PHYS-407: Frontiers in nanosciences

Summary

The students understand the relevant experimental and theoretical concepts of the nanoscale science. The course move from basic concepts like quantum size effects to hot fields such as spin transport for data storage applications (spintronics), carbon electronics, or nanocatalysis.

Official source

https://edu.epfl.ch/coursebook/en/frontiers-in-nanosciences-PHYS-407

Moodle Page

http://go.epfl.ch/PHYS-407

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Instructors (4)

Lectures in this course (29)

Related concepts (151)

Related courses (25)

Related MOOCs (22)

Klaus Kern is Professor of Physics at EPFL and Director and Scientific Member at the Max-Planck-Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, Germany. He also is Honorary Professor at the University of Konstanz, Germany. His present research interests are in nanoscale science, quantum technology and in microscopy at the atomic limits of space and time. He holds a chemistry degree and PhD from the University of Bonn and a honorary doctors degree from the University of Aalborg. After his doctoral studies he was staff scientist at the Research Center Jülich and visiting scientist at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill before joining the Faculty of EPFL in 1991 and the Max-Planck-Society in 1998. Professor Kern has authored and coauthored close to 700 scientific publications, which have received nearly 60‘000 citations. He has served frequently on advisory committees to universities, professional societies and institutions and has received numerous scientific awards and honors, including the 2008 Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz Prize and the 2016 Van‘t Hoff Prize. Prof. Kern has also educated a large number of leading scientists in nanoscale physics and chemistry. During the past twenty-five years he has supervised one hundred PhD students and sixty postdoctoral fellows. Today, more than fifty of his former students and postdocs hold prominent faculty positions at Universities around the world.

Education: • 1999 Doctoral degree in Physics obtained at the Physics Department, University of Genova PhD thesis title: “STM study of nanostructures induced by ion sputtering on noble metals”. • 1994 University degree in Physics achieved at the Physics Department, University of Genova. Final mark: 110/110 cum laude Diploma thesis title: “A project for a new method of EELS spectroscopy”. • 1988 High school at the Liceo Scientifico G. P. Vieusseux in Imperia. Final mark: 60/60. Research career plan: • 2016 – present MER: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the group of Prof. Harald Brune • 2003 – 2016: 1er. Assistant: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the group of Prof. Harald Brune • 2000-2003: Assistant: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) under the direction of Prof. Harald Brune • 1999-2000: Research associate: Max-Planck-Institut of Stuttgart under the direction of Prof. Klaus Kern Miscellaneous of professional activities: a) Review panel • Member of the Elettra proposal review panel • Member of the committee of the EDPY doctoral school in Physics at the EPFL b) Co-worker in the building of the X-Treme beamline: c) Referee for scientific journals: • Nat. Commun., Phys. Rev. Lett., Phys. Rev. B, J. Appl. Phys., Surf. Sci., J. Magn. Magn. Mater. Funding record a) Funding awarded • Quantum Properties of Nanostructures at Surfaces, FNS 200020-157081/1; (01/10/2014 – 31/09/2017); total amount attributed: 832'558 CHF; co-applicant • Controlling magnetic anisotropy by interfacial coupling, FNS 200021_146715/1; (01/01/2014 – 31/12/2016); total amount attributed: 367'800 CHF; co-applicant • Self-assembled bi-metallic magnetic pillar superlattices with enhanced blocking temperature, SER C10.0135; (01/08/2011 – 01/08/2013); total amount attributed: 170'000 CHF; co-applicant • Magnetic and Catalytic Properties of Surface Supported Metallic Nanostructures, FNS 200020-120493/1; (01/04/2008 – 31/03/2010); total amount attributed: 402'669 CHF; co-applicant • Magnetic and Catalytic Properties of Surface Supported Metallic Nanostructures, FNS 200020-112322/1; (01/04/2006 – 31/03/2008); total amount attributed: 347'633 CHF; co-applicant b) Approved proposals for the allocation of beamtime Swiss Light Source (SLS): main proposer: 9 co-proposer: 4 Elettra: main proposer: 5 co-proposer: 1 European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF): main proposer: 2 co-proposer: 11 Student supervisor • Co-director of PhD thesis: 4 PhD students

Dimitris Mousadakos: Seeking the smallest room temperature magnets; (in progress)
Romana Baltic: Controlling single atom magnetic anisotropy by interfacial coupling; (in progress)
Alberto Cavallin: Growth and magnetism of nanostructures investigated by STM, MOKE, and XMCD; (Oct. 2013), Thèse N°5941
Sergio Vlaic: Magnetism and atomic scale structure of bimetallic nanostructures at surfaces; (Dec. 2012), Thèse N° 5625

• Supervisor of PhD thesis (without co-direction): 4 PhD students

Anne Lehnert: Magnetism of individual adatoms and of epitaxial monolayers; (Jun. 2009), Thèse N° 4411
Geraud Moulas: Growth and magnetism of 2D bimetallic nanostructures; (Dec. 2008), Thèse N° 4231
Philipp Buluschek: Submonolayer growth of cobalt on metallic and insulating surfaces studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations; (Nov. 2007), Thèse N° 3944
Nicolas Weiss: Propriétés magnétiques de nanostructures de Co adsorbées; (Apr. 2004), Thèse N° 2980

• Supervisor of Master thesis: 6 students • Supervisor of semester projects: 9 students • PhD thesis referee: 2 students

Magalí Lingenfelder is currently leading the Max Planck-EPFL Laboratory for Molecular Nanoscience. Her vision is to create atomically tailored interfaces for applications in two distinct areas of urgent technological and societal relevance: energy conversion and smart antimicrobial interfaces. To access the nanoscale, her group uses a combination of state-of-the-art scanning probe microscopy and solid state spectroscopy, allowing the study of kinetic processes in-situ under liquid flow and potential control conditions (operando electrocatalysis). She made seminal contributions to the field of metal-organic coordination networks on solid surfaces, and received the Otto Hahn medal in 2008 for the microscopic understanding of the chiral recognition process with submolecular resolution. She is a committed mentor, and since her relocation from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA to EPFL in 2013, she directed 3 MSc. theses, 4 PhD theses and 4 postdocs. She advocates for problem-oriented interdisciplinary research: she led 5 international research consortiums, delivered over 40 invited presentations and organized 9 conferences and 4 doctoral schools. In 2018, the Royal Society of Chemistry included her work in the first collection “Celebrating Excellence in Research: 100 Women of Chemistry”.

Fullerene

A fullerene is an allotrope of carbon whose molecule consists of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms. The molecule may be a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, tube, or many other shapes and sizes. Graphene (isolated atomic layers of graphite), which is a flat mesh of regular hexagonal rings, can be seen as an extreme member of the family. Fullerenes with a closed mesh topology are informally denoted by their empirical formula Cn, often written Cn, where n is the number of carbon atoms.

Quantum technology

Quantum technology is an emerging field of physics and engineering, encompassing technologies that rely on the properties of quantum mechanics, especially quantum entanglement, quantum superposition, and quantum tunneling. Quantum computing, sensors, cryptography, simulation, measurement, and imaging are all examples of emerging quantum technologies. The development of quantum technology also heavily impacts established fields such as space exploration.

Synchrotron radiation

Synchrotron radiation (also known as magnetobremsstrahlung radiation) is the electromagnetic radiation emitted when relativistic charged particles are subject to an acceleration perpendicular to their velocity (a ⊥ v). It is produced artificially in some types of particle accelerators or naturally by fast electrons moving through magnetic fields. The radiation produced in this way has a characteristic polarization, and the frequencies generated can range over a large portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

X-ray absorption spectroscopy

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a widely used technique for determining the local geometric and/or electronic structure of matter. The experiment is usually performed at synchrotron radiation facilities, which provide intense and tunable X-ray beams. Samples can be in the gas phase, solutions, or solids. XAS data is obtained by tuning the photon energy, using a crystalline monochromator, to a range where core electrons can be excited (0.1-100 keV).

Low-energy electron diffraction

Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) is a technique for the determination of the surface structure of single-crystalline materials by bombardment with a collimated beam of low-energy electrons (30–200 eV) and observation of diffracted electrons as spots on a fluorescent screen. LEED may be used in one of two ways: Qualitatively, where the diffraction pattern is recorded and analysis of the spot positions gives information on the symmetry of the surface structure.