Projects
Our surface physics research explores the fundamental electronic and spin-dependent properties of low-dimensional materials and interfaces. By combining advanced spectroscopy, microscopy, and theoretical modelling, we investigate quantum phenomena that emerge at semiconductor surfaces and ultrathin metallic films. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of materials with potential applications in next-generation electronic and spintronic devices.
For the surface physics research, the studies of semiconductor surfaces and nanostructures have been currently focused on quantum well states in ultrathin Pb films on Be and Ge surfaces, as well as topological effects in the metal-semiconductor interfaces. We are in particular interested in materials and structures that are relevant for technological applications such as spintronics.
We have carried out high resolution electronic structure investigations of Pb quantum wells grown on Be(0001) and Sn/Ge(111)Ö3´Ö3 surfaces, as a function of the Pb layer thickness. Preliminary data indicate that these systems produce very well-defined quantum well state bands, with unusually large (up to ~200 meV) spin splittings (Rashba effect) of the Pb sub-bands.
We use a combination of spectroscopy and microscopy methods: photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption, circular dichroism and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), combined with ab initio density-functional theory (DFT) calculations to get a complete understanding of the system under study. Synchrotron radiations at MAX IV in Sweden and ELETTRA in Italy are primarily used for the spectroscopy studies.