, Sharman J & Heffernan J .
  • Foster A, Mehrabad MJ, Wilson L, Dost R, Clarke E, Patil P, Farrer I, Heffernan J & Skolnick M .

Preprints

  • Mitchell CJ, Zhou L, Li K, Adeyemi D, Osman A, Nedeljkovic M, Churchill G, Gates JC, Reed GT, Groom KM , Heffernan J et al (2025) , arXiv.
  • Cizauskas M, Sala EM, Heffernan J, Fox AM, Bayer M & Greilich A (2025) , arXiv.
  • Martin NJ, Brash AJ, Tomlinson A, Sala EM, Mills EO, Phillips CL, Dost R, Hallacy L, Millington-Hotze P, Hallett D , O'Flaherty KA et al (2025) , arXiv.
  • Phillips CL, Brash AJ, Godsland M, Martin NJ, Foster A, Tomlinson A, Dost R, Babazadeh N, Sala EM, Wilson L , Heffernan J et al (2023) , arXiv.
  • Schofield RC, Fu M, Clarke E, Farrer I, Trapalis A, Dhar HS, Mukherjee R, Heffernan J, Mintert F, Nyman RA & Oulton RF (2023) , arXiv.
  • Shooter G, Xiang Z, Müller JRA, Skiba-Szymanska J, Huwer J, Griffiths J, Mitchell T, Anderson M, Müller T, Krysa AB , Stevenson RM et al (2020) , arXiv.
  • Anderson M, Müller T, Huwer J, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa AB, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2020) , arXiv.
  • Mehrabad MJ, Foster AP, Dost R, Clarke E, Patil PK, Farrer I, Heffernan J, Skolnick MS & Wilson LR (2019) , arXiv.
  • Anderson M, Müller T, Huwer J, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa AB, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2019) , arXiv.
  • Müller T, Skiba-Szymanska J, Krysa A, Huwer J, Felle M, Anderson M, Stevenson RM, Heffernan J, Ritchie DA & Shields AJ (2017) , arXiv.
  • Skiba-Szymanska J, Stevenson RM, Varnava C, Felle M, Huwer J, Müller T, Bennett AJ, Lee JP, Farrer I, Krysa A , Spencer P et al (2016) , arXiv.
Professional activities and memberships
  • Professor of Semiconductor Materials and Devices
  • Director of EPSRC National Epitaxy Facility
  • Deputy Director of the Future Photonics Manufacturing Hub
Research students
Student Degree Status Primary/Secondary
Trapalis, A PhD Graduated Primary
Chen, X MPhil Graduated Primary
Jiang, S PhD Graduated Secondary
Godsland, M PhD Current Primary
Young, I N PhD Current Primary
Wang, C PhD Current  Primary
Ovenden, C PhD Current  Secondary
Sharaf, A PhD Current  Secondary

Links

    Semiconductors and Quantum Technologies Group