Professor Neil Alford runs the Physical Electronics and Thin Film Materials group in the Department of Materials, Imperial College. The group have internationally recognised expertise in Pulsed Laser Deposition of ferroelectric based thin films and multilayer structures and their application for microwave tuneable devices. Their interests and research activities span development of methods for deposition of BSTO thin films using single target and two target source development of methods for improving the microwave properties of ferroelectric thin films,development of methods for tailoring the temperature coefficient of capacitance in ferroelectric varactors; the use of X-ray Diffraction and Raman microscopy to investigate thin film, out- and in-plane structural perfection; development of methods for testing the microwave properties of ferroelectric based multilayers; development of multilayered structures and fabrication of novel microwave devices such as tunable dielectric resonators with ferroelectric and piezoelectrics and tuneable filters based on high Q-factor dielectric resonators.