ATOMIC MANIPULATION AND SPECTROSCOPY

The Group of Atomic Manipulation and Spectroscopy seeks to understand and control the quantum properties of electrons in low-dimensional materials. Reducing the dimensions of a material to the nanoscale leads to the emergence of novel physics, which can be exploited to design devices with enhanced performance or with new functionalities that can enable future technologies. At this scale, the properties of materials are often dominated by quantum size effects and interfacial phenomena, which impose strong limitations on the control and reproducibility of the device performance, but also open up new avenues for engineering physical properties. The Group addresses this two-edged sword by investigating the interplay between structural, electronic and magnetic properties of nanoscale materials at the atomic scale. We use the knowledge obtained from such comprehensive studies to develop different methods to selectively manipulate the properties of materials.